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Atoms for Peace Thom Yorke

In other news: Flea confirms new Atoms for Peace album

Atoms for Peace

While we’ve known for a while now that there’s a new Atoms for Peace album on the way, it is nice to see news about it. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea confirmed that the band will be releasing a new album:

Last year, Thom Yorke‘s new group Atoms for Peace hit the road for a brief American tour before playing Coachella. According to the band’s bassist Flea, the group started to work on their first album at that same time. “At the end of the tour we went into a studio for three days and just jammed – totally improvising,” says Flea. “Thom and Nigel [Godrich] have taken that stuff and done shit with it. I’ve heard little bits and pieces. I have no idea when it’s going to come out. Not real soon though.”

Flea says that many people have the wrong perception of Yorke. “People always think about him and talk about as this really cerebral artist,” he says. “Especially when we were playing together. People would go, ‘Thom is so cerebral and Flea is just an animal.’ But Thom is the type of musician who doesn’t think at all. He goes totally on feeling and intuition. Whereas I’m like, ‘You can try a G7 chord with a diminished fifth, that might be proper.’ My point is that he’s such a beautiful, natural and exciting musician. Also, his relationship with Nigel is so cool, Nigel being this organizational, producery-type guy. They’re going to have something incredible. I have complete faith in them.”

He refuses to describe the sound of the new material. “I kinda feel like it’s not really my place to talk about that stuff,” he says. “The mystery should be the mystery.” He does think they will tour again at some point. “I imagine that will probably happen,” he says. “I hope that happens. I just have a warm place in my heart and my mind and my balls for the whole fucking concept.”

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Atoms for Peace Radiohead The King of Limbs Thom Yorke

Thom Yorke: Radiohead tour next year, Atoms for Peace album on the way

Thom Yorke and Gilles Peterson

Thom Yorke was a special guest tonight on Gille Peterson’s show on BBC Radio 1. During the two hour show, Thom revealed some interesting info which we’ve summed up for you below:

Most importantly, Radiohead will be touring next year. “The idea is to go out and play next year on and off during the year.” They’re talking about bringing Clive Deamer (Portishead) along too. Nice.

Atoms for Peace, Thom’s side project, have recorded a new album and he’s “finishing it with Nigel at the moment.” He said that touring last year “sparked something off, it was really exciting… It had really good energy.” Thom was unsure of the release date.

Other tidbits include Thom listening to Blue Lines in the car with his kids, how RHCP’s Flea has gotten him listening to Duke Ellington, how he doesn’t have a favorite track from The King of Limbs but loves to play “Bloom” live, that he’s only been to Brazil once and had the time of his life there, and that he’s just finished reading Hans Fallada’s Alone in Berlin and loved it. “It’s an amazing book.” Also, Thom recalls the night he deejayed at Low End Theory last March: He hadn’t slept for three days and didn’t want to show up to Low End Theory. It wasn’t until Flying Lotus sent him a picture of line outside that he decided to come because he feared a riot would take place if he didn’t.

To see the tracklist of the songs played and to listen to a replay of the show, click here.

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Atoms for Peace Thom Yorke

Atoms for Peace album in the works?

In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea dropped some interesting news regarding Atoms for Peace, the side project that he, Thom Yorke, Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronker, and Mauro Refosco all were a part of last year.

In 2010, he played bass in Radiohead singer Thom Yorke’s offshoot band Atoms for Peace, doing shows and playing on a forthcoming studio album. Yorke says he asked Flea to join the project “because he plays bass like a lead instrument. But I thought, ‘Why would he want to do this?’ He said he enjoyed the idea of getting involved, but not being responsible for the end product, getting the kicks and walking away.” Yorke laughs. “I can totally understand that.”

Did you catch that?

… and playing on a forthcoming studio album.

Very interesting indeed. Flea goes on to talk about Thom:

Flea is actually a complex bundle of confidence, humility and yearning, a formally trained musician – he started on trumpet – whose aggressive style on bass belies his notion of service. “I want to support them,” he says of his work for Yorke and Patti Smith. “Thom channels such a beautiful thing. I’m like, ‘Let me give everything that I am to him, give him what he needs to float on.’ That freedom thing Thom’s talking about – it’s getting out of the way,” Flea explains. “When you try to control music, you strangle it. I know it’s a hippie thing. But I’m trying to get the energy out, let it go, That’s the gift I have.”

We’ll keep you updated on any further news regarding this forthcoming album. In the meantime, you can read the full Rolling Stone transcript here.

(thanks to Ari)

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Atoms for Peace Thom Yorke

Flea: “Thom Yorke is a Beautiful Man”

FleaRed Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea thinks Thom Yorke is a swell guy and a huge inspiration to him. Flea, along with with drummer Joey Waronker, Mauro Refosco, and producer Nigel Godrich, were all part of Thom’s supergroup, Atoms for Peace, which performed shows last year.

“It influenced me being around Thom,” Flea explained. “He’s an unbelievably great musician and a beautiful man. He’s so pure as an artist. It’s less that I would try to copy him and more that just being around someone who channels really powerful energy is beneficial.

“It’s a relationship I will always hope to nurture.”

(via DigitalSpy)

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Interview with Flying Lotus

Flying Lotus

Steve Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, recently sat down with The Quietus to talk about his latest album, Cosmogramma. Also talked about was Thom Yorke’s involvement on one of the songs:

So. Thom Yorke is on Cosmogramma – guess I’d better ask, how did that come about?

SE: He had heard some stuff from a while back, and Radiohead commissioned me to do a remix for their Reckoning thing. I met up with Thom once after that. It was brief but really cool. We didn’t speak much about continuing the work, but I remember thinking how cool it would be if I could get him on the record. Mary-Anne Hobbs is a friend of his, and I think she encouraged it – so he hit me up, got in touch that day and asked me to send some tunes. I sent him a folder, and two days later I had the song in my email, with all these parts to work with. It was really cool, super-chilled out, considering what a big star he is. I’m really thankful, because the universe he’s created is a very special one, and he doesn’t invite many people into it.

What is the song about? Did you discuss with him what the lyrics might be about?

SE: He used the title I gave him [‘…And The World Laughs With You’]– that was another super-crazy thing. It meant a lot to me, the song title. That tune comes from a fucking tough time in my life. It’s like, as the song says, laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry, and you cry alone. At the time I was really feeling that. People don’t really care to be around when you’re going through tough times. No–one really know what you’re going through.

To read the full interview, head on over to The Quietus.

More information about Flying Lotus at http://www.flying-lotus.com/

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Atoms for Peace The Eraser Thom Yorke tour

Atoms for Peace to play Fuji Rock

It has been confirmed that Thom Yorke and Atoms for Peace will be playing the Fuji Rock festival on August 1, 2010. The festival will be taking place at the Naeba Ski Resort in Japan. Details can be found at:

http://www.fujirockfestival.com/

http://www.smash-uk.com/frf10