Pop music superstar Taylor Swift turned heads once again Thursday when she announced her second surprise album of the year, “Evermore,” would be released Friday. And, once again, it features contributions from two regional musicians, St. Paul jazz drummer JT Bates and Justin “Bon Iver” Vernon.
“I’m just as excited as everyone else to hear it,” Bates said.
At the end of July, Swift gave 24 hours notice to the arrival of her eighth album, “Folklore,” which she wrote and recorded remotely with Aaron Dessner of the New York rock band the National and her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff. Dessner reached out to his musical friends, including Bates, to record the music that backs Swift’s delicate, folk-leaning songs.
Part of the deal, however, was that Bates had no idea whose tracks he was playing on. He had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and Dessner sent the drummer three tracks with no vocals in the spring. Bates recorded the songs in his studio and had no idea he was playing on a Taylor Swift record, even though his wife and stepdaughter jokingly suggested that was the case.
The morning Swift announced “Folklore,” Bates woke up to a text message from Dessner with the news. Bates learned he was on the album at the same time everyone else did.
The process was similar the second time around, although Dessner sent around 10 tracks across several months this summer and fall. Once again, Bates had to sign an NDA and added drums to tracks with no vocals.
Bates said he had a pretty good idea these were more Swift songs, but he didn’t know for sure. “I can’t ask questions,” he said, “and even if I did, no one would tell me the answer.”
As with “Folklore,” Bates learned about “Evermore” at the same time as the rest of the world. And, as of Thursday, he had no idea how many of his songs made it onto the album.
“I looked at the track listing and I don’t know which songs I played on,” Bates said. “Aaron sent me batches of things, I maybe worked on 10 or 11 songs over a few months. They may all be on there, I don’t know. It’s kind of an amazing, magical, secret way to work.”
Swift posted the track list on social media Thursday. It includes three songs with guest performers, “No Body, No Crime” (featuring Haim), “Coney Island” (featuring the National) and the title track, featuring Eau Claire native Justin Vernon and his band Bon Iver.
As far as the sound goes, Bates said there are “some similarities” to the new songs and “Folklore.”
“Aaron definitely has a writing vibe,” he said. “And as I was getting these new songs, I felt like there was a little more room to be creative and come up with my own drum ideas.”
“Evermore” has a lot to live up to, as “Folklore” stands as 2020’s biggest album. It smashed numerous records, spent eight weeks at the top of the Billboard charts, hit No. 1 in 14 other countries and earned a pair of Grammy Award nominations for album of the year and best pop vocal album.
Speaking of the Grammys, Bates — whose decades-long career includes everything from playing in local jazz combos to touring nationally with Andrew Bird — played on another nominated record by the folk supergroup Bonny Light Horseman. The band’s self-titled debut album is up for best folk album and the song “Deep in Love” earned a best American roots performance nom.
“It’s just amazing to be working on things that are getting that kind of recognition,” Bates said. “Honestly, I feel completely grateful, lucky and blessed. Back in March, I didn’t know what was going to happen and I was pursuing some non-music work for the first time in quite a few years. To have (the pandemic) develop into this is completely bonkers.”
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Taylor Swift’s second surprise album of 2020 once again features St. Paul drummer JT Bates and Justin Vernon - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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