Taylor Swift has surprised fans, announcing that her eighth album will be titled Folklore and will be released in just a few hours.
The singer revealed she’d been working on the new record with Aaron Dessner of The National and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver is another contributor. Swift’s regular collaborator Jack Antanoff also contributes to the new record which Western Australian audiences should be able to access online around lunchtime on Friday.
Folklore follows Swift’s 2019 release Lover, which was one of the top selling records of the year. While the musicians recent albums have seen her increasingly embrace pop and electro sounds, the art work, title and collaborators for this new record suggest a change in style inline with Swift’s country roots.
Swift posted the pictures and announcement to her social media accounts saying that previously she stressed over when the best time was to release a record, but with the current uncertainty around the globe she was following belief if you’ve made something beautiful you should share it.
The new collection will have sixteen tracks, plus a bonus track on the physical deluxe release. Eleven of the songs were created with Aaron Dressner.
The new tunes will be; The 1, Cardigan, The Last Great American Dynasty, Exile, My Tears Ricochet, Mirrorball, Seven, August, This Is Me Trying, Illicit Affairs, Invisible String, Mad Woman, Epiphany, Betty, Peace, Hoax. The bonus track is titled The Lakes.
Posting on Instagram Dresser shared his perspective on making the record remotely during the COVID-19 isolation period.
“I was excited and honoured when Taylor approached me in late April about maybe writing some songs remotely together,” Dessler wrote. “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.”
“I’m very proud of all these songs and profoundly grateful to Taylor Swift for inviting me into and trusting me in her process,”
“She is one of the most talented, hardworking and deeply caring artists I’ve ever encountered. There’s a palpable humanity and warmth and raw emotion in these songs that I hope you’ll love and take comfort in as much as I do.”
A video for the first single Cardigan is also due for release tomorrow with Swift sharing she came up with the concept for the video and directed it herself.
OIP Staff
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