Atoms for Peace (band)

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Atoms for Peace
Atoms for peace.jpg
Atoms for Peace performing in 2010. From left to right: Nigel Godrich, Thom Yorke, Flea, and Mauro Refosco (obscured behind Flea, Joey Waronker behind the drums)
Background information
Origin Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres
Years active
  • 2009–2013, 2018
Labels XL
Spinoff of
Members Thom Yorke
Flea
Nigel Godrich
Joey Waronker
Mauro Refosco
Website atomsforpeace.info
Melt Festival 2013 - Atoms For Peace-6.jpg
Thom Yorke (front) and Nigel Godrich (back)
Melt Festival 2013 - Atoms For Peace-13.jpg
Flea (front) and Mauro Refosco (back)
Atoms for Peace performing at Melt! Festival 2013

Atoms for Peace were a rock supergroup comprising the Radiohead songwriter Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano), the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Radiohead's producer Nigel Godrich (keyboards, synthesisers, guitars), the drummer Joey Waronker of Beck and R.E.M., and the percussionist Mauro Refosco.

Contents

Yorke formed Atoms for Peace in 2009 to perform songs from his debut solo album, The Eraser (2006); they toured in 2010. In 2013, they released an album, Amok, the product of combining Yorke's electronic music with the band's jamming. It received mainly positive reviews, with several critics likening it to Yorke's solo work. Amok was followed by a tour of Europe, the US and Japan.

History

2006–2009: Background and formation

In 2006, the Radiohead songwriter Thom Yorke released his first solo album, The Eraser, comprising mostly electronic music. It was produced by Radiohead's producer, Nigel Godrich. In 2009, Yorke performed solo at Latitude Festival, and found it was possible to perform Eraser songs on acoustic instruments. He contacted Godrich with the idea of forming a band to perform TheEraser without sequencers, reproducing the electronic beats with Latin percussion. [1]

Yorke and Godrich formed Atoms for Peace in 2009 with the bassist Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers; the drummer Joey Waronker, who had performed with acts including Beck and R.E.M; and the percussionist Mauro Refosco, who had performed with acts including David Byrne. [1] Yorke said: "I've been playing with [Radiohead] since I was 16, and to do this was quite a trip ... It felt like we'd knocked a hole in a wall, and we should just fucking go through it." [1]

2009–2010: First performances

The band went unnamed for early performances, billed as "Thom Yorke" or "??????". [2] In February 2010, they announced an American tour and the name Atoms for Peace. The name is taken from a song title from The Eraser, which references the 1953 speech by American President Dwight D. Eisenhower. [3]

Along with Eraser songs, Atoms for Peace performed the 2003 Radiohead B-side "Paperbag Writer", the unreleased Radiohead track "Follow Me Around", and the 1998 single "Rabbit in Your Headlights", a collaboration with Yorke and Unkle. [4] [5]

2013: Amok

After the tour, Atoms for Peace spent three days jamming and recording in Los Angeles. Yorke and Godrich edited and arranged the recordings over two years, combining it with Yorke's electronic music. [6] This became the band's debut album, Amok, released on February 25, 2013, through XL Recordings. [7] It received mainly positive reviews, with critics likening it to Yorke's solo work. [8] [9] [10]

Amok was followed by a tour of Europe, the US and Japan. [11] The tour included performances of Yorke's 2009 single "FeelingPulledApartByHorses". [12] In 2013, Yorke wrote that determining whether new songs were for Radiohead or Atoms for Peace was a "grey area" and depended on which musicians he is sampling. [13]

Later activity

In 2015, Yorke and Flea performed "Atoms for Peace" on the French television show Le Grand Journal [14] and performed "Default" at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. [15] In 2018, Atoms for Peace reunited without Refosco to perform "Atoms for Peace" at a Thom Yorke show in Los Angeles. [16] Flea provided trumpet for Yorke's song "Daily Battles" for the 2019 film Motherless Brooklyn , [17] and Waronker contributed drums to one song on Yorke's album Anima (2019). [18] Waronker and Refosco formed a new group, Jomoro, and released their debut album, Blue Marble Sky, on 4 June 2021. [19]

