In 2008, Aaron Dessner sent Justin Vernon an instrumental sketch of a song called "Big Red Machine" for the 2009 compilation Dark Was The Night. This was before they had met in person. Justin wrote a song to it, interpreting the "Big Red Machine" title as a heart. Ten years of friendship later, there are ten more songs. Each song includes a large number of collaborators via the PEOPLE platform and the record was produced by Justin and Aaron with longtime collaborator Brad Cook and engineered by Jonathan Low primarily at Aaron's studio Long Pond in Upper Hudson Valley, NY. PEOPLE is a steadily growing group of international artists who have come together to create and share their work freely, with each other and everyone. It was born out of a wish to establish an independent and nurturing space in which to make work (generally around music) that is collaborative, spontaneous and expressive in nature and where all unnecessary distractions or obstacles that get in the way are removed. PEOPLE is for the benefit and development of the artists involved and just as importantly, for those who would like to access and enjoy the output. It is as much about the process of making work and showing all that openly, as the final outcome.
