Atoms for Peace (band)

History

In 2006, Radiohead singer Thom Yorke released his first solo album, The Eraser, comprising mostly electronic music. In 2009, wanting to recreate The Eraser with live musicians, Yorke recruited Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich (keyboards, synthesisers, guitars), drummer Joey Waronker of Beck and R.E.M., and percussionist Mauro Refosco of Forro in the Dark. He said: "It’s like opening a big Pandora's Box, and I don’t know what direction it’s going to go in. We’ve got these bonkers rhythms made by machines, and musicians who can keep up with them – no problem – and the two can bounce off each other. It’s quite something."

The band went unnamed for early performances, listed as "Thom Yorke" or "??????". In February 2010, they announced an American tour and a name, Atoms for Peace. The band shares the name with a 1953 speech by American President Dwight D. Eisenhower and a song from The Eraser.

After the tour ended in 2010, Atoms for Peace spent three days jamming and recording original material in Los Angeles. Yorke and Godrich edited and arranged the recordings from the sessions over two years, combining it with Yorke's electronic music; this became the band's debut album, Amok, released on February 25, 2013, through XL Recordings. The album was followed by a tour of Europe, the US and Japan. Answering a fan question on Reddit in 2013, Yorke wrote that determining whether new songs were for Radiohead or Atoms for Peace was "a grey area. Getting greyer. Obviously depends on who is being sampled."

Members