November 30, 2012 14:00

Local Natives talk about working with The National's Aaron Dessner on new album

LA band turned to Dessner to produce forthcoming album 'Hummingbird'

Photo: Dan Dennison/NME

Local Natives have talked about working with The National's Aaron Dessner on forthcoming album 'Hummingbird'.

The Los Angeles-based band decided to work with Dessner after touring with The National in the US during 2011. Speaking to NME, Local Natives' guitarist and singer Taylor Rice said: "It was funny working with Aaron, because we just met the band on the road. They were so warm and welcoming and we all really hit it off. They're tour buddies. We were talking about what we wanted to do with our second record, telling Aaron we were writing and talking to producers, and he joked that we should just do it with him."

When the band returned to LA and approached various producers, they felt nothing was working and decided to take a chance and ask Dessner if he was serious about his offer.

Ryan Hahn, guitarist in Local Natives, added: "When he finally emailed he was on holiday in Hawaii but responded straight away to say yes, and that he was excited to work with us. We were so pleased."

Rice believes Dessner was keen to establish a spontaneous sound on 'Hummingbird', often recording the band when they weren't expecting and helping out with guitar parts. He said: "He even got a guitar solo out of Ryan, which I don't think would've happened before. Aaron helped capture some magical moments on this album. He really pushed us.

"We were really hesitant to work with any producer, but we knew he'd be right and he became like this older brother in the band. We have nothing but good experiences to talk of."

Local Natives second album 'Hummingbird', the follow-up to their debut 'Gorilla Manor' will be released on January 28, 2013. They will also tour the UK in February.

The six date jaunt will start at Leeds Brudenell Social Club on February 8, stopping off in Edinburgh, Dublin, Liverpool and Portsmouth, before winding up at London's Scala on Valentine's Day.

The band will precede the album release with a sold out show at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen in London on December 6 and an appearance at The National-curated ATP festival in Camber Sands on December 8.

Local Natives will play:

Leeds Brudenell Social Club (February 8, 2013)
Edinburgh Electric Circus (9)
Dublin Whelan's (11)
Liverpool Kazimier (12)
Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms (13)
London Scala (14)

Tickets go on sale at 9am (GMT) on November 9. To check the availability of Local Natives tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

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