Taylor Swift fans everywhere were rattled to their core this morning upon the announcement that our queen of earnest, unadulterated emotion would be dropping a surprise record, Folklore.
Swift’s eight studio record was produced and co-written with Aaron Dessner of The National. It also boasts an appearance from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. Disciples at the church of Jack Antonoff can rejoice in the knowledge that his magic touch has also graced the record.
“Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID happen. And that thing is my 8th studio album, folklore,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post.
“Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into. I wrote and recorded this music in isolation but got to collaborate with some musical heroes of mine.”
“Before this year I probably would’ve overthought when to release this music at the ‘perfect’ time, but the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed. My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with. ”
Aaron Dessner took to Instagram to share a post about the project, claiming he was “excited and honored” when Swift approached him about “writing some songs remotely together.”
He continued, “I thought it would take a while for song ideas to come and I had no expectations as far as what we could accomplish remotely. But a few hours after sharing music, my phone lit up with a voice memo from Taylor of a fully written version of a song—the momentum never really stopped.
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“Over the next few months, we remotely finished 11 songs (She also recorded several others with the amazing [Jack Antonoff]) of her magical new album ‘folklore.’ I’ve rarely been so inspired by someone and it’s still hard to believe this even happened—these songs came together in such a challenging time.”
Listen to folklore by Taylor Swift:
