Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions | |
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Directed by | Taylor Swift |
Based on | Folklore by Taylor Swift |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Ethan Palmer |
Edited by | Laura Randolph |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Disney+ |
Release date |
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Running time | 106 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions is a 2020 American documentary concert film directed and produced by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on Disney+ on November 25, 2020. The documentary is set at Long Pond Studio, an isolated recording studio in a forested area in the Hudson Valley, New York; Swift performs all of the 17 tracks of her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020), whilst discussing the creative process behind the songs with her collaborators Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff. Swift made her debut as a film director with the documentary, which is her fourth film to be released on a streaming service, following the releases of The 1989 World Tour Live (2015), Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), and Miss Americana (2020).
Receiving widespread critical acclaim, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions was praised for its music, intimacy, visuals, and insight provided on Folklore, with many critics labeling the film an admirable supplement to the album. It received an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Imbued by the sessions, Swift wrote and recorded several new songs off-screen while shooting the documentary. These songs came to be a major portion of Swift's ninth studio album, Evermore (2020), which was released fifteen days after the documentary. The film received the Gracie Grand Award for Outstanding Special or Variety.
Accompanying the film's premiere, a live album soundtrack, entitled Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (From the Disney+ Special), consisting of the recordings of the live performances featured in the film, was released to music streaming and digital platforms. For the 2023 Record Store Day, a run of 115,000 limited-edition vinyl LPs of the album was released exclusively via independent record stores across the world, selling out in three days. The album topped the US Billboard Soundtracks, Vinyl Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, and Tastemaker Albums charts, and became the first-ever Record Store Day-exclusive in history to enter the top 10 of the overall Billboard 200 chart, landing at number three.
In September 2020, Swift and her co-producers for her eighth studio album, Dessner and Antonoff, assembled together at Long Pond Studio—a secluded, rustic cabin in upstate New York—to play the complete album for the first time in the same room after writing, recording, and producing it in isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The result was the concert documentary, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, where the three performed stripped-down, acoustic renditions of all 17 tracks in order, while revealing the creative process, stories, and inspirations behind the songs through discussions. [1]
The film's premise on Disney+ reads: "Taylor Swift performs every song from her best-selling album, "Folklore", in a truly intimate concert experience. Accompanied by her co-producers, Aaron Dessner (of The National) and Jack Antonoff (of Bleachers), along with a guest appearance by Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver), Taylor filmed the event at the historic Long Pond Studios in upstate New York, a setting that evokes the nostalgic, wistful nature of the album. In between live performances, she and her collaborators discuss the creation and meaning behind each song, and also share the challenges and joys of remotely producing this acclaimed and record-setting collection". [2]
Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions is a hybrid between a documentary and a concert film. [3] It marked the first time Swift, Dessner and Antonoff had assembled together in person after several months of COVID-19 quarantining. [4] Due to the pandemic, they were filmed not by a film crew, but instead by six Panasonic Lumix S1H mirrorless cameras with Leica lenses embedded in the studio, along with one Arri Alexa LF with an Angénieux 24-290 lens on an Agito Trax modular dolly system with more than 30 feet of curved track that occasionally scans the recording session from the background. [5] [6] A drone camera was also used to capture aerial shots of the studio and the surrounding forested estate. [7] Justin Vernon appeared via video stream from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to perform "Exile" with Swift. [8]
