It’s been over two years since The National released their most recent feature album Trouble Will Find Me, but according to the band’s guitarist and songwriter Aaron Dessner, touring is just as important.
“Playing together is so much a part of who we are even more so than just releasing records. What we’re doing right now is exciting, getting together and working up the chemistry of the band and figuring out where we want to go.”
Next month, The National will hit Australian shores as one of the headline acts for Byron Bay Bluesfest. It’s a festival that they’re looking forward to being a part of. “We played Splendour in the Grass a few years ago and like most people fell in love with Byron. When this opportunity came up we were like of course we would love to come.”
Compared to line-ups in previous years, Bluesfest 2016 is one of the most varied. There are traditional blues and roots acts such as The Blind Boys of Alabama, Hiatus Kaiyote and The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, but also featuring is classic 90s R ‘n’ B artist D’Angelo, a bunch of old-time classics in Don McLean, Brian Wilson and Tom Jones, and the act that got everyone talking – hip hop royalty Kendrick Lamar.
Dessner sees this as reflective of the contemporary music scene. “Boundaries between genres are sort of melting away… music is really diverse and I think that’s a good thing.”
Dessner holds Bluesfest acts Jason Isbell and Nathaniel Rateliff in particularly high esteem. “Jason Isbell is one of the great songwriters of our generation for sure, and Nathaniel Rateliff made one of the best records I’ve heard in a while.”
[include_post id=”470825″]Dessner and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon will have Rateliff play this year at the Wisconsin Eaux Claires Festival that they curate together. “I could go on and on,” Dessner explains, “it’s an amazing line-up.”
The National have some strong connections in Australia. In 2013 they toured with Tame Impala, and Courtney Barnett and Luluc have contributed to the Grateful Dead tribute compilation that Dessner and his brother Bryce (also in The National) have been working on, due for release later this year.
The album will be the follow-up to their Dark Was The Night compilation released for Red Hot, a non-for-profit organisation that raises money for HIV/AIDS relief and awareness through compilation albums, television programs and media events.
Dessner is also a keen producer when he’s not touring or song-writing for The National, having worked with artists including Sharon van Etten, Local Natives and Mumford and Sons. He’s also worked with some emerging Australian folk acts, producing Luluc’s 2014 album and Little May’s debut LP last year.
The Australian connection, however, is not just about professional collaboration. For Dessner, The National’s experience playing here is always “pretty special and dramatic”, having played on the steps of Sydney Opera House, at Sidney Myer Music Bowl and at Perth’s Belvoir Ampitheatre.
“I’m sure there is like anywhere, darkness and angst and issues and things, but when we’ve played in Australia it’s been very positive, very fun, very exciting… Australia feels like one of the only places that’s so far away that doesn’t feel far away.”
Dessner also credits the receptiveness of Australian audiences. “They’re not introspective, they’re not afraid to show emotion and they give back a lot. There are parts of the world where you’re almost not sure what people are feeling.”
After Bluesfest, The National will head to Europe for the Northern summer festival season, taking in an eclectic mix that includes Denmark’s Tinderbox, Down The Rabbit Hole in The Netherlands, and Italy’s Pistoia Blues.
It’s likely that The National will be trying out some of their new material on the Bluesfest stage. “We’re pretty deep into writing a new record, there’s 20 or so songs that we’re working on. I don’t know how many of them we would play because it depends on how much we get to rehearse, but we might,” says Dessner.
Fans holding out for The National’s next album will have to wait a while longer, as Dessner confirms that album number seven won’t be dropping this year. He hints that there will be new music released from The National, but is somewhat cagey on what this will actually look like.
“There will be other kinds of releases that I’m not even sure I’m supposed to be talking about. There will be new music from The National, but the actual album will come later… there will be things happening for sure.”
Perhaps one of these “things” could be another soundtrack release, the band already have a slew of credits that include The Hunger Games, TV series Suits and Game of Thrones. Or perhaps it’s another interesting collaboration in the same vein as the six hour MoMA PS1 set where they played ‘Sorrow’ 105 times.
Regardless, it’s coming, as Dessner confirms. “We’ve recorded a lot of music over the last five years and some of it should see the light of day.”
