Aaron Dessner on making Ed Sheeran’s “deeply vulnerable” new album ‘-‘

nme.com:

Aaron Dessner has opened up about his experience of working with Ed Sheeran on the latter’s upcoming fifth album, ‘-‘ (‘Subtract’).Sheeran announced the 14-track record earlier this week, saying that it reflects his “deepest darkest thoughts” against a backdrop of personal turmoil.“It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul,” the singer-songwriter explained. “For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life.”The National’s Dessner teamed up with Sheeran on writing and production for the LP.

In a new post on social media, Dessner recalled how he was first introduced to Sheeran when he helped produce his collaborative song with Taylor Swift, ‘Run’, from ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’.“It was special for me to hear two old friends singing together and bringing the past to life — and an interesting way to meet someone, working on music remotely first before actually meeting in person,” he wrote.Later, Dessner and Sheeran met up for dinner in New York City where they “talked at length about music and life”.

The message continued: “It felt so relaxed and as if we already knew each other. Thinking about Ed’s music, I realised I was hearing things in my head I thought we could explore, musical ideas that would allow for more space and bring out what I admire about his guitar playing and incredible voice.“I spent some time sketching these ideas and shared a folder with Ed.

A few months later in the winter of 2021, he started writing to them and sending sometimes multiple song ideas a day, inspired by a very difficult period he was going through in his life.