NEWS: Reckoner Gets Animated

The indisputable highlight of Radiohead’s In Rainbows has finally been given the visual treatment.

The video for ‘Reckoner’, the latest single to be lifted from the Oxford’s algorithm Kings seventh studio album, was created by competition winner Clement Picon from France.

A budding Spike Jonze, Picon was selected from the four winners who entered the In Rainbows Animated Video Contest. The winner was picked by the members of the band themselves.

In an unexpected turn of events following the band’s rejection of music industry traditions and traits and self-release of the LP, the much anticipated video appeared first on MySpace Music.

In addition the site will also feature the three runners-up in the coming weeks.

This just goes to emphasise that fact that no-one really knows where and wehn Rdaiohead are going to pop up again with more new and exciting material and content.

Fortunately though the band have also posted it on their official website.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: photobucket

NEWS: Elbow React To Mercury Victory

Every media outlet, not just music publication, has been reporting on Elbow's triumph last night in the race to become the Mercury Music Prize winners last night during a swanky ceremony in London town.

Going somewhat against the grain of previous winners, Elbow's victory is already proving extremely popular across both critical and fan-o-spheres.

After being handed the award for 'Album Of The Year' Elbow frontman Guy Garvey (pictured above) said, "This is quite literally the best thing that has ever happened to us."

"It feels great, very unexpected. I suppose you could look at it in the same way that certain Bedouin tribes look at a bowl of milk. It's something that doesn't occur very often, and it's so much sweeter for it."

Despite the mickey taking, Garvey is said to be genuinely grateful and quite taken a back by the band's achievement.

"Having said that, it's been a long time that we've been doing it and this is a cause for celebration. I'm just so very proud that we've been working together this long - to this end. We really wanted this"

'The Seldom Seen Kid', the band's fourth album was quoted by the Chair of Judges, Simon Frith, as "an album of epic songs, rooted in their locality, a switchback of emotions rooted in the everyday, the sound of musical ambition perfectly realised. Elbow’s album is triumphant, heartbreaking, unerringly melodic and life-affirming.”

Highlights from the evening's events will be broadcast by BBC Two on Friday 12 September. The programme will feature the live performances on the night from nominees The Last Shadow Puppets, Adele, British Sea Power, Neon Neon, Laura Marling and winners Elbow.

To watch Elbow perform on the night cast your eyes beneath:

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: BBC

NEWS: Colin Greenwood Plays Bass In Hollywood

Just as Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk denied the employment of Radiohead as score supremos for his new flick Choke, one member of the band has been branching out into Hollywood on his own.

Thick-thumbed Colin Greenwood has contributed to a soundtrack for a new film released this year.

In amongst playing some massive outdoor dates, rewriting the textbook on how to release an album and recording groundbreaking videos the Radiohead bass player has found time to perform on the OST for new independent film Woodpecker.

Teaming up with Lee and Tyler Sargent of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and composer James Lavino, Colin has followed his younger brother into Hollywood after Jonny last year wrote the music for Let There Be Blood.

The film, directed by Alex Karpovsky, has already had screenings at a number of festivals including South By South West, Wisconsin and Maine International film festivals.

An official release date is yet to be announced.

Visit the official Woodpecker film website here.

This news story can be found on the Quietus with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: the Quietus

NEWS: The Mercury: 2008's Most Anticipated List

The nominees of the annual Mercury Music Prize were unveiled at a London shindig earlier this morning.

In the running for the coveted award are Quietus favourites British Sea Power, Elbow, Neon Neon and Radiohead.

Last year’s winners were new rave accidental pioneers The Klaxons (pictured above) with their debut album Myths Of The Near Future.

The winner will be announced during all the pomp and ceremony of a true industry back-slapping bash on September 9th.

The complete shortlist for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize is as follows:

• Adele - _19_
• British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
• Burial - Untrue
• Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
• Estelle - Shine
• Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim
• Neon Neon – Stainless Style
• Portico Quartet - Knee Deep In The North Sea
• Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - The Bairns
• Radiohead - In Rainbows
• Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
• The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement

Last year's victorious contenders can be seen below:

This news story can be found on the Quietus with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: the Quietus

NEWS: Radiohead Get Laser Treatment

Ever innovative Oxfordians Radiohead are about to release a music video for In Rainbows track ‘House of Cards’.

This isn’t the story though. Staying true to their word and continuing to do away with traditional filmmaking techniques for the videos for their new album the band have produced the groundbreaking short film using the latest laser technology.

Developed by Velodyne's Lidar as an improvement on radar, the laser uses structured light to give detail of objects within a close proximity.

The result: a warbling Thom Yorke highlighted in neon light instead of human skin pigmentation.

The techy stuff goes a bit like this. Using light pulses to portray environments in three dimensions, for the music video Velodyne took 64 lasers, shot 900 times per minute in a 360-degree radius. This way both landscapes and rooms were given a haunting hyper-futuristic aspect.

In a statement Yorke said: “I always like the idea of using technology in a way that it wasn't meant to be used, the struggle to get your head around what you can do with it. I liked the idea of making a video of human beings and real life and time without using any cameras, just lasers, so there are just mathematical points - and how strangely emotional it ended up being.”

ASAD can reveal the video will be hosted here Accompanying the video will be a ‘making of’ documentary and a selection of renders lifted from the film for your delectation.

Radiohead have posted a gallery of laser shots, visit the Radiohead website to see them.

Have a look below now for the amazing video:

This news story can be found on the Quietus with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: the Quietus