Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ collaborator has described her as "one of the most talented artists" he’s ever met.
The 30-year-old singer dropped her surprise eighth studio album on Friday (24.07.20), which features 16 tracks, 11 of which are collaborative efforts with The National songwriter Aaron Dessner.
And after the album’s release, Aaron took to Instagram to share a lengthy statement about the record, where he praised Taylor for being "hardworking" and "deeply caring".
He wrote: "I’m very proud of all these songs and profoundly grateful to @taylorswift 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. (sic)"
Aaron, 44, also revealed that many of the songs he and Taylor wrote together were made in just "a few hours".
He added: "I was excited and honored when Taylor approached me in late April about maybe writing some songs remotely together.
"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. (sic)"
Taylor – who released her seventh studio album ‘Lover’ less than a year ago – announced she would be releasing her album on Thursday (23.07.20), and later shared a lengthy message in which she explained where her inspiration had come from during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The ‘Cardigan’ singer also revealed that she is releasing "eight deluxe CDs and eight deluxe vinyls" of the record with the bonus track ‘the lakes’, to celebrate her eighth studio album.
She tweeted: "folklore will have 16 songs on the standard edition, but the physical deluxe editions will include a bonus track "the lakes." Because this is my 8th studio album, I made 8 deluxe CDs & 8 deluxe vinyls available for 1 week. Each has unique covers & photos (sic)."