Joe Alwyn co-produced Taylor Swift’s “august” with Swift and Jack Antonoff.
The production credit is notable because Alwyn was also involved in several Folklore collaborations under the pseudonym William Bowery. On “august,” however, the song’s credited producers are listed as Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Joe Alwyn.
The track was developed remotely during the pandemic-era creation of Folklore. Antonoff supplied the initial instrumental, Swift wrote the lyrics, and the collaborators shaped the final recording into a layered ballad with guitars, strings, keyboards, and prominent reverb.
Alwyn’s role is sometimes confused with Aaron Dessner’s because Dessner was another major Folklore collaborator and helped create many of the album’s songs. Dessner did not receive the listed producer credit for “august,” although he later performed it with Swift and Antonoff in the Long Pond Studio Sessions and at the Grammys.