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Electronic Pioneers – Thom Yorke

Born on October 7, 1968 in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Thomas
Edward “Thom” Yorke is hailed as one of the most admired and respected pioneers of Alternative rock, Art Rock and revered for his Experimental Psychedelic combined with Electronic music. Thom Yorke is a singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, artist, activist, dancer, and DJ, known for his excellent high-pitched strong vocals, guitar and keyboards. He has been active since 1985 to present.

His notable instruments consist of Gibson SG, Fender Jazzmaster, Fender Tele-
caster Deluxe, Gibson ES-330, Epiphone Casino, Rhodes piano, Fender and
Mustang Bass, Thom Yorke is a multi-talented genius.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaj3FKGDzjQ

OK Computer is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Radiohead. Released in 1997, the album was critically acclaimed and is often considered one of their classics. Radiohead was one of the leading alternative rock acts of the 1990s, but Yorke was ambivalent about this success. Yorke stated that he dislikes the “mythology” of rock music and the media’s obsession with celebrity. Some of these concerns were voiced in the 1998 documentary film Meeting People Is Easy, which followed the band on their OK Computer tour that led to psychological burnout.

Following the tour, Yorke suffered a mental breakdown. He suffered from writer’s block, and said: “Every time I picked up a guitar I just got the horrors. I would start writing a song, stop after 16 bars, hide it away in a drawer, look at it again, tear it up, destroy it.” He began to listen almost exclusively to the electronic music of Warp artists such as Aphex Twin and Autechre, saying: “It was refreshing because the music was all structures and had no human voices in it. But I felt just as emotional about it as I’d ever felt about guitar music.” Yorke and Radiohead took these influences to their albums Kid A and 2001’s Amnesiac, processing vocals, obscuring lyrics, and departing from rock for a more varied musical landscape encompassing electronic, jazz and avant-garde classical influences. The albums divided fans and critics, but were commercially successful and later attracted widespread critical acclaim; at the turn of the decade, Kid A was named the best album of the 2000s by Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M51WHsc3mU

Here are just a few comments from their fans regarding Kid A:
“Anybody else agree this is the greatest record ever?”
“It’s my favorite Radiohead album. Just my personal taste.”
“I worked in a record store so I got my hands on this 5 or 6 days before the
Oct 3 2000 release…I left it in the CD player for 6 months.”
” Every time I listen to a Radiohead album for the first time I can feel my heart being ripped out of my chest while all of my fears and insecurities dance around in a beautiful, haphazard rhythm that breaks down every wall I’ve ever put up.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L86NesX5pQs

In 2003, Radiohead released their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, a blend of rock and electronic music that Yorke described as a reaction to the events of the early 2000s and newfound fears for his children’s future. In 2005 they undertook recording sessions for a seventh album, In Rainbows, released as a digital DRM-free download in October 2007. In 2011, Radiohead released their eighth album, The King of Limbs, which Yorke described as “an expression of physical movements and wildness”.

The band said that the book “no logo” was part of the inspiration for this album,
but I think it’s basically analyzing globalization movement that the corporate world is moving everyone toward.

“Sail to the moon was one of the most breathtaking tracks they’ve ever made,”
commented one fan and another stated, “This is one of Radiohead’s best albums. Definitely the most underrated.”

In 2003, Radiohead released their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, a blend of rock and electronic music that Yorke described as a reaction to the events of the early 2000s and new found fears for his children’s future. In 2005 they undertook recording sessions for a seventh album, In Rainbows, released as a digital DRM-free download in October 2007. In 2011, Radiohead released their eighth album, The King of Limbs, which Yorke described as “an expression of physical movements and wildness”.

The band said that the book “no logo” was part of the inspiration for this album,
but I think it’s basically analyzing globalization movement that the corporate world is moving everyone toward.

“Sail to the moon was one of the most breathtaking tracks they’ve ever made,”
commented one fan and another stated, “This is one of Radiohead’s best albums. Definitely the most underrated.”

Yorke released his debut solo album The Eraser in 2006 on the independent label XL Recordings. It was produced by Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and features cover art by Radiohead artist Stanley Donwood. Yorke said: “I’ve been in the band since we left school and never dared do anything on my own … It was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to find out what it feels like,’ you know?” He described the album as “more beats and electronics” and denied that it meant he was leaving Radiohead, this was all done with their blessing.” The Eraser received positive reviews and reached number 3 in the UK in its first week, number 2 in the United States, Canada and Australia, and number 9 in Ireland. It was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Prize and the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.

In September 2014, Yorke released his second solo album, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, via BitTorrent. It received positive reviews and became the most torrented album of 2014 (excluding piracy), with over a million downloads in its first six days. On 26 December 2014, Yorke released the album via Bandcamp along with a new single, “Youwouldn’tlikemewhenI’mangry”.

Yorke contributed music to The UK Gold, a 2013 documentary about tax avoidance in the UK. The soundtrack also features work by Jonny Greenwood, Elbow’s Guy Garvey and Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja. It was released free in February 2015 through the online audio distribution platform SoundCloud.

Kathryn S – #WEATNU Digital Magazine

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