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BY RYAN HAMM

78/ RELEVANT_MARCH/APRIL 09


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But Boxer is a soundtrack of urban isolation. Filled with dark humor,

cynical ruminations on white-collar life, bleak responses to relationships,

and resignation to a long life of toil; the album hardly seems the work of

a band that would be excited about appearing on a charity compilation

much less organizing one. That, however, is exactly what Aaron and

Bryce Dessner (two of five members of The National) are doing.

RED HOT

The Dessner brothers have spearheaded Dark Was the Night, a

compilation that will benefit Red Hot, a New York City-based charity that

focuses on raising AIDS awareness through pop culture. Red Hot has

sponsored 14 albums over the years, each featuring a theme and some of

the worlds top artists. Aaron Dessner used to work for Funny Garbage,

the design firm that works closely with Red Hotand supplies many of its

all-volunteer staff. He recalls having discussions about making an album

focused on independent music and artists. As The National took off,

he realized that he was suddenly in a place to make that idea a reality

especially with the rise of smaller, independent bands suddenly breaking

into the Billboard Top 10.

Dessners relationship to Red Hot is also a musical one. No

Alternative [Red Hots 1994 compilation] was the record I had, along

with most of the people on this compilation, he says. It had a hidden

Nirvana track on it, along with Beastie Boys and Sonic Youth. Ive been

aware of Red Hot and that they made really great records and thought it

was really cool that they had such a pro-social aim. Now, a lot of people

make charity records, but Red Hot seems like they make them on a

larger scale with more production quality and cohesivenesseven design

and marketing.

Dessner said the impetus of the project was to keep the issue of AIDS

in the public consciousness. The goal of the project remains the same

as when Red Hot started: Theres no cure, and its a pandemicmillions

of people are suffering from this disease, he says. Lately, other

causes have come more into vogue, like the environmentwhich I totally

supportbut I feel like AIDS is still a huge issue. The goal is to continue

to raise awareness and money for research and clinics who dont have

access to medical care.

Some of the projects contributors hope that this music will do just

that. The music still holds the same artistic merit with me on a surface

level, but theres a bit more there knowing that people are going to be

able to hear it on this disc and purchase it for a specific reasonnot only

to hear a great, original track they couldnt hear anywhere else, says

Bon Ivers Justin Vernon.

Shara Worden, frontwoman of My Brightest Diamond, also believes

in the cause. I want to keep this subject on the table, she says. I

dont want people to say, Oh thats so 90s. It needs to be in the public

consciousness.

Daniel Rossen, of Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagles, feels the

same way. 4AD is really behind [Dark was the Night], he says. I hope it

sells really well.

THE PROCESS

The Dessners must have called in all the favors theyd saved up,

because the compilation has shaped up to be a gathering of the most

exciting musicians working today. The artists featured include Broken

Social Scene, Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Iron & Wine, My Morning Jacket,

Beirut, Sufjan Stevens, Feist, The Decemberists, Grizzly Bear, Sharon

Jones & the Dap-Kings, The Kronos Quartet, David Byrne with Dirty

Projectors, Bright Eyes, Spoon, The New Pornographers, Antony, the

Books with Jose Gonzalez, Blonde Redhead, Bon Iver, Andrew Bird, My

Brightest Diamond, Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio, and Riceboy Sleeps

(Jonsi Birgisson, the frontman of Sigur Ros).

How did they line up such an unbelievable group of artists? Dessner

says its all thanks to relationship. I first asked Sufjan, he says. I went

to his apartment to loan him a banjo, and I was like, By the way, Im

thinking of making this recordwould you maybe want to do something?

and he said. Sure, Id love to do that. That was what I used to get

momentum to go to 4AD and say, We can do this. I kinda lied and said,

We can get all these artists even though it was just Sufjan and The

National at that point.

Even still, Dessner says it took almost three years. It was an organic

process where we just tried to seek out the people we really respect

from a songwriting perspective. We were really honest. Its everyone

from our closest friends like Sufjan, to Justin Vernon, who I just kept

sending MySpace messages until I tracked him down, and he ended up

recording two tracks, one co-written with me. That kind of thing kept

happening.

When Feist appeared on Letterman, she asked a few members of The

National and Grizzly Bear to perform with her. After they played with

her, she asked if she could do anything for themDessner told her about

the Red Hot compilation and she agreed to participate. Carl Newman of

The New Pornographers was also there, and Dessner also mentioned it

to him.

It definitely feels like a community of artists that share something in

their work and in level of sincerity and ingenuity in the way they do their

arrangements, Dessner says. Its weird to get so many people from so

many places and get it to feel like

theres some continuity there.

Worden echoes those

sentiments. Her connection to

the Dessners is multifaceted

and a testament to the tight-

knit community of independent,

contemporary classical composers

who all work together. I studied

with Padma [Newsome, who

frequently plays with The National

and is in the Dessners other band,

The Clogs], she says. The horn

players that played on my tour met

on Sufjans tour, and also played

with The National. Theres a real

collaborative aspect coming out of

this classical music scene here. Its

a real honor to be asked to appear

(L-R) Bryan Devendorf, Aaron Dessner,Matt Berninger, Scott Devendorf,

Bryce Dessner

Listening to The Nationals triumphant 2007

album, Boxer, you probably wouldnt peg them

as the type of band to be involved with a socially

conscious and progressive charity compilation.