The film is characterized by a casual, small-scale production, [9] and a softly lit, [10] cottagecore aesthetic. [11] Apart from a few videos of Swift at her home studio, the film was entirely recorded at Long Pond Studios in New York's Hudson Valley—one of the places where Folklore was engineered. [7] The studio, which is located near Dessner's residence and was originally a barn, [12] had been converted into a wooden cabin situated in a waterfront estate besides an elongated pond and surrounded by chairs, string lights and fire pits. [7] [10] The studio is an open room with a church-high ceiling, tall windows, and a woodland view, set up with a variety of Dessner's musical instruments. The ambience outside the studio consists of sounds of birds, insects, frogs or the trees swaying in the wind. [12] In the film, Swift performed seated on a couch in an oversized plaid shirt-dress, singing directly into a microphone, with Antonoff and Dessner playing instruments and an engineer in the back of the room. [6] The instruments used in the film include a variety of guitars, keyboards, a Fender bass, a piano, a drum machine and a snare. [7] [10]
Like the release of Folklore, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions was a surprise release, announced hours before its launch at midnight. [6] [10] It was released on Disney+ on November 25, 2020 [13] and on Hotstar in India and Indonesia on November 26, 2020. [14]
Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions received universal acclaim from film and music critics. [15] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. [16] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [17] Andrew Barker of Variety praised the film's picturesque setting, performances, and ability to recreate Folklore's "sparse yet carefully textured soundscapes" with fewer instruments, and dubbed Swift's vocals as the film's "most striking element". [7] NME writer Will Richards named it a perfect "early Christmas present" and praised its editing, especially when Swift and Dessner have a "genuinely touching" discussion on the meaning behind the song "Peace", followed by a performance of the song that "hits right in the gut". [18]
Writing for The New York Times , Jon Pareles dubbed the film a "musical experience" that heightens the album's "sense of pristine contemplation" using a small-scale, casual-looking production. [9] i newspaper's Sarah Carson defined the film as "artfully crafted, aesthetically gorgeous, cosy cottagecore escapism" with diverse conversations, such as light-hearted "giggly" discussions around the campfire to formal introspection on stiff chairs. Carson opined that it sheds "genuine light" on Swift's work, seeing her at peace with her life, laughing, "publicly relaxed for the first time in a decade". [11] Decider critic Johnny Loftus found it refreshing to see and hear Swift in the "dressed-down setting" of Long Pond Studio Sessions, calling the film "a balm for the soul as we wind down an extremely not cool year" and an intimate portrait of artists at work, in contrast to the pop persona that dominated Swift's career. [10]
Little White Lies critic Sydney Urbanek lauded the film as a "triumphant debut" for Swift as a film director, as well as the cast's on-screen presence: Swift's and Antonoff's "captivating" one-on-one chats and Dessner's studio focus. [3] Alex Hudson of Exclaim! described the film as "an oasis of tranquility in a chaotic time", in which "even the biggest pop star on Earth holed up and got cozy and insular". He admired Swift's rapport with Antonoff—their "laugh-out-loud" jokes—and the discussions that yielded "interesting insights and factoids" about the songwriting of Folklore. [19] Junkee 's Richard He complimented Swift's vocals, emotion, the film's visuals and intimacy, and the cast's instrumental skills; he described the film as a "masterclass" in songcraft and "a rare glimpse inside a genius songwriter's mind". In He's words, "Great popstars embody our times; great songwriters address them. Taylor Swift is doing both". [20]
Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone praised the cast's chemistry, and asserted that The Long Pond Studio Sessions is not a mere footnote to the album, but a "stunning musical statement in its own right, full of stripped-down acoustic warmth". He underlined how Swift moves past vague anecdotes about the tracks by explaining why she felt the need to write such music in the first place. [21] Branding it a "very beautifully done" film, The Daily Telegraph 's Kate Solomon called it a "very warm two hours of music that gives the songs a new lease of life", and observed the parallels between the "luscious, remote surroundings" of the studio and how they reflect the "lusciousness and isolation" of the songs. [22] Stuff critic James Croot compared the special's atmosphere to that of MTV Unplugged , and added that the film's production is slick despite the intimate appeal, similar to Swift's 2020 Netflix documentary, Miss Americana . [23]
Drew Taylor of Collider labelled the film "a winning examination and celebration" of Folklore, and "a look at one of the world's biggest pop stars at her most vulnerable and artistically ambitious". He picked Antonoff as the more active personality, while Dessner is "terse", except at the point where he opens up about his depression—"a moment that is both incredibly vulnerable and also powerful". [6] Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire described the film as "a window into the introspective songwriting" of Folklore that "isn't going to blow your head off" but is a "fine supplement to one of the year's most beloved albums". [24] The Guardian 's Elle Hunt wrote that the film shows Swift at ease, but also at the "peak of her power" with little to prove, while her song-by-song commentary depicts the "shifting emotional tenor" she felt in quarantine. However, Hunt felt that Swift not name-dropping her detractors "seems coy" as it limits the film's personal reflection. [25]
Organization | Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
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Shorty Awards | 2021 | Best Use of Emojis | Nominated | [26] |
Gracie Awards | Grand Award for Special or Variety | Won | [27] |
American comedian Jimmy Fallon released a parody of the documentary on YouTube, titled Fallonlore: The 30 Rock Sessions, featuring American hip-hop band the Roots. In the skit, Fallon wrote an album in quarantine, enlisting Questlove and Black Thought to help him finish it remotely. Months later, the trio gather at 30 Rockefeller Center to perform their tracks together for the first time. The setlist included songs titled "Peed My Pants in an Applebee's", "Song About Milk", "Sourdough Heart", and "Fuzzy Wuzzy" featuring Chris Martin of Coldplay. [28]
Most of the songs on Evermore —Swift's ninth studio album and Folklore's sister album—were recorded while filming The Long Pond Studio Sessions. [29]
A still from the film was featured in a 2021 television advertisement by The New York Times, titled "The Truth Is Essential: Life Right Now", showcasing a variety of articles from the publication. [30]
The Department of English of the Queen's University at Kingston, a public research university in Ontario, Canada, offers a fall semester course titled "Taylor Swift's Literary Legacy (Taylor's Version)", with a syllabus requiring students to watch and analyze many of Swift's works, including Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions; the course objective is to examine Swift's music, its literary references, and her sociopolitical impact on contemporary culture. [31]
After the release of Folklore, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions and Evermore, artists such as Maya Hawke, [32] Gracie Abrams, [33] Ed Sheeran, [34] King Princess, [35] and Girl in Red [36] desired to collaborate with Dessner and record songs at his Long Pond Studio. Dessner stated, "After Taylor, it was a bit crazy how many people reached out. And getting to meet and write songs with people you wouldn’t have had access to… I’m so grateful for it." He described the studio as a "creative oasis" for artists. [35]
Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions | ||||
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Live album / soundtrackby | ||||
Released | November 25, 2020 | |||
Recorded | September 2020 | |||
Studio | Long Pond Studio, Hudson Valley | |||
Genre | Acoustic | |||
Length | 2:14:43 | |||
Label | Republic | |||
Producer |
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Taylor Swift chronology | ||||
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Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (From the Disney+ Special), [lower-alpha 1] or simply Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, is the fourth live album and first soundtrack album by Swift. It contains the acoustic renditions of Folklore tracks performed in the Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions film. The album was released via Republic Records to streaming and digital platforms on November 25, 2020, alongside the film, [37] [1] and in a limited number of vinyl LPs on April 22, 2023.
