Big Red Machine shares ‘Phoenix’ single with Fleet Foxes & Anaïs Mitchell

Listen to the latest single from the upcoming supergroup “How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?” at. Album.

By Scott Bernstein 07/22/2021 • 9:08 a.m. PDT

Big Red Machine’s Aaron Dessner (The National) and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) have released Phoenix, a single starring Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold and Anais Mitchell. The track is the fourth from How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last ?, Big Red Machine’s second album.

The 15-track sequel to Big Red Machine’s self-titled debut studio album from 2018 will be released on August 27 via Jagjaguwar / 37d03d. “Phoenix” follows the release of How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? Singles “Latter Days”, “The Ghost Of Cincinnati” and “Renegade”. The latter marks Taylor Swift.

Vernon, Dessner, Pecknold and Mitchell produced “Phoenix” together with Robin and Aaron. The new single is the first collaboration between Robin Pecknold and Big Red Machine. Aaron shared the following about “Phoenix”:

“‘Phoenix’ was one of the last songs we wrote for this album,” says Aaron Dessner. “I thought of The Band and the Grateful Dead… maybe I imagined this Big Red Machine album was a version of the Last Waltz. Justin heard it for the first time while driving and immediately the chorus melody came to mind. I shared the sketch with Robin Pecknold, who I’ve always been a fan and who I had dreamed of joining us on this record. Robin wrote the verses and pre-chorus as a kind of dialogue with Justin and remembered a conversation they had once had backstage in Phoenix. Anais later wrote words for the choir and the Westerlies added their magic to the instrumental. JT Bates rumbles on the drums in a rare way on this song. I think that’s how I always imagined Big Red Machine. “

“It was a great, great honor to work on this song, and on top of that, it was a really interesting creative challenge,” added Robin Pecknold. “Justin’s vocals and the beautiful chorus were there before I got my hands on him, so I saw my job melodically and lyrically as making his performance as good as possible. I felt like a pilgrim asking questions to an elusive sage, not needing clear answers, but happy about the chance to ask questions. “

“Phoenix” contains a brass arrangement by The Westerlies. Other contributors are drummers JT Bates, Trombonists Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch and trumpeter Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands. Stream Big Red Machine’s single “Phoenix” starring Anaïs Mitchell and Robin Pecknold from Fleet Foxes below:

• Big Red Machine Announces New Album “How Long Do You Think It Will Last?” & Single shares

• Big Red Machine & Taylor Swift share ‘Renegade’ single