Sure, from all accounts, each of them is a nice

guy; their lyrical and musical prowess suggest

theres more to them than just music-makers;

and their heavy interaction with the Obama

campaign (he used their song Fake Empire in

a campaign ad) certainly reveals them to

be concerned about more than just their

insular world.

Website:www.redhot.org

MySpace:www.myspace.com/

darkwasthenight

For Fans of:The National, Feist, Sufjan Stevens

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on this compilation, and to appear on a Red Hot

compilation.

Rossen says that Grizzly Bear recorded their

tracks at the same time as the recordings for the

Friend EP. [The Dessners] approached us at a

show not long before the compilation was put

togetherits been in the works for a long time, and

I think we were one of the first people to agree to be

on it, Rossen says. The National really like to meet

other people and bands, so theyve made a little

community that theyre fostering.

We toured with Feist and became pretty good

friends with her, so we did tracks with her. The

track is actually left over from the first Grizzly Bear

record.

The end result is quite spectacular. Unlike some

compilations that seem hastily put together with

lots of pre-released material, the time put into Dark

Was the Night is obvious. As Dessner notes, All the

songs are exclusive recordings, so theyve never

been heard elsewhere. We respect all of the work

these artists do, so we felt we wanted to leave it

open to the artists to do what they wanted to do. Its

about 60-70 percent originals, and there are covers

as well.

Even the covers are notable. Bryce Dessner and

Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons)

cover Bob Dylans I Was Young When I

Left Home (Dylan agreed to forgo his

fee for the cause); the Books and Jose

Gonzalez cover Nick Drakes Cello

Song; and My Brightest Diamond

covers Feelin Good (most famously

recorded by Nina Simone).

Worden says that she wanted to

use the song for something good, and felt like the

Red Hot compilation was the perfect place. I like

that the song has a context of positivity and hope.

It acknowledges suffering, but it ends saying, Its

a new dawn / its a new day. She recorded the

track with a full band, and gave it a full, big-band

soundquite a shift from her normal, drama-tinged

baroque pop.

Dessner says the title of the album comes from

a Blind Willie Johnson instrumental (covered by the

Kronos Quartet on the compilation). Its hearkening

back to the great tradition of American music, he

says. A lot of us on the record probably seem a lot

more hopeful now after the election, but at the time

that seemed like a really resonate title.

The CD released in mid-February on 4AD, and

all of the profits go directly to Red Hot to disperse

among worthy organizations. In the last few

years, Red Hot has focused on children with AIDS,

and thatll be a focus for this project, Dessner

says. Theyll donate the money to YouthAIDS [a

charity in New York City]. Red Hot feels li ke they

do good work and are transparent and responsible;

they chose the charity, and we agree with their

choice.

(L-R) Scott Devendorf, Bryce Dessner, Matt

Berninger, Bryan Devendorf, Aaron Dessner

ABBEY DRUCKER

LATELY OTHER CAUSES HAVE COME

MORE INTO VOGUE ... BUT AIDS IS

STILL A HUGE ISSUE.

AARON DESSNER

THE DAY JOB

When not working on epic charity

compilations, Aaron Dessner still

finds time for his day jobs

bassist and one of the primary

songwriters for The National,

and label-runner for Brassland

(home to en vogue composerNico Muhly, Doveman, and the

Dessners other band, The Clogs).

The National just finished a

huge tour opening with Modest

Mouse for R.E.M., and released

a B-sides and rarities disc (The

Virginia EP) as a companion

to the docu-art filmA Skin, a

Night. Shot by Vincent Moon, the

auteur behind La Blogoteques

brilliant Take-Away Shows, the

documentary follows the band

during the lead up to Boxer, and

takes a snapshot approach to the

recording process of the band.

We see each of them on stage,

in the studio and alone in front

of instruments, banging out

little snippets of what eventually

became one of the most

acclaimed albums of 2007.

What does the band have

planned for 2009? Weve

written a lot of music already

Ive written probably 15-20 songs

and theyre with Matt [Berninger]

now and hes putting lyrics to

them, Dessner says. Weve

also got a new state-of-the-art

studio so we can start tooling

around with new music. Its a

long road between just having

a songchords, melody and

lyricsto finishing something you

really feel strongly about. I have

a feeling well finish it by the end

of the summer or sometime like

that.

And what about guest

musicians? Sufjan Stevens

notably appeared on two tracks

from Boxer, and Padme Newsome

(whom Dessner refers to as

kind of the sixth member of the

band) did a lot of orchestral

arrangements. Dessner says,

Well work with a lot of the same

people weve worked with all

along, like Padme Newsome, and

Sufjans around if you need a

piano part and it needs to be well-

played and developed. But guests

arent something we really think

about. Were just lucky to know so

many great musicians.

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