To commemorate the 2023 Record Store Day (RSD), a limited vinyl edition of Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions was released on April 22, 2023, exclusively via independent record shops participating in the event. [38] All of the 75,000 vinyl LPs of the album available for purchase in the US sold out, giving Swift the largest single vinyl sales week in 2023. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. With Midnights (2022) charting at number four and Lover (2019) at number ten that week, Swift became the first artist since Prince in 2016 to concurrently chart three albums in the top ten. [39] It also marked the first-ever RSD exclusive in history to land in the chart's top ten. Furthermore, the live album topped the Billboard Vinyl Albums, Soundtracks, Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Tastemaker Albums charts—Swift's tenth, first, third, first and ninth number-one on the respective charts—and placed second on the Top Album Sales chart. [40] A total of 115,000 copies were available for purchase worldwide, all of which sold out within the first few days. [41]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "The 1" | 3:40 | |
2. | "Cardigan" |
| 3:51 |
3. | "The Last Great American Dynasty" |
| 3:52 |
4. | "Exile" (featuring Bon Iver) |
| 4:40 |
5. | "My Tears Ricochet" | Swift | 4:55 |
6. | "Mirrorball" |
| 3:57 |
7. | "Seven" |
| 3:29 |
8. | "August" |
| 4:20 |
9. | "This Is Me Trying" |
| 3:29 |
10. | "Illicit Affairs" |
| 3:04 |
11. | "Invisible String" |
| 4:17 |
12. | "Mad Woman" |
| 3:58 |
13. | "Epiphany" |
| 4:35 |
14. | "Betty" |
| 4:50 |
15. | "Peace" |
| 3:34 |
16. | "Hoax" |
| 3:42 |
17. | "The Lakes" |
| 3:20 |
Total length: | 67:25 |
Notes
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA) [43] | 24 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [44] | 126 |
Danish Albums (Hitlisten) [45] | 12 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [46] | 3 |
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [47] | 5 |
Irish Albums (OCC) [48] | 6 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [49] | 24 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [50] | 1 |
Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [51] | 5 |
UK Albums (OCC) [52] | 4 |
US Billboard 200 [53] | 3 |
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard) [54] | 1 |
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [55] | 1 |
US Top Rock & Alternative Albums ( Billboard ) [56] | 1 |
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) [57] | 1 |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
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Various | November 25, 2020 | Republic | [37] [1] | |
April 22, 2023 | Vinyl LP | [41] |
"Mirrorball" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). She wrote the song as a tribute to her fans, after she cancelled a planned concert tour to support her seventh studio album Lover (2019) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Produced by Swift and co-writer Jack Antonoff, "Mirrorball" is a dream pop, jangle pop, and indie folk song with flavors of country music, accompanied by reverbed, gentle guitars, vocal harmonies, and live drums. Lyrically, the narrator likens herself to a fragile disco ball and sings about doing anything to keep her audience entertained.
Folklore is the eighth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was surprise-released on July 24, 2020, via Republic Records. Swift recorded her vocals in her Los Angeles home studio and worked virtually with the producers Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, who operated from their studios in the Hudson Valley and New York City.
"Cardigan" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the lead single from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). Republic Records released the song on July 27, 2020. Written by Swift and its producer, Aaron Dessner, "Cardigan" is a folk, soft rock, and indie rock ballad, with a stripped-down arrangement of a piano, drums, and violins.
"Peace" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). Swift wrote the song with its producer, Aaron Dessner. According to Swift, "Peace" is her most personal song on Folklore. It has a minimal composition of a soft piano and harmonized guitars over an electric pulse, combining elements of R&B, funk, and jazz. In the lyrics, Swift's character pledges her commitment to a lover while acknowledging the downsides she might bring to their relationship.
"Betty" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). It was written by Swift and Joe Alwyn, and the former produced the track with Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff. MCA Nashville and Republic Records released the song to US country radio on August 17, 2020. "Betty" is an Americana-inspired song combining country, folk rock, and guitar pop. Its production consists of a harmonica, a pedal steel, guitars, and a key change after the bridge.
"August" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). Swift and Jack Antonoff wrote the song, and the two produced it with Joe Alwyn.
"Illicit Affairs" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is taken from her eighth studio album, Folklore, which was released on July 24, 2020. The track was written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, and Joe Alwyn was credited as co-producer. "Illicit Affairs" is an acoustic guitar-led folk love song describing an infidelity of a narrator wanting to maintain her deceitful relationship.
"Invisible String" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). She wrote the song with its producer, Aaron Dessner. The lyrics are about how fate brings two soulmates together and refer to specific moments from their lives, containing references to the literature classics Jane Eyre and The Sun Also Rises. Musically, "Invisible String" is a folk tune with elements of blues, pop, and country. Its spare acoustic arrangement is driven by acoustic guitar strums on a rubber bridge and vocal backbeats.
