Maps of Music

A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)

Where the lyrics of A Moon Shaped Pool take you, and where it was really made.

Several songs on this album were written years before recording; "True Love Waits" was first performed in 1995 and attempted in the studio several times.

Key places

Three weeks at La Fabrique (2016)

Recording site La Fabrique studio — In 2015 Radiohead spent three weeks at this studio near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, building on their recordings. The studio was originally a 19th-century mill. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Strings recorded at RAK Studios (2016)

Recording site RAK Studios — The strings for the album were recorded at RAK Studios in London. The strings and choir were arranged by Jonny Greenwood and performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Oxfordshire sessions (2016)

Recording site Radiohead studio, Oxfordshire — Radiohead began work on the album with Nigel Godrich in their Oxfordshire studio in September 2014. The Oxfordshire sessions lasted until Christmas. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• A Moon Shaped Pool: ninth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead
• Released digitally on 8 May 2016; retail release on 17 June 2016 through XL Recordings
• Produced by Radiohead's longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich
• Released through Dawn Chorus, a limited liability company the band formed for its releases
• Strings and choir arranged by Jonny Greenwood and performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra
• Lyrics address climate change, groupthink and heartbreak

Background

• Several songs were written years before the recording
• Radiohead first performed "True Love Waits" in 1995
• "Burn the Witch" was first worked on in the Kid A (2000) sessions
• Thom Yorke first performed "Present Tense" in a solo set at Latitude Festival in 2009
• "Identikit" and "Ful Stop" were performed on the tour for The King of Limbs (2011)
• Radiohead entered hiatus after the 2012 tour, and members worked on side projects

Recording

• Sessions began in September 2014 at the Oxfordshire studio with Godrich
• Three weeks in 2015 at La Fabrique near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France
• Strings recorded at RAK Studios in London
• Godrich recorded to analog tape instead of computers
• Godrich edited and mixed the album in London after the French sessions

Cover

• Stanley Donwood created the abstract cover by exposing his paintings to weather

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985.
• The members met while attending Abingdon School, a private boys' school in Abingdon.
• The band was first called On a Friday, and signed to EMI in December 1991 under the name Radiohead.

Members

• Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards), Colin Greenwood (bass), Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals), Philip Selway (drums).
• Nigel Godrich (producer) and Stanley Donwood (cover artist) have worked with the band since 1994.

Career

• Debut album Pablo Honey (1993); The Bends (1995); OK Computer (1997) is considered a landmark record.
• Kid A (2000) marked a dramatic change in style, incorporating electronic music, jazz and krautrock.
• In Rainbows (2007) was self-released as a pay-what-you-want download.
• Over 30 million albums sold by 2011; six Grammy Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic score of 88 out of 100, based on 43 reviews
• USA Today: Patrick Ryan wrote that the album was well worth the wait
• PopMatters: Chris Gerard called it a rich addition to Radiohead's catalogue
• Rolling Stone: Andy Beta described it as a haunting, stunning triumph
• Rolling Stone: Will Hermes wrote that Yorke's voice holds the emotional centre
• NME: Sam Richards described it as an album of eerie, elusive beauty
• AllMusic: Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised its melancholic comfort
• Pitchfork: Jayson Greene felt the album was coloured by Yorke's separation
• Entertainment Weekly: Eric Renner Brown praised its variety and scale
• The Guardian: Lanre Bakare praised the evolution of "Present Tense" into a bossa nova-tinged ballad
• The Quietus: Mike Diver felt the older songs gave the album the feel of a compilation
• DIY: Jamie Milton called the works gorgeous and human, but found some elements unnecessary
• The New Republic: Ryan Kearney criticised the lyrics as predictable

Reappraisal

• Pitchfork later named "Daydreaming" and "True Love Waits" among the best songs of 2016
• Many publications named it among the best albums of the year and decade

Records

• UK Albums Chart: number one, Radiohead's sixth UK number one
• Also number one in Ireland, Norway and Switzerland
• UK: certified gold on 24 June 2016 for over 100,000 copies; later certified platinum
• US: 181,000 copies in first week, number three on the Billboard 200
• US: certified gold on 9 November 2018 for over 500,000 copies
• Mercury Prize: fifth Radiohead album nominated
• 59th Annual Grammy Awards: nominated for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Song ("Burn the Witch")
• UK: fourth-bestselling vinyl album of 2016

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Radiohead gave no interviews and did not tour before the album's release.
• Jonny Greenwood estimated that 80% of the album was recorded in two weeks.
• Godrich recorded to tape with analog multitrack recorders, inspired by Motown and early David Bowie records.
• On 1 May 2016, Radiohead deleted all content from their website and social media profiles before the release.
• "True Love Waits" was attempted several times in the studio but the band could not settle on an arrangement.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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