Thom Yorke and Flea Join Forces

Emma Renda — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:51:13 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

Simply uttering Thom Yorke’s name in a news release is often enough to make music bloggers and listeners the world over froth a little with excitement. But this latest news from the prolific Radiohead frontman is enough to incite hysterics.

Yorke has announced a supergroup side-project with Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which seems to be enough talent and spunk as is. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire, so where there’s Yorke, there’s Radiohead’s long-time producer Nigel Godrich. And heck, why not throw in Beck and R.E.M.’s drummer Joey Waronker? After all.

The project is yet unnamed, but the group took the stage this weekend in what Yorke called a “public rehearsal” at Los Angeles’ Echoplex for a blistering set of showmanship to a very lucky exclusive audience. The set was packed with the entirety of Yorke’s first solo effort, 2006′s The Eraser, flourishing under the care of his new backing band, according to Pitchfork’s Ian Cohen (lucky bastard). Yorke played four new songs solo, “Open the Floodgates”, “Lotus Flower”, “Skirting on the Surface”, and “Judge, Jury, Executioner” and then brought the band back for a few hits off Radiohead’s Com Lag EP as well as their new song, “Super Collider”.

The more drool-worthy material came when the ensemble dished out a serving of the tracks they’ve been working on. Tracks like “Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses” and “The Hollow Earth” (which is featured on the New Moon soundtrack) were given a more full treatment than any early MP3s can attest to, resulting in a sound Cohen called “Yorke’s typically melismatic melodies surrounded by scrapyard percussion.” Yum.

If you’re anything like the rest of the world and were unable to attend the show, you can still check out the videos from both nights on YouTube.

Thom Yorke’s New Crew

Stephen Baldwin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:30:02 +0000

Posted on andPOP:

The Radiohead frontman has put together a band to tour for his 2006 solo project “The Eraser” and his newer solo tracks, Muchmusic.com reports.
Yorke’s band will include Red Hot Chilli Peppers bass guitarist Flea, former Smashing Pumpkins and Beck drummer Joey Waronker, Forro in the Dark musican Mauro Refosco, and Beck, Travis and Radiohead producer Nigel Godbrich.

On Radiohead’s website, Thom Yorke said the nameless super group will play two shows on October 4th and 5th at the Orpheum theatre in Los Angeles. “the set will not be very long cuz ..well …we haven’t got that much material yet!”, said Yorke in his post on the site. Radiohead announced in August that they will no longer making albums as a group, but they may continue to make individual songs and he will continue to pursue his solo projects. His latest solo track, “Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses”, has all the rhythm and temp that Radiohead songs usually pack, along with the distinctly soft yet strong vocals of Thom Yorke. The song was even placed on Kanye West’s blog and Facebook page, even after the Radiohead frontman reportedly snuffed West at the Grammys when the rapper – an admirer of Yorke – requested to meet him.

A TMZ employee yesterday labelled Yorke the biggest rock star in the world and received little criticism to the claim. The artist was spotted coming out of an LA restaurant paying no attention to reporters and photographers. Whether or not Yorke will decide to pursue an enduring solo career remains to be seen, but what is always certain with this innovative artist is that he has, and will continue to remain, all about the music.

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Thom Yorke and Flea Join Forces

Thom Yorke’s New Crew