Atoms for Peace (band)

Atoms for Peace
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)
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
OriginLos Angeles, California, United States
Genres
Years active2009–2013, 2018
LabelsXL
SpinoffsUltraísta
Spinoff ofRadiohead
Past members
Websiteatomsforpeace.info
Thom Yorke playing guitar and Nigel Godrich performing
Thom Yorke (front) and Nigel Godrich
Flea playing bass and Mauro Refosco playing percussion instrumnets
Flea (front) and Mauro Refosco
Atoms for Peace performing at Melt! Festival 2013

Atoms for Peace were an English-American rock supergroup comprising the Radiohead songwriter Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano), the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, the Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich (keyboards, synthesisers, guitars), the Beck and R.E.M. drummer Joey Waronker, and the Forro in the Dark percussionist Mauro Refosco.

Yorke formed Atoms for Peace in 2009 to perform songs from his debut solo album, The Eraser (2006). They toured the US 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 critics likening it to Yorke's solo work. Amok was followed by a tour of Europe, the US and Japan. The band members have collaborated intermittently since.

History

2009—2010: Formation and first shows

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 The Eraser 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]

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][6]

2013: Amok

Main article: Amok (Atoms for Peace album)

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.[7] This became the band's debut album, Amok, released on February 25, 2013, through XL Recordings.[8] It received mainly positive reviews, with critics likening it to Yorke's solo work.[9][10][11] Amok was followed by a tour of Europe, the US and Japan.[12] The tour included performances of Yorke's 2009 single "FeelingPulledApartByHorses".[13]

Atoms for Peace partnered with a British startup, Soundhalo, to sell recordings of their performances.[14] Godrich said he saw Soundhalo as an alternative to low-quality audience recordings on YouTube.[14] That July, Yorke and Godrich removed Atoms for Peace and Yorke's solo music from the streaming service Spotify. Yorke called it "the last gasp of the old industry", accusing it of only benefiting major labels with large back catalogues, and encouraged artists to build "direct connections" with audiences instead.[15] Atoms for Peace was re-added to Spotify in December 2017.[16]

Later activity

In 2015, Yorke and Flea performed "Atoms for Peace" on the French television show Le Grand Journal[17] and performed "Default" at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.[18] In 2018, Atoms for Peace reunited without Refosco to perform "Atoms for Peace" at a Thom Yorke show in Los Angeles.[19] Flea provided trumpet for Yorke's song "Daily Battles" for the 2019 film Motherless Brooklyn,[20] and Waronker contributed drums to one song on Yorke's 2019 album Anima.[21] Waronker and Refosco formed a new group, Jomoro, and released their debut album, Blue Marble Sky, on 4 June 2021.[22]

Members

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and sales figures
Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK US BEL
(FL) 		BEL
(WA) 		CAN DEN FRA GER IRL NLD SWE
Amok 5 2 6 14 4 5 15 16 12 3 42

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
UK UK
Indie
[24] 		BEL
[25] 		JAP
[26]
2012 "Default"[27] — 31 — 93 Amok
2013 "Judge, Jury and Executioner" — — 43 —
"Before Your Very Eyes..." — — 61 —

Music videos

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

References

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ Singh, Amrit (25 February 2010). "Thom Yorke names his ???? band Atoms for Peace, announces tour dates". Stereogum. 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. 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. ^ Dean, Jonathan (14 July 2013). "Nuclear energy". The Times. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Calendar". Xlrecordings.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  9. ^ Tan, Irving (21 February 2013). "Album Review - Atoms for Peace: Amok". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  10. ^ Liedel, Kevin (22 February 2013). "Review: Atoms for Peace, Amok". Slant. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  11. ^ Berman, Stuart (25 February 2013). "Atoms for Peace: AMOK". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ Gentile, John (25 September 2013). "Thom Yorke introduces himself as Jay Z". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  14. ^ a b Dredge, Stuart (18 July 2013). "Thom Yorke's Atoms for Peace slam Spotify — but back Soundhalo app". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  15. ^ Dredge, Stuart (7 October 2013). "Thom Yorke calls Spotify 'the last desperate fart of a dying corpse'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  16. ^ Rossignol, Derrick (8 December 2017). "Thom Yorke's solo albums are finally streaming on Spotify, which he famously hates". Uproxx. Uproxx Media Group. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ Yoo, Noah (26 June 2019). "5 Takeaways From Thom Yorke's New Album, ANIMA". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ "Atoms for Peace, releases". Archived from the original on 6 November 2012.
  24. ^ "2012-09-15 Top 40 Independent Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  25. ^ "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.
  26. ^ "Amok – Atoms for Peace: Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  27. ^ "Thom Yorke's Atoms For Peace Release New Single". pitchfork.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
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