During three months of lockdown, The National's Aaron Dessner co-wrote and produced the bulk of Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' album. Now it seems he's getting back to what he actually had planned for that time - a new album from Big Red Machine, his project with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon.
Posting on Instagram, he published a list of 22 working titles of new BRM songs - twelve of them under the heading "Big Red Machine II (sure things)", with the other ten headed "Maybe BRM III". The list is also partially redacted, with the names of collaborators on each track seemingly obscured.
"Five plus month studio bender continues", he wrote. "Thank you to everyone who has reached out about 'Folklore'. So glad you're enjoying it as much as I do. Still feels surreal to me".
He then went on: "Profoundly grateful to have time and space to work and finish things - and so thankful for the many friends contributing to that music and this new Big Red Machine music - everything feels related. I can't wait to share it with you. (Our working titles will change! And sorry to be coy)".
Could one of those new songs feature a certain Taylor Swift? Probably could, yeah. I mean, why not? She definitely could have done a quick BRM track while recording 'Folklore' couldn't she? Vernon is on her new album too remember, so technically she's already recorded music with the project.
Hey, Swift released an album called 'Red' through the Big Machine label, so maybe this whole thing is actually one of the re-recordings of her old albums that she's been promising. Dessner did say all of the titles on his list would change. I think we've cracked this mystery.