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In Rainbows

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Template:Future album

Untitled

In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It is to be released on October 10, 2007 as a digital download, and on December 3, 2007 as a "discbox".[1] The band worked on the album for over two years, beginning in early 2005. This is the longest gap between albums (Hail to the Thief was released in June 2003) that Radiohead have had since they began their career.

Recording history

After a break in 2004, Radiohead began work in early 2005. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood debuted a new song, "Arpeggi", at London's Ether Festival in March 2005; Greenwood also debuted two of his own classical pieces, one written for the Ondes Martenot. Later that summer, Yorke performed an acoustic set for the Trade Justice Rally, playing the never-recorded "Nude" and "Reckoner", debuting the new song "House of Cards", and introducing "Last Flowers [Till Hospital]", a previously unheard remnant from the OK Computer period. In September 2005, the band recorded a new piano-based song, "I Want None of This", for the War Child charity album Help: A Day in the Life. This album was sold online, with Radiohead's contribution being the most downloaded track, although it was not released as a single.

Regular recording sessions began late summer 2005, with the band posting intermittently on their progress in their new blog, Dead Air Space. Recording continued into early 2006. In the spring 2006 sessions, they chose to work with Mark "Spike" Stent instead of their longtime co-producer Nigel Godrich. The band finished work with Stent in April 2006.

In May and June 2006, Radiohead toured major cities in Europe and North America, returning to Europe for several concerts in August. The tour, their first in several years, drew sold out crowds to smaller venues such as clubs and theatres, including a benefit performance in London for Friends of the Earth's campaign to stop climate change. They also played some big music festivals such as the massive Bonnaroo and V Festival; they headlined both lineups of V and played a 28-song set at Bonnaroo, their longest live concert in years. In addition to playing old songs and re-arranged band versions of "Arpeggi", "Nude", "I Want None of This", and "House of Cards", Radiohead premiered 10 new songs. This tour coincided with the release of Yorke's solo album, The Eraser, from which the track "Cymbal Rush" was performed at the environmental benefit, but otherwise the band did not play Yorke's solo songs as a group.

After the tour, the band restarted recording sessions in September 2006, this time with Nigel Godrich. Yorke said on Dead Air Space that the band have "started the record properly now... starting to get somewhere I think. Finally."[2] By late December 2006, they finished their third month of recording with Godrich at several rural locations in England and had a three-week holiday break. In mid-January 2007 Radiohead resumed their recording sessions following their holiday break and also started posting photos, lyrics, videos and samples of new songs on DAS, which status is yet unconfirmed. In late March 2007, the band posted the words "Mixing it" on Dead Air Space,[3] followed by a picture of Stanley Donwood working on the artwork for the album.[4] In late April, Yorke stated that Radiohead have a CD of material ready for consideration.[5] In June, Ed O'Brien wrote that the album is very close to completion,[6] and Nigel Godrich posted outtakes of the mixed songs on Dead Air Space, among which were "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" (thought to have been titled "Open Pick" at the time), "Down Is the New Up", "Bangers 'n' Mash", "All I Need" and "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi".[7]

Having completed recording the album in June, Radiohead began to master the album in mid-July 2007 in New York City[8].

Contract issues

In interviews in 2006, the band said that "for the first time, we have no contract or release deadline to fulfill – it's both liberating and terrifying".[9] Having fulfilled their six-album contract with EMI with the release of Hail to the Thief, the band had stated while recording that they would not make a decision on how to release their new material until it was finished.[10] Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke had also hinted at the possibility of releasing EPs rather than an album.

When between labels, Yorke, commenting on the band's relationship with EMI, said, "We have no record contract as such. Any offers?..What we would like is the old EMI back again, the nice genteel arms manufacturers who treated music [as] a nice side project who weren't too bothered about the shareholders. Ah well, not much chance of that."[11]

Release and distribution

File:Inrainbowsdiscbox.jpg

On October 1, 2007 Radiohead announced via their blog the title, tracklist, and release dates of their 7th studio album In Rainbows. At the time of its release, the band will not be under contract with any record label. The album will be made available exclusively as a digital download from inrainbows.com on Wednesday, October 10, 2007. The download version includes the 10 tracks that make up the album. It is reported that a standard CD version of the album is to be released in early 2008.[12] A special "discbox" will be released on December 3, 2007, and will contain the physical album on both CD and two 12" heavyweight vinyl record with artwork and lyric booklets. The discbox will also include a bonus CD which contains 8 bonus tracks. The enhanced bonus CD will contain digital photos & artwork. The overall set will be packaged in a hardcover book and slipcase.[13]

While the discbox is priced at £40 (which includes the digital download), the price of download by itself is left up to the buyer. Upon purchase, the buyer is prompted to type their desired price (plus a transaction fee of 45 pence if purchased for more than £0.00), with the explanation "It's up to you. No really, it's up to you." [14]

Musical influences

Radiohead's new music has been characterized by the band as "almost embarrassingly minimal," "sparse with lots of bass," and, more recently, "lush", according to Stanley Donwood, who worked closely with them on the artwork of the new album. Yorke described the lyrical concept of the album as, "It's about that anonymous fear thing, sitting in traffic, thinking, 'I'm sure I'm supposed to be doing something else'... it's similar to OK Computer in a way. It's much more terrifying. But OK Computer was terrifying too – some of the lyrics were."[15]

On recent postings on Dead Air Space, the band's blog, Yorke has posted extracts of J.G. Ballard's anti-consumerist book Kingdom Come and links to sites against the use of nuclear power and for the promotion of knowledge about global warming[16] providing a possible glimpse at the lyrical content of the album.

Track listing

  1. "15 Step"
  2. "Bodysnatchers"
  3. "Nude"
  4. "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi"
  5. "All I Need"
  6. "Faust ARP"
  7. "Reckoner"
  8. "House of Cards"
  9. "Jigsaw Falling into Place"
  10. "Videotape"

Bonus disc

  1. "MK 1"
  2. "Down Is the New Up"
  3. "Go Slowly"
  4. "MK 2"
  5. "Last Flowers"
  6. "Up on the Ladder"
  7. "Bangers and Mash"
  8. "4 Minute Warning"

References

  1. ^ http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/index.php?c=292
  2. ^ Dead Air Space, 2006-11-15. [1]
  3. ^ "Mixing It". Dead Air Space. 2007-03-24. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Mr D at his Desk". Dead Air Space. 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Radiohead's Thom Yorke Scared of New Album, Gets Political Again". Exclaim!. 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2007-05-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Ed O'Brien (2007-06-13). "a word from the studio". Dead Air Space. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Nigel Godrich (2007-06-15). "a bit of tape from the studio". Dead Air Space. Retrieved 2007-06-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Radiohead mastering seventh album in New York". NME. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ "Radiohead UK tour revealed". NME. 2006-03-21. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Brandle, Lars (2005-08-18). "Label-less Radiohead Pressing On With New Album". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-04-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Radiohead zoning in on seventh album, reveal new track". Soundgenerator.com. 2005-08-21. Retrieved 2007-07-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/radiohead/31462
  13. ^ http://www.inrainbows.com/Store/Tracklisting.html?PID=2
  14. ^ http://www.inrainbows.com/Store/ItsUptoYou.html
  15. ^ "Radiohead reveal 'terrifying' new album". NME. 2006-04-03. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "Mood music". Retrieved 2007-03-15.
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