Radiohead's Ed O'Brien Talks About His New Album, 'Earth'

In a conversation with All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen, Ed O'Brien reveals how he made Earth, an album that's both boldly colorful and intimate.

Earth is an album that feels both boldly colorful and intimate — one that reflects the two landscapes that underlie this record: Brazil and Wales.

Mark Ellis, who works under the name Flood, largely produced this album. He has not only a long history of working on big productions from U2 to PJ Harvey, but also has a child in the same school as Ed O'Brien's and so the two have become close friends.

That friendship accounts for the warmth on this record. There are also some extraordinary players, including Radiohead bandmate Colin Greenwood, guitarist Adrian Utley from what Ed calls the other "head" band, Portishead, drums from Omar Hakim and Wilco's Glenn Kotche, bassist Nathan East, singer and guitarist Laura Marling and the list goes on.

On March 23, Ed O'Brien posted on social media that he most likely had the coronavirus but was expecting a full recovery. Our conversation on April 2 begins with an update on his health.

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