"Mad Woman" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). The song was written by Swift and its producer, Aaron Dessner. "Mad Woman" is a ballad that confronts gaslighting and the sexist taboo regarding women's anger.
"Hoax" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). Swift wrote the track with its producer, Aaron Dessner; it was the last track she wrote for the album. A slow-paced piano ballad, "Hoax" is about a flawed but everlasting relationship; Swift describes the details using motifs and imagery.
"The Lakes" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from the deluxe edition of her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). Written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, "The Lakes" is a midtempo indie ballad, set to acoustic guitar and strings, with themes of introspection and escapism that reflect on Swift's semi-retirement in Windermere, the largest natural lake in England.
"The 1" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the opening track from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). She wrote the song with its producer, Aaron Dessner. A folk and soft rock tune with elements of indie folk, "The 1" sets Swift's conversational vocals over a production consisting of piano and percussion. In its lyrics, the narrator fondly introspects a failed romance and details the time when she found "the one" who never came to be. Republic Records released the song for download in Germany on October 9, 2020.
Evermore is the ninth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was a surprise album released on December 11, 2020, via Republic Records, less than five months after her previous studio album Folklore. Evermore was a spontaneous product of Swift's extended collaboration with her Folklore collaborator Aaron Dessner, mainly recorded at his Long Pond Studio in the Hudson Valley.
"No Body, No Crime" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, featuring the American band Haim, from her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020). She wrote the track as a result of her fixation with crime documentaries and podcasts, and co-produced it with Aaron Dessner. A tune featuring styles of country, country rock, and Americana, "No Body, No Crime" is a murder ballad about the murder of a woman named Este, narrated by her friend who avenges her. Republic Records in partnership with MCA Nashville sent the song to US country radio on January 11, 2021, as a single from Evermore.
"Champagne Problems" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020). She wrote the song with Joe Alwyn, who is credited under the pseudonym William Bowery, and produced it with Aaron Dessner. "Champagne Problems" is a lo-fi tune driven by a rhythmic composition of piano and guitar riff.
"Long Story Short" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020). She wrote the song with its producer, Aaron Dessner. "Long Story Short" is an upbeat song that consists of dynamic programmed and live drums, synths, strings, and guitars; music critics characterize the genre as synth-pop, electropop, folk-pop, and indie rock. The lyrics see Swift reminiscing about a dark part of her past and her contentment with a current state of mind.
"This Is Me Trying" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). It was written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, and Joe Alwyn was credited as co-producer. The track is an orchestral pop and dream pop tune with a production featuring an organ, slow-paced beats, and horns. "This Is Me Trying" was inspired by Swift's state of mind during 2016 and 2017, when she said she was at her lowest. The narrator of "This Is Me Trying" proclaims themselves as an unwanted person who struggles with existentialism and alcoholism.
"'Tis the Damn Season" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020). She wrote the song with Aaron Dessner, who produced it using an instrumental track he had written prior. "'Tis the Damn Season" is a folk song instrumented by a finger-picked electric guitar and programmed drums. Narrated from the perspective of a female character named Dorothea, the lyrics detail her returning to her hometown during the holiday season and engaging in a quickly-faded rekindled relationship.
"Happiness" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020). She wrote the song with Aaron Dessner, who produced it using an instrumental track he had written in 2019. A midtempo ambient ballad, "Happiness" has piano, guitar and synthesizer instrumentation generated by a slow drone that build up. Its lyrics are about a narrator finding happiness after a divorce.
"Tolerate It" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020). She wrote the track with its producer, Aaron Dessner. A slow building piano ballad, "Tolerate It" features a midtempo production and an odd time signature. Inspired by the Daphne du Maurier novel Rebecca (1938), its lyrics are narrated by a young woman who addresses her unstable relationship with an older man who does not seem to like her.