Those who are looking for something a little more mellow than music livestreams and drive-in concerts will be pleased to know Radiohead’s singer has got your back. Thom Yorke has shared a playlist of the songs he played on his first Sonos Radio mix. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify.
As previously announced, Yorke is curating his own 24-hour station on Sonos called “In the Absence Thereof”, a sampling of which has made it onto this new playlist, aptly titled “In the Absence Thereof…v1″. The music spans the full genre spectrum, with the common theme being that it’s an “ever-rolling compilation” with material “that fascinates or moves” him.
Earlier this morning, Yorke shared the playlist on Twitter, writing, “Thought you may be interested in the tracks that made up my first Sonos radio mix.. ‘ere tis.” (Editor’s note: at the time of writing this, the Apple Music playlist he linked to repeats the first seven songs and omits the last seven songs of Yorke’s original mix.)
What begins as a meditative listen thanks to drone artists like Sarah Davachi and Ben Vide quickly blooms into experimental territory with Ian William Craig, Kali Malone, and Holly Herndon. Yorke doesn’t stay strictly mellow on “In the Absence Thereof” though, as he quickly shifts gears with Duke Ellington, Floating Points, James Blake, Thee Oh Sees, and Little Simz. At one point, he even veers into the world of soundtracks with tracks by Colin Stetson and Oneohtrix Point Never with Iggy Pop, from Hereditary and Good Time respectively.
Editors’ Picks
So far it doesn’t look like he’s played any of his solo music or Radiohead material on his radio mix, even though it would fit in seamlessly. It’s always nice to get insight into an artist’s influences and inspiration, but still, we can’t help crossing our fingers to hear a gorgeous new song like “Plasticine Figures” sneak its way in.
Thom Yorke’s “In The Absence Thereof…v1” Playlist:
01. Ben Vide — “Reducing the Tempo to Zero (Part 3)”
02. Alvin Lucier & Zeitkratzer — “Music for Piano with Magnetic Strings”
03. Stine Janvin — “Like Last Night”
04. Duke Ellington and His Orchestra — “La Plus Belle Africaine (Live at Cote D’Azur, France)”
05. Ursula Bogner — “Uranotypie”
06. Sarah Davachi — “Waking”
07. Louis Thomas Hardin — “See the Mighty Tree”
08. Rosa Balistreri — “Nta la vicaria (Canto di carcerato)”
09. Holly Herndon — “Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt”
10. Oneohtrix Point Never & Iggy Pop — “The Pure and the Damned”
11. Colin Stetson — “Charlie”
12. Bobby Wright — “Blood of an American”
13. Floating Points — “Requiem for CS70 and Strings”
14. Duke Ellington — “Ase’s Death”
15. Moondog — “Fantasia”
16. James Blake — “Don’t Miss It”
17. Tindersticks — “El Diablo En El Ojo”
18. Thee Oh Sees — “Toe Cutter – Thumb Buster”
19. Silent Servant — “24 Hours”
20. Kali Malone — “Sacrificial Code II”
21. Trallaleri of Genoa — “La Partenza (The Parting)”
22. Ursula Bogner — “Sonne = Blackbox”
23. Little Simz — “Offence”
24. Dolo Percussion — “DOLO 9”
25. Ian William Craig — “On the Reach of Explanations”
