The European Football Championships, the Olympics, the US election campaign – there was a lot going on in the summer of 2024. And yet there was one person who overshadowed everything at the time: Taylor Swift.
Somehow everyone was or wanted to be at the few concerts Swift was giving in Germany. And, whether you wanted to hear it or not, everybody kept raving about her enthusiasm. This was the case on a long car journey when a friend played me all the songs on her “Eras Tour” playlist. Among various “Did you know that…” anecdotes was this one: “Taylor worked with Lana Del Rey’s producer on an album.” And then, as the display in the car shows the title, I prick up my ears at the softest tones. “Is that from the album?” I ask.
Bull’s eye. The album: Folklore from 2020, where Taylor Swift whispers more than she sings. Her voice has been given a lot of reverb and the overall atmosphere is spherical and vintage. At home on the speakers, I give myself over to it: “This Is Me Trying” with full bombast. Unbelievable. Swift seems to be standing in front of my sofa. And somehow Lana Del Rey too. In my head – I discreetly start to dream – the two merge into Taylor Del Rey and Lana Swift respectively. Responsible for this mind-expanding experience: producer Jack Antonoff. The American has produced several albums for Lana Del Rey, who has already been described by us as the “dark fairy of pop music”. On Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album Folklore, he is involved in six of the 16 songs as co-producer and composer.
A strange experience for someone like me, who mainly knew Swift’s “Shake It Off” and “Bad Blood” from the radio. With Folklore, Taylor Swift is moving into new territory. The album is a mixture of folk and indie music. For many Swifties, as the US-American’s fans call themselves, Folklore is therefore the most exciting album. The ballad “Cardigan”, carried by a piano and soft synth sounds, sets the tone straight away: it’s all about reduction to the essentials. Synth, piano, guitar and vocals – with a few exceptions, such as the harmonica on “Betty”, that’s all Swift needs for her album.
In addition to Antonoff, Swift brought a second expert on board: Aaron Dessner. The American is something of a swiss army knife when it comes to shaping indie pop soundscapes. He made a name for himself in the scene as a songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist in the rock band The National. As a producer and songwriter, he has worked with music heavyweights such as Ed Sheeran and REM singer Michael Stipe. And with Taylor Swift. She recorded the demos for Folklore in her own bedroom during the coronavirus pandemic: the Kitty Committee Studio. Named after her cats, who were fighting each other on her bed in the background during the recordings. Aaron Dessner then polished the warm and atmospheric sound of the songs in his Long Pond Studio in the US state of New York.
He was one of very few people to have the right equipment for this. According to reports, he is one of only three people in the USA to have a Siemens console from the 1960s in his studio in the Hudson Valley. It can give songs warmth and analog saturation – and was ideal for creating the postmodern vintage cover for Swift’s folk session. A soundscape that was well received: Folklore sold more than a million copies in the USA in 2020 alone – and was awarded the Grammy for Best Album of the Year.
By the way: there is actually a duet by Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift. “Snow On The Beach” from Swift’s 2022 album Midnights was of course also produced by Jack Antonoff.
Taylor Swift – Folklore
Label:Â Republic Records
Format: CD, Vinyl, DL 24/44