Justin Vernon is set to promote a new Bon Iver record, Sable, Fable. However, that doesn’t imply he will shy away from the occasional Taylor Swift inquiry. During a conversation with Zane Lowe from Apple Music earlier this week, the singer-songwriter enthusiastically recounted how he inadvertently got entwined in Swift’s pandemic scene in the most delightful way.
When Lowe inquired about collaborating with Swift, Vernon lauded the singer for her “bravery” in reaching out to The National’s Aaron Dessner for her COVID-era album, Folklore. Just before the onset of quarantine, Vernon mentioned he was gearing up for a European tour with Bon Iver a month prior to lockdown when he enlisted Dessner to step in on guitar.
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The initial plan was for Dessner to serve as a DJ, presenting demos from his Big Red Machine side project — a longstanding partnership with Vernon — before the Bon Iver arena performances. The tour was swiftly canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading Dessner, like many artists at that time, to utilize Instagram Live to share some unreleased tracks, catching the attention of none other than Taylor Swift.
“All the credit goes to Taylor for recognizing, as a songwriter, the kind of music she aspires to create,” Vernon remarked. “But those tracks are fundamentally Big Red Machine demos, and her brilliance lay in collaborating with the brilliance of Aaron Dessner to craft the finest lyrics and songwriting she’s ever produced, truly.”
As he observed the collaboration unfold, Vernon expressed how captivated he was witnessing the global pop phenomenon “enter our whole universe… obviously, there’s no one greater, and we all bowed to her.” Vernon articulated a sensation of being unable to stop blinking as he realized the union of the chart-topping and stadium queen with their understated indie side project was perfectly logical.
“The affection and community that Aaron has shown me over the years… Taylor was seamlessly stepping into it,” Vernon noted, adding that Dessner reached out to him during the process to mention that there was a track Swift wanted him to contribute vocals to. “I was like, ‘Taylor?’” Vernon recounted as Dessner elaborated that Swift was writing to some of the Big Red Machine tunes she was familiar with.
“I was like, ‘Fantastic! I have no plans today!’ They sent it over, and I ended up adding a few small touches,” Vernon explained about how he secured a co-writing credit — along with Swift, Dessner, and the singer’s former partner, actor Joe Alwyn (under the alias William Bowery) — on the track. “I just recorded it on an SM7 in my makeshift studio… and it felt on par with everything else. It’s an outstanding song and a remarkably popular one for a solid reason,” he stated. “But it felt so organic, and I’m incredibly grateful for that chance to have collaborated with such an extraordinary artist.”
Alongside “Exile” from the Folklore album, Vernon also contributed to the title track of the companion Evermore pandemic album, while Swift assisted on the Big Red Machine single “Renegade” in 2021.
Tune in to hear Vernon discuss his experience working with Swift below.
- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
