September 16, 2011
The National look to future projects
Now that they've been touring for over a year and a half, The National is winding down with a few last shows before they enjoy a break. Now, don't jump to any conclusions. Just because the band is going to take a breather doesn't mean they aren't thinking about new music. In fact, Bryce and Aaron Dessner recently sat down for an interview with NME to discuss ideas for the next record.
In that interview, the twins also discussed the film Summer Lovin' Torture Party, by Matt Berninger's brother Tom (thus completing the triad of pairs of brothers working together). Tom's documentary follows The National during their High Violet tour, and had a couple preliminary screenings at the MusicNOW festival earlier this year. As Aaron mentioned, the band may work on a release to coincide with the premiere of Summer Lovin' Torture Party.
As the current touring comes to a close, members of the band will stay occupied with a myriad of side projects (because who actually "relaxes" on vacation?).
For example, Aaron and Bryce are going to continue work on their multimedia extravaganza, The Long Count, which was most recently performed at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam. A studio recording is in the planning stages but you can here this live jam with The National singer Matt Berninger right now:
On his own, Bryce will soon turn his attention to a collaboration with Sufjan Stevens and Nico Muhly. The three have been commissioned by Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, also in the Netherlands, to compose a song cycle for seven trombones and a string quartet. Here's a video of Bryce discussing the piece, which is set to premiere there on April 7, 2012:
Before you go, we suggest looking over those last tour dates for The National and booking yourself a ticket. There's still a handful of concerts before the "down time" commences.
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