NEWS
Taylor Swift
Beth GarrabrantSeems Taylor Swift knows all too well how to give fans what they want for Record Store Day. On Wednesday (Feb. 9), Vans announced that the superstar will be included on Portraits of Her, a special charity benefit album for the annual event.
Set to be released in independent record stores on April 23, the 16-track album will raise money for We Are Moving the Needle, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering and supporting female professionals in the recording industry. While it’s unclear whether Swift will be contributing a new song or a re-recorded track to the compilation, she’ll be joined by the likes of Julien Baker, Banks, Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!, Girl in Red, K.Flay, Mariah the Scientist, Julia Michaels and Princess Nokia on the tracklist.
“This album celebrates generations of women who have overcome barriers to representation, recognition, and opportunity in the music industry,” said Tierney Stout, Vans’ director of global music marketing, in a statement. “Brands, record labels, musicians and other organizations, including Record Store Day and We Are Moving the Needle, are working together to give today and tomorrow’s female talent more visibility, support and opportunities.”
Emily Lazar, a mastering engineer and founder of We Are Moving the Needle, added, “Women are an incredible asset to the music industry, yet they are underrepresented across the board, but particularly in recording studios. To close the vast gender gap in this industry, we must all work together to empower women on and off stage, behind the music, in the studio, and everywhere else in this business.”
Swift was named Record Store Day global ambassador back in January, and the unnamed song for the charity album isn’t the only surprise she has up her sleeve. The icon also plans to drop an as-yet-unannounced title of her own to mark the 15th anniversary of the holiday for vinyl lovers the world over.
Meanwhile, her latest collaboration with pal Ed Sheeran — a remix of “The Joker and the Queen” off the latter’s new album = (Equals) — is set to be released this Friday (Feb. 11).
Get a look at the cover art for Portraits of Her below.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
