Skrting on the Surface

Last updated

"Skrting on the Surface"
Skrting.png
Single by the Smile
from the album A Light for Attracting Attention
Released17 March 2022
Genre Alternative rock
Length5:31
Label XL
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich
The Smile singles chronology
"The Smoke"
(2022)		"Skrting on the Surface"
(2022)		"Pana-vision"
(2022)
Music video
"Skrting on the Surface" on YouTube

"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 .

Contents

"Skrting on the Surface" 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.

History

Variations on the title phrase appeared on the Radiohead website around the time of their album OK Computer (1997). [1] The Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke, first performed "Skrting on the Surface" in 2009 in a solo piano rendition while touring with his band Atoms for Peace. [2] In 2012, Radiohead performed a different arrangement, which Pitchfork described as "a bleak slow-groover". [1]

In 2021, Yorke and the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood announced a new band, the Smile, with the drummer Tom Skinner. [3] Skinner said "Skrting on the Surface" was one of the first songs they worked on, and developed from Greenwood's 11
8 guitar line. Yorke realised that the earlier song "fit perfectly on top". [4] Skinner recorded his drums in a single take, creating an "air of spontaneity". [4] The song was recorded by Radiohead's producer, Nigel Godrich, in his studio in London. [4]

The Smile debuted "Skrting on the Surface", then titled "Skating on the Surface", in a surprise performance for Live at Worthy Farm, a live video produced by Glastonbury Festival streamed on 22 May, 2021. [5] The single was released on 17 March, 2022. [6]

Music video

The video for "Skrting on the Surface" was directed by Mark Jenkin, who also directed the video for the Smile's previous single, "The Smoke". [7] [8] It was shot on 16 mm film in the Rosevale Tin Mine in Cornwall, England. Water from the mine was used to develop the film by hand. [9] The video was filmed during Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin; the crew were unaware of the damage done by the storm while they worked underground. [10]

Reception

The Fader journalist Jordan Darville called the song "an unabashed channeling of what has made Greenwood and Yorke's creative partnership so successful over the course of many decades". [7] The Rolling Stone journalist Daniel Kreps said Skinner's drumming and Greenwood's arpeggios gave the song "a technicolour makeover" in comparison to the earlier versions. [9]

Track listing

The song, on specific streaming services and digital storefronts, also contains the Smile's two previously released singles.

No.TitleLength
1."Skrting on the Surface"5:31
2."The Smoke"3:39
3."You Will Never Work in Television Again"2:48

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes. [11]

The Smile

Production

Additional musicians

Related Research Articles

Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. They comprise Thom Yorke ; 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">Jonny Greenwood</span> English musician (born 1971)

Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood is an English guitarist and composer. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Radiohead, and has composed numerous film scores. He has been named one of the greatest guitarists by numerous publications, including Rolling Stone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thom Yorke</span> English musician (born 1968)

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. Rolling Stone described Yorke 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.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nude (song)</span> 2008 single by Radiohead

"Nude" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released in March 2008 as the second single from their seventh studio album, In Rainbows (2007).

<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">Spectre (song)</span> 2015 song by Radiohead

"Spectre" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 25 December 2015. It was produced by Nigel Godrich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daydreaming (Radiohead song)</span> 2016 Radiohead song

"Daydreaming" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, produced by Nigel Godrich. The song is a piano ballad with strings arranged by the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. It was released as a download on 6 May 2016 as the second and final single from Radiohead's ninth studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool, accompanied by a music video directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

"Man of War" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 22 June 2017 on the compilation OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Skinner (drummer)</span> English drummer (born 1980)

Tom Skinner is an English drummer, percussionist and record producer. He co-founded the jazz band Sons of Kemet and the rock band the Smile. He has released two albums under the name Hello Skinny. His first album under his own name, Voices of Bishara, was released in November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Smile (band)</span> English rock band

The Smile are an English rock band comprising the Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with Tom Skinner (drums). Critics likened them to Radiohead, with more jazz, krautrock and progressive rock influences and a looser, wilder sound.

"If You Say the Word" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 7 September 2021 as the first single from the compilation Kid A Mnesia. It was recorded during the joint sessions for Radiohead's albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), but remained unreleased until 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Will Never Work in Television Again</span> 2022 single by the Smile

"You Will Never Work in Television Again" is a song by the English rock band the Smile. It was released on 5 January 2022 as the debut single from their debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention. The Smile first performed it in the 2021 Glastonbury livestream Live at Worthy Farm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Smoke (song)</span> 2022 single by the Smile

"The Smoke" is a song by the English rock band the Smile. It was released on 27 January 2022 as the second single from their debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pana-vision</span> 2022 single by the Smile

"Pana-vision" is the fourth single by the English rock band the Smile, released on 3 April 2022. It is included on their debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention.

<i>A Light for Attracting Attention</i> 2022 studio album by the Smile

A Light for Attracting Attention is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Smile. It was released digitally through XL Recordings on 13 May 2022, with a physical release on 17 June.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free in the Knowledge</span> 2022 single by the Smile

"Free in the Knowledge" is a song by the English rock band the Smile. It was released on 20 March 2022 as the third single from the Smile's debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention, by XL Recordings.

<i>The Smile (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, July 2022)</i> 2022 live album by the Smile

The Smile is the first live album by the English rock band the Smile, released on 14 December 2022 by XL Recordings. It is a recording of their Montreux Jazz Festival set from 12 July. The Smile announced the album the day before its release, backed by a concert film available to view for 48 hours on YouTube.

<i>Wall of Eyes</i> 2024 studio album by the Smile

Wall of Eyes is the second studio album by the English rock band the Smile, released on 26 January 2024 through XL Recordings. It was recorded in Oxford and Abbey Road Studios, London, with the producer Sam Petts-Davies.

References

  1. 1 2 Hogan, Marc (4 March 2016). "19 unreleased Radiohead songs that could be on their next album". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  2. ↑ Young, Alex (21 July 2014). "Hear 12 potential songs for Radiohead's new album". Consequence of Sound . Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Savage, Mark (22 May 2021). "The Smile: Radiohead stars to debut new band at Glastonbury live-stream". BBC News . Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Boilen, Bob (22 March 2022). "New mix: Arcade Fire, Valerie June, the Smile, Andrew Bird, more". All Songs Considered (Podcast). NPR. Event occurs at 19:37. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  5. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (23 May 2021). "See Radiohead side project the Smile perform new song 'We Don't Know What Tomorrow Brings'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  6. ↑ Brodsky, Rachel (17 March 2022). "The Smile – "Skrting On The Surface"". Stereogum . Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  7. 1 2 Darville, Jordan (17 March 2022). "The Smile share new song/video 'Skrting On The Surface'". The Fader . Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  8. ↑ Childers, Chad (27 January 2022). "Thom Yorke + Jonny Greenwood Reveal The Smile's Second Single 'The Smoke'". Loudwire . Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  9. 1 2 Kreps, Daniel (17 March 2022). "The Smile unearth unreleased Radiohead gem 'Skrting on the Surface' for new single". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  10. ↑ Edwards, Danny (18 March 2022). "Mark Jenkin mines promo gold for Thom Yorke". Shots. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  11. ↑ A Light for Attracting Attention (liner notes). The Smile. London, England: XL Recordings. 2022. FXL1196LP.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.