Members

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions Certifications
UK US BEL
(FL) 		BEL
(WA) 		CAN DEN FRA GER IRL NLD SWE
Amok 5261445151612342

Singles

YearSinglePeak chart positionsAlbum
UK UK
Indie
[21] 		BEL
[22] 		JAP
[23]
2012"Default" [24] —31—93Amok
2013"Judge, Jury and Executioner"——43—
"Before Your Very Eyes..."——61—

Music videos

YearTitleDirector
2013"Judge, Jury and Executioner" Tarik Barri
"Ingenue" Garth Jennings
"Before Your Very Eyes..."Andrew Thomas Huang

Related Research Articles

Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. They comprise Thom Yorke ; the brothers Jonny Greenwood and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien ; and Philip Selway. They have worked with the producer Nigel Godrich and the cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thom Yorke</span> English musician

Thomas Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been described by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest and most influential singers of his generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Godrich</span> English record producer

Nigel Timothy Godrich is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Air, Paul McCartney, U2, R.E.M., Pavement, Roger Waters and Arcade Fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Waronker</span> American musician

Jon Joseph Waronker is an American drummer and music producer. He has performed with acts including Beck, R.E.M. and Roger Waters, and is a member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta.

"Follow Me Around" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 1 November 2021 as the second single from their compilation album Kid A Mnesia. It features the singer, Thom Yorke, on acoustic guitar, with lyrics expressing paranoia and dread.

<i>The Eraser</i> 2006 studio album by Thom Yorke

The Eraser is the debut solo album by the English musician Thom Yorke, released on 10 July 2006 through XL Recordings. It was produced by Nigel Godrich, the longtime producer for Yorke's band Radiohead.

<i>In Rainbows</i> 2007 studio album by Radiohead

In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 10 October 2007 as a pay-what-you-want download, followed by a physical release internationally through XL Recordings on 3 December 2007 and in North America through TBD Records on 1 January 2008. It was Radiohead's first release after their recording contract with EMI ended with their album Hail to the Thief (2003).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reckoner</span> 2007 song by Radiohead

"Reckoner" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007). It was produced by Nigel Godrich and developed while Radiohead were working on another song, "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses".

<i>The Eraser Rmxs</i> 2008 remix album by Thom Yorke

The Eraser Rmxs is a remix album of songs from The Eraser, the debut studio album by English musician Thom Yorke. The album was originally intended for release in Japan only on 28 May 2008, and later 25 June 2008, by Warner Bros. Records. It was eventually released on 27 August 2008. It contains 9 remixes of 8 tracks from Yorke's 2006 solo album The Eraser by various electronica, dubstep, and techno artists. The remixes had earlier been released in the UK by XL Recordings as three EPs, each comprising three tracks. The EPs were first released as downloads in December 2007, then on 12" vinyl records in early 2008.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">FeelingPulledApartByHorses / TheHollowEarth</span> 2009 single by Thom Yorke

"FeelingPulledApartByHorses" and "TheHollowEarth" are songs by Thom Yorke, produced by Nigel Godrich. The songs were self-released as a limited double A-side vinyl in September 2009 and as a download on 6 October 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauro Refosco</span> Brazilian percussionist

Mauro Refosco is a Brazilian percussionist. He is best known for his work with singer David Byrne and the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. He was a member of the experimental supergroup Atoms for Peace – featuring Thom Yorke and Flea – and the forró band Forro in the Dark. Refosco was also briefly a member of Dirty Projectors.

<i>Amok</i> (Atoms for Peace album) 2013 studio album

Amok is the only album by the supergroup Atoms for Peace, released on February 25, 2013 by XL Recordings. It features the Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, the Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, the drummer Joey Waronker and the percussionist Mauro Refosco. It combines electronic and live instrumentation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judge, Jury and Executioner</span> 2013 single by Atoms for Peace

"Judge, Jury and Executioner" is a 2013 single by the rock band Atoms for Peace, a supergroup formed by Radiohead singer Thom Yorke. It is the third single from their debut album, Amok. It was released on iTunes on January 7, 2013 and on 12" vinyl on March 19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultraísta</span> Experimental rock band

Ultraísta is an English-American experimental rock trio, formed in 2008. The band consists of Atoms for Peace members Nigel Godrich and Joey Waronker, alongside Laura Bettinson. The band's self-titled debut album was released on 2 October 2012. The band's biography notes that it was "conceived from a love of afrobeat, electronica, art and inspired by tequila".

