It’s here! Taylor Swift’s surprise album folklore has arrived. The pop icon announced the album overnight, sharing the cover art, the tracklist, and a little bit of a story of how the album came to be.
She revealed that frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff had obviously played his part in this one. As well as that, Bon Iver features on ‘exile’ and The National’s Aaron Dessner co-wrote 11 out of the 16 tracks on the album.
Shortly after Taylor Swift’s big announcement, Dessner released a statement on Twitter.
“I was excited and honored when Taylor approached me in late April about maybe writing some songs remotely together,” he begins.
“I had been isolating with my family but writing a ton of music in the first months of quarantine, which I shared. 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’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.”
As well as the album, Taylor Swift has dropped a single ‘cardigan’ from the album with a film clip she both wrote and directed. “The entire shoot was overseen by a medical inspector, everyone wore masks, stayed away from each other, and I even did my own hair, makeup, and styling,’ Swift explained in a tweet.
Watch the video and stream the album below.
Happy Taylor Swift day!
In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down. folklore is out now: https://t.co/xdcEDfithq
Photo: Beth Garrabrant pic.twitter.com/vSDo9Se0fp
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 24, 2020
Taylor Swifts’ ‘folklore’ tracklisting
Out now
the 1
cardigan
the last great american dynasty
exile (feat. Bon Iver)
my tears ricochet
mirrorball
seven
august
this is me trying
illicit affairs
invisible string
mad woman
epiphany
betty
peace
hoax
— Aaron Dessner (@aaron_dessner) July 23, 2020
august & my tears ricochet are my favorite things we’ve done together
— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) July 23, 2020