The band announce three European shows as we await new album
Get ready, Radiohead fans - the band are back in 2016, and in a big way. As we await a new album following 'Spectre', a tour is imminent as they announce three huge festival shows for the summer.
Fans have been waiting patiently for news on the follow-up to The King Of Limbs, after the band dropped their alternative Bond song 'Spectre' over Christmas (much to Sam Smith's dismay) and Thom Yorke debuted a potential two new songs in Paris last month.
Then, the new release of the record appeared to look imminent when they formed their own company, Dawn Chorus LLP - just as they did prior to the release of In Rainbows and The King Of Limbs.
While we patiently await the album to drop, we at least have some tour dates - with the band being confirmed for three festivals across Europe, with UK dates to surely follow shortly.
Not only have the band been confirmed for Barcelona's Primavera Sound alongside the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Sigur Ros, PJ Harvey and The Last Shadow Puppets in June, but they'll also be heading to Portugal's Nos Alive and OpenAir St Gallen in Switzerland with Mumford & Sons and Two Door Cinema Club at the start of July.
Back in October, the band revealed that they were adding the finishing touches to the record - having been working with collaborator Robert Ziegler on orchestration and arrangements.
They've been emailing song ideas to each other for a while now: Back in July 2014, Jonny Greenwood told The Sunday Times, "I was emailing stuff to Thom [Yorke] last night, actually. But it's not the same, is it? You don't see him tutting." Their songwriting has always been a collaborative process, and it looks like that process has continued into the internet-savvy 21st century.
They'll be keeping fans updated on their PolyFauna app: We told you they'd moved into the 21st century with aplomb. A couple of years ago, Radiohead updated their tablet and smart phone app with atmospheric sounds and visuals, and it looks likely that as progress rattles on, PolyFauna will be the place to check.
They've been recording since September 2014: Though it seems as though they've already made a fair amount of headway on this front, for two years the have been dabbling in a spot of "playing, rehearsing and recording."
There may well be some re-recorded songs on there: Any keen Radiohead fan will know that they have a tendency to dredge up old material and give it new life on their albums. 'Morning Magpie', for example, was first heard ten years before it officially featured on The King Of Limbs. Some possibilities this time round include 'Identikit' and 'Full Stop', which were premiered during their 2011 tour, as well as various soundcheck songs.
It might be their best album yet: Might be, mind, it's too early to say for sure. Philip Selway's feeling confident though. He told Mary Anne Hobbs, "There's always that sense that our best record is still to come. There's still a lot of creativity we can do together."
Not much has been said about how it's going to sound: When asked about how the album as a whole is going to sound, Selway told NME: "I have absolutely no idea. And that's what keeps us there until the end." It's also what keeps fans waiting with baited breath until the end.
There will be strings: Back in September, collaborator Robert Ziegler has tweeted pictures of the band in the studio including images which show the band working with a full string orchestra. Ziegler worked with the band on their last full-length, The King of Limbs, in 2011.
They've formed a new company - so expect the album soon: Back in January, Radiohead fans via Reddit have discovered that the band have established a new company called Dawn Chorus LLP - harking back to the band's behaviour prior to the release of their last two albums. They formed Xurbia Xendless Ltd prior to self-releasing 2007's incredible In Rainbows and formed Ticker Tape Ltd. to distribute The King Of Limbs in 2011. Thom Yorke previously mentioned working on a new song called 'Dawn Chorus' back in 2009 - so could this be the name of the band's next LP? Time will tell, but it certainly looks like the band are getting everything in place for its release.
...or it coud be like this: Back in January, fans began to wonder if new artwork that's appeared on Radiohead's official W.A.S.T.E artwork is to be involved in the new album. The site is regularly updated with art by their collaborator Stanley Donwood, and it does look very much like his style and in keeping with Radiohead's sleeve work
This could be the artwork: Here's the image being used to promote the upcoming tour. It's certainly very Radiohead, and would look pretty cool on an album sleeve or at least integrated in some way.
It may feature new track 'Silent Spring': Last year at a solo gig in Paris, Yorke debuted two new tracks; 'Silent Spring' and 'Untitled'. Could they be on the new album? Evidence number one: the songs sounds distinctly Radiohead-y - moreso than the sound of Thom's solo work on his albums The Eraser, and more recently Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, the songs have never sounded as linear as these. Evidence number two: during the performance of 'Silent Spring', Yorke takes a breath to announce that the guitar part he's missing out is "Jonny's bit, which I can't play". How's that for strong evidence?
It might have 'Spectre' on it (or at least sound like it): Over Christmas, the band dropped their alternative theme song for the latest James Bond film, Spectre - one rejected in favour of Sam Smith's lukewarm 'Writing's On The Wall'. Whatever, this string-soaked dose of cinematic melancholy is one of the best things the band have released in years. If it's not on the record, we at least hope that the album's sound is in keeping with it.
There will be synths: Back in December 2014, producer Nigel Godrich shared a series of photos of the band nod-twiddling with synths and sequencers - so expect a standard, heavy electronic influence.
The album may feature old fan favourite 'Lift': “What people don’t know is that there’s a very old song on each album," Greenwood said back in June. "We never found the right arrangement for [‘Nude’], until then. ‘Lift’ is just like that. When the idea is right, it stays right. It doesn’t really matter in which form."
They're touring, and soon: Yup, as well as unveiling a bunch of European festival dates including Primavera and Nos Alive, they've now also announced headline shows around the world - including London's Roundhouse and New York's Madison Square Garden. It stands to reason that new material will either be in the set or released by then.
It's 'a work of art': Stanley Donwood, who has collaborated with the band on all of their artwork since 1995's The Bends, was asked back in March if he'd heard the record yet - telling DIY “I have. Is it done? Not yet… It's a work of art."
It could be about to drop any minute now: Over the weekend, the band started to erase their presence from online - before returning with a short teaser video of a bird tweeting. This seems to be in keeping with the theory that the record may well be called A Dawn Chorus and set for release this week. Last month saw fans on Reddit begin the speculate that the record could drop around the period of 1 May. Said date comes from the fact that the first Sunday of May every year is known as International Dawn Chorus Day - the day when birds grow louder in the spirit of Spring, apparently. Radiohead curiously formed their own company Dawn Chorus LLP - just as they did prior to the release of In Rainbows and The King Of Limbs.
Photo: wenn