Between helping to cure insomnia, being the face of relationship advice, and diligently working on the next Radiohead album, one would think Thom Yorke doesn’t have enough time to take a nap, much less crank out new solo material. But lo and behold, the busy frontman has fashioned together a new and ambitious “evolving” soundtrack of sorts — a mix that spans 18 days, with no two minutes being exactly the same.
For those trying to crunch the numbers in their heads, let me simplify it for you: that’s 432 hours, or a whopping 25,920 minutes, of music. Considering most albums these days barely clock in at 60 minutes, Yorke’s latest project is quite the titanic endeavor.
Dubbed “Subterranea”, the collection of music accompanies the entire length of Stanley Donwood’s new exhibition “The Panic Office”, currently on display in Sydney, Australia. If Donwood’s name is familiar, that’s because the British artist’s credited with designing the artwork for all of Radiohead’s albums since The Bends, in addition to releases from Yorke’s Atoms for Peace side-project. The show officially kicked off on May 21st and is scheduled to run through June 6th.
Sadly, the soundtrack will not be released to the public following the closing of the exhibit. Still, Australia’s radio station Triple J was fortunate enough to tune in and described the massive set as “an eerie mix of ambient textures, experimental sounds, and field recordings,” likening it to Yorke’s last solo album, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes. A press release, meanwhile, noted that the soundtrack’s “subs will boom from the floor, mids will echo through the walls, while the highs rain down from the ceiling.” A brief preview can be heard here.
Anyone out there headed to Sydney and want a travel buddy?