<i>Tomorrows Modern Boxes</i> 2014 studio album by Thom Yorke

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<i>Anima</i> (Thom Yorke album) 2019 studio album

Anima is the third studio album by the English musician Thom Yorke, released on 27 June 2019 through XL Recordings. It was produced by Yorke's longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarik Barri</span> Dutch audiovisual composer

Tarik Barri is a Dutch audiovisual composer based in Berlin. He programmed his own audio-visual software Versum. In this 3D real-time virtual world, the artist creates audio-visual compositions. Barri has collaborated with Radiohead, Atoms for Peace, Sote, Nicolas Jaar, Monolake and others. Since 2015, he has toured as part of a trio with Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich in a series of concerts featuring Yorke's Tomorrow's Modern Boxes project.

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"Skrting on the Surface" is a song by the English rock band the Smile. It was released on 17 March 2022 as the third single from the Smile's debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention. It features guitar arpeggios in the time signature 11
8. The singer, Thom Yorke, and the guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, developed it from an earlier unreleased song by their band Radiohead.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lea, Tom (28 January 2013). "A new career in a new town: Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich open Pandora's box and run amok as Atoms for Peace". Fact . Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Thom Yorke Names His ???? Band Atoms For Peace, Announces Tour Dates". Stereogum. 25 February 2010. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Dombal, Ryan (25 February 2010). "Thom Yorke Names Solo Band, Lines Up American Spring Tour". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 27 February 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  4. ↑ "Watch Atoms for Peace rehearse Thom Yorke's "Rabbit In Your Headlights"". UNCUT. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  5. ↑ Shutler, Ali (1 November 2021). "Radiohead finally release fan favourite 'Follow Me Around'". NME . Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Q&A: Thom Yorke on Atoms for Peace's 'Mechanistic' New Album". Rolling Stone . 5 November 2012. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Calendar". Xlrecordings.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  8. ↑ Tan, Irving (21 February 2013). "Album Review - Atoms for Peace: Amok". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  9. ↑ Liedel, Kevin (22 February 2013). "Review: Atoms for Peace, Amok". Slant . Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  10. ↑ Berman, Stuart (25 February 2013). "Atoms for Peace: AMOK". Pitchfork . Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Atoms for Peace Announce U.S. and Japanese Dates". Pitchfork. 18 March 2013. Archived from the original on 12 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  12. ↑ Gentile, John (25 September 2013). "Thom Yorke introduces himself as Jay Z". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  13. ↑ "IAmA Atoms For Peace, Thom Yorke & Nigel Godrich AMA". Reddit. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "Thom Yorke and Flea reunite to play "Atoms For Peace" on French TV". NME . 4 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Patti Smith & More Raise Climate Awareness on New Pathway to Paris Album". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  16. ↑ "Atoms For Peace reunite during Thom Yorke concert in Los Angeles: Watch". Consequence of Sound . 4 February 2020. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  17. ↑ "Listen to Thom Yorke and Flea's haunting new collaboration, 'Daily Battles'". NME. 5 February 2020. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  18. ↑ Yoo, Noah (26 June 2019). "5 Takeaways From Thom Yorke's New Album, ANIMA". Pitchfork . Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  19. ↑ Martoccio, Angie (16 April 2021). "Atoms for Peace's Joey Waronker, Mauro Refosco form Jomoro, drop single with Lucius". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  20. ↑ "Atoms for Peace, releases". Archived from the original on 6 November 2012.
  21. ↑ "2012-09-15 Top 40 Independent Singles Archive". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  22. ↑ "Discografie Atoms for Peace" [Discography Atoms for Peace]. Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  23. ↑ "Amok – Atoms for Peace: Awards". Allmusic . Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  24. ↑ "Thom Yorke's Atoms For Peace Release New Single". pitchfork.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012.