From Taylor Swift to Bon Iver, Aaron Dessner Finds Meaning in Musical Community
On August 27th Big Red Machine, the joint musical project of Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner - artists known for their work as Bon Iver and in the rock band The National, respectively - returned with new music. You\u2019ve most definitely heard Dessner\u2019s production work elsewhere, like on Taylor Swift\u2019s pandemic albums evermore and folklore. The Big Red Machine album, titled How Long Do You Think it's Going to Last, celebrates the fruits of creative partnership and the importance of family and community. At least, that\u2019s what we took from our conversation with Dessner. \u201cA lot of my favorite music - usually there's something elusive about it, in that whatever is elusive is coming from this weird cocktail of different people's input. There's just this weird, swampy alchemy, and you can't easily put your finger on why it's so moving.\u201d\xa0\n\n\nDessner told us he draws much of his creative inspiration from the kinetic energy generated by multiple musical brains working in tandem, which makes sense given the list of features on this album - everyone from Swift to Sharon van Etten to Ana\xefs Mitchell to The Fleet Foxes\u2019 Robin Pecknold. \u201cI'm such a born collaborator. I'm definitely interested in this exchange where you make something and you send it out into the ether and then it comes back slightly changed or radically changed. Then you work on it and send it again. I like this handoff, this communal approach to music making.\u201d\n\n\nThe musical collective fostered by Vernon and Dessner on How Long Do You Think It's Going to Last is a testament to the power of musical communities in a year of intense isolation. We\u2019re so pleased to bring you Nate\u2019s conversation with Aaron Dessner in this week\u2019s episode.\n\n\nSongs Discussed\n\nBig Red Machine - Birch, feat. Taylor Swift\n\nBig Red Machine - Phoenix, feat. Fleet Foxes & Ana\xefs Mitchell\n\nBig Red Machine - Magnolia\n\nBig Red Machine - Renegade, feat. Taylor Swift\n\nBig Red Machine - Mimi, feat. Ilsey\n\nBig Red Machine - The Ghost of Cincinnati\n\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices