Taylor Swift announces surprise lockdown album Folklore

Taylor Swift has announced she is to release a "surprise" eighth studio album, called Folklore, at midnight.

The 16-track album was written and recorded in isolation during the Covid-19 lockdown, she said on social media.

"Most of the things I had planned this summer didn't end up happening," added Swift, who was set to headline Glastonbury's Pyramid stage in June.

"But there is something I hadn't planned on that DID happen," she told fans, before revealing the new album.

Folklore is made up of "songs I've poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into," she continued, and sees her collaborate (remotely) with "musical heroes" inclduing The National's Aaron Dessner, Bon Iver and Jack Antonoff.

'Nothing is guaranteed'

"Before this year I probably would've over-thought when to release this music at the 'perfect' time, but the times we're living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed," said Swift.

"My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That's the side of uncertainty I can get on board with."

She also revealed that a fresh music video, which she has written and directed, for a track called Cardigan, would be released alongside the album.

"The entire shoot was overseen by a medical inspector, everyone wore masks, stayed away from each other, and I even did my own hair, makeup, and styling," she wrote on Instagram.

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Swift had been due to play her seventh album, Lover, at a string of festivals this summer, before the coronavirus pandemic put paid to live music.

In February, the star directed a video for her single The Man, in which she played a man-spreading, cigar smoking, strip-club-going businessman.

The satirical video took aim at male music executives - in particular Scooter Braun, who purchased her back catalogue last year.