The upcoming February 2013 issue of Dazed & Confused came with a little surprise thanks to this month’s cover boy Thom Yorke. Alongside an in-depth interview with the Radiohead and Atoms for Peace frontman, Yorke also provided a 25 minute mix of unreleased material from across the past few years of his career.
Nestled within the mix are two never before heard Radiohead tracks. The first is an unfinished, alternate take of “Bloom,” the opening track from 2011’s The King of Limbs. Fans of Radiohead will recall the experimental nature of the album, but this new version is even weirder. Yorke and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich chose to take a very minimalist and dark approach to the song which is a far departure from the groovy bassline and heavy percussion featured on the original. Frankly, it’s the creepiest Radiohead has sounded since 2001’s Amnesiac (you thought I was going to make a pun about “Creep ,” didn’t you?). At about 17 minutes, Yorke serves up his remix of “Give Up the Ghost,” the acoustic ballad from the latter half of The King of Limbs. His solo career is usually more electronic than most Radiohead tunes and this remix is no different. Yorke abandons the guitars in favor of a more UK electro sound. It’s an interesting take on a song that quickly became a staple in Radiohead’s set list.
Fans of Mr. Yorke will also be pleased to hear some unreleased solo work as well as an unfinished song from his latest side project Atoms for Peace. The band, which includes Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nigel Godrich, are readying the release of their debut album AMOK, out this February on XL Records.
Check out the mix below and see the photo shoot with the ever eccentric Thom Yorke here.
