Damn, that Tiny Desk performance sounded amazing. I love me some reverb as well but Thom’s voice sounded great in that room too. Amazing tones and performances all around. Those drums sounded gorgeous, as did that tenor sax. Just super beautiful stuff (not surprisingly!) I still need to dig into the album but this is beckoning me to do it sooner rather than later.
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The Tiny Desk concert feels almost unplugged. It’s a nice contrast to the production on the album and the spectacle at a major venue.
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I saw them last year - one of the best gigs i have seen. Not just because of how great they are but the sound in the venue was some of the best live sound I have heard. Everything was clear and punchy and just great!
Spotted an OT, a modular, a Prophet-5 - lots of good gear 
Definitely catch them live if you get the chance (though I am also hoping to see Radiohead live one day 
)
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Shivers. I want more from that session
Edit: Nevermind
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Looking forward to watching this this weekend. It’s great to see them do so much so soon - it kinda implies that someone else in Radiohead is holding them back from recording new material very often.
I’m sure it’s been linked before (here or in the Radiohead thread), but probably all the gear info you’re seeking is here:
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Very useful information about the Boss Re 20 pedal! Thanks for posting.
I‘ve only seen one of the shows from them that you could pay to see online last summer. bathe drummer clearly used an OT there and a Buchla, think Music Easel.
Their live in Montreux set is now also a live album.
I liked the raw energy of the three people formation on the gig I mentioned. But I was also not completely blown away tbh. There‘s something to be said about the way all of Radiohead interact to create these intricate sounds. The Tiny Desk sounds pretty promising though.
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Hoping for a Live in the Basement session with The Smile. 
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So good at a live show, catch them if you can!
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in layman’s terms what do you think they are trying to do with the smile that couldn’t be achieved with Radiohead ?
Personally I think it’s a simple matter of Thom and Johnny being inspired by a new friend in a way they weren’t with the band. I imagine it all went down much more easily and organically than with a 30+ year old band.
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I think The Smile is less about what’s not possible with Radiohead and more about giving them another space to explore ideas and try things out. Thom has his solo act, Jonny scores films — The Smile seems like just another flower in their musical bouquet. Thom mentioned in an interview that a lot of Smile songs started as guitar noodling by Jonny, rather than him leading things as a singer/songwriter, so that could be another distinction.
Ed’s comments have suggested that “Radiohead” as we know it only really exists when those 5 guys are together and actively working on it, which I think is a cool way to look at it. Radiohead is not a passive repository for whatever music they create, it’s an act of participation that brings it to life. (Bit of a scary idea as a Radiohead fan but I have faith they’ll get together again soon.)
Also, there’s a lot of Radiohead/Smile overlap. “Skirting on the Surface” has been performed by Radiohead in the past. The guitar riff from The Smile song “Thin Thing” originates in the outro of Radiohead’s “Talk Show Host.” Definitely some shared DNA between the two bands.
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I like the tiny desk and the KEXP sessions the most they have gotten better with time. However I saw them in seattle and wasn’t as into it as I have been with Thoms solo work/live shows (the venue was also not great). There’s times where the sound feels like it’s missing “something”. It’s a band where people thst miss the OK computer era will be happy and those of us (or just me) that like the weird electronics aren’t as connected to
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I’m not really into radiohead and only listened to in rainbows a lot back in the day, but this live session you posted is absolutely incredible. I guess I should give their new album a proper listen.
Also, very nice to see the Waldorf STVC in action. I’ve been eyeing that synth back when it was announced but kind of lost interest because the release was delayed multiple times.
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I think also it must be a good feeling that they can play a set of songs without feeling obligated to play ‘the hits’, just go out and play some new songs without having to play Creep, or Paranoid Android etc
I think it also started as a way to make something in lockdown. I do look forward to more Radiohead in the future though!
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Pics from the studio got put up on IG today. Thom’s shared system is present.
I love how fast they’re working. It’s clearly flowing for them to tour as much as they’ve been doing and then go straight into the studio.
Can’t wait to see what they knock out.
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and a (reverse image) UDO Super 6. plus (in case it’s not obvious) a Vermona DRM1.
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Very cool they are recording already
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Can’t wait to see them on this upcoming tour! I imagine lots of new material will be on the setlist.
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