Aaron Dessner on Big Red Machine, The National’s Future, & Taylor Swift’s Lyrical Universe

Aaron Dessner: “I feel like every song that I love is connected to mental health in some way.” Aaron Dessner catches up with Kyle Meredith to discuss How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last, the sophomore record with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon in the band Big Red Machine. The producer/songwriter takes us through the process of bringing in more friends for this album, including Sharon Van Etten and Taylor Swift, and how the set came to focus on themes of mental health, depression, and family dynamics, especially on a song written for the late Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchinson. On working with Taylor Swift, Dessner talks about the process of working with the mega-star and how her lyrical universe finds its way into the songs they write together. As a co-founder of The National, we also get a glimpse into their future, when they may reconvene, and how much he considers them his main project these days.