The National’s Aaron Dessner defends working with Ed Sheeran: “I’ve tired of the ‘what’s cool?’ debate”
The National’s Aaron Dessner has defended working with Ed Sheeran on his upcoming album ‘–’, saying he’s “tired of the ‘what’s cool?’ debate.”
Dessner co-wrote and co-produced Sheeran’s ‘-’ (‘Subtract’), which is due out May 5.
“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,” Sheeran said when he announced his sixth album. It was written when the musician was “spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety”.
In a new interview with The Guardian, Dessner said that he wanted to bring out “the vulnerability and emotion in [Sheeran] to make music that would not normally be his inclination”.
“I didn’t feel the need to try to make pop music,” Dessner added.
The pair worked on 32 songs together in a studio in Kent, with 14 of them making it onto the album. “There were times when he tracked vocals that were almost unusable because he was so emotional,” said Dessner. “There’s this raw, visceral beauty to a lot of it.”
Addressing any backlash to the collaboration, Dessner added: “[Ed Sheeran]’s made giant pop records that are easy to criticise, but on a human and artistic level, he’s so gifted and lovely. It couldn’t have been more natural, fun and rewarding to feel him jumping off the cliff with me. Over time, I’ve tired of the ‘what’s cool?’ debate.”
Dessner went on to confirm that the pair have continued working on more than 30 new songs together, post ‘-’. “I’m even more excited about those [because] I feel we’re getting better,” said Dessner.
Earlier this year Dessner said that he “couldn’t be more proud of this record and the vulnerability and honesty Ed showed in making these songs with me”.
Sheeran is currently defending himself during an ongoing plagiarism trial that sees him accused of copying Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ for his track ‘Thinking Out Loud’.
“If I’d done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be an idiot to stand on stage in front of 20,000 people [and do that],” Sheeran responded. “It is my belief that most pop songs are built on building blocks that have been freely available for 100s of years.”
Meanwhile The National released their new album ‘The First Two Pages Of Frankenstein’ yesterday (April 28).
In a five-star review, NME said: “Just as 2013’s ‘Trouble Will Find Me’ was The National seizing their arena fame by showcasing and perfecting their appeal, ‘First Two Pages…’ is testament to what makes this band so popular two decades down the line. This is The National back from their brink and at their absolute best.”
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Ali Shutler
NME
