Atoms for Peace (band)
Atoms for Peace were an English-Amercian electronic rock supergroup comprising the Radiohead songwriter Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano), the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Radiohead's producer Nigel Godrich (keyboards, synthesisers, guitars), the drummer Joey Waronker of Beck and R.E.M., and the percussionist Mauro Refosco of Forro in the Dark.
Atoms for Peace
Los Angeles, California, United States
2009–2013, 2018
Yorke formed Atoms for Peace in 2009 to perform songs from his debut solo album, The Eraser (2006); they toured in 2010. In 2013, they released an album, Amok, the product of combining Yorke's electronic music with the band's jamming. It received mainly positive reviews, with several critics likening it to Yorke's solo work. Amok was followed by a tour of Europe, the US and Japan.
History[edit]
2006–2009: Background and formation[edit]
In 2006, the Radiohead songwriter Thom Yorke released his first solo album, The Eraser, comprising mostly electronic music. It was produced by Radiohead's producer, Nigel Godrich. In 2009, Yorke performed solo at Latitude Festival, and found it was possible to perform Eraser songs on acoustic instruments. He contacted Godrich with the idea of forming a band to perform The Eraser without sequencers, reproducing the electronic beats with Latin percussion.[1]
Yorke and Godrich formed Atoms for Peace in 2009 with the bassist Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers; the drummer Joey Waronker, who had performed with acts including Beck and R.E.M; and the percussionist Mauro Refosco, who had performed with acts including David Byrne.[1] Yorke said: "I've been playing with [Radiohead] since I was 16, and to do this was quite a trip ... It felt like we'd knocked a hole in a wall, and we should just fucking go through it."[1]
2009–2010: First performances[edit]
The band went unnamed for early performances, billed as "Thom Yorke" or "??????".[2] In February 2010, they announced an American tour and the name Atoms for Peace. The name is taken from a song title from The Eraser, which references the 1953 speech by American President Dwight D. Eisenhower.[3]
Along with Eraser songs, Atoms for Peace performed the 2003 Radiohead B-side "Paperbag Writer", the unreleased Radiohead track "Follow Me Around", and the 1998 single "Rabbit in Your Headlights", a collaboration with Yorke and Unkle.[4][5]
