Drummer and singer/songwriter Eric Slick has spoken about the “top-secret” recording process behind Taylor Swift‘s recently released song ‘You All Over Me (From The Vault)’.
The track, which features Maren Morris, is a preview of Swift’s forthcoming ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’, a re-recorded version of the singer’s 2008 album ‘Fearless’. The record is one of six Swift albums that are being re-recorded by the artist following the controversial sales of her masters in recent years.
The composition of ‘You All Over Me (From The Vault)’ has now been detailed by Slick, who played drums on the track, in a new interview with Rolling Stone.
Slick said he was first contacted about “playing on some songs” by the Philadelphia-based sound engineer Jon Low back in February, setting in motion a confidential remote recording process.
“I get the most private, secret disk image file that’s password protected with a song that’s also password protected,” he recalled. “I’ve never been involved in anything so top-secret in my life.”
The mystery song in question was Swift’s new version of ‘You All Over Me’, a previously unreleased outtake from ‘Fearless’. You can hear the track below.
“The song had vocals on it, but the vocals were muffled, so I had no idea what I was playing on,” he added. “The pitch was very low and kind of unrecognisable. To be honest with you, it sounded like Ween.”
Slick said that he was briefed by The National‘s Aaron Dessner (who co-produced the track) ahead of the session, who explained that he and Low wanted an “old-school Nashville” vibe for the recording.
“I had to forge an emotional connection with a song that I knew nothing about,” Slick continued. “I think drummers who are also songwriters tend to zero in on the vocals and the vocal rhythm and the cadence, and that’s what I’m usually playing along to, so I had to imagine what a vocal arc might sound like in the song and use my gut instincts of like, what do songs usually do? ‘Okay, here’s a crash there, because that’s what a song usually does.’”
Slick also told Rolling Stone that he has signed a non-disclosure agreement and is “not allowed to say anything” in regards to his possible involvement on any other Swift songs.
‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ is set to be released on April 9 – you can read about what to expect from the album here.