Aaron Dessner played a role in bringing Taylor Swift’s two recent albums Folklore and Evermore to life, and Dessner has hinted that Swift returned the favor by contributing to material from one of his other projects, the Justin Vernon collaboration Big Red Machine. In a 2020 interview, Dessner noted “The Big Red Machine stuff is quite far along — and actually, Taylor has been amazing [at giving feedback]. I’ve shared all of that stuff with her, and she has been really helpful.” He then neither confirmed nor denied that Swift will appear on a Big Red Machine song, but now it’s looking like she just may.
Yesterday, the group shared a teaser of new music via a glitchy video teasing something called “How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last.” Part of an overlay on the clip is some handwriting that apparently looks like that of Swift, according to the dozens of fans who flooded the post’s comments section with excited messages.
Notably, this follows Vernon teasing a Swift collaboration back in April. It seems that Dessner would be eager for the opportunity to work with Swift again, as he previously said of her, “I am constantly humbled by and grateful for our friendship and collaboration. […] You have restored my faith in music and the ways in which it can help me and others. In a year of such uncertainty and fear, I’m eternally grateful for the music we made. You generously shared your songwriting genius with me and others on these records — and made everyone involved feel appreciated and confident in their work. I can’t say enough positive things about you as an artist and a person.”
