Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien is planning to release his debut solo album in September.
The ‘Creep’ hitmakers’ guitarist first started working on the record three years ago, and he has now given fans an idea of when they can expect the currently untitled effort, which will feature The Invisible’s Dave Okumu, touring bassist for Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Toto, Nathan East, and drummer Omar Hakim, who provided percussion on the late music legend David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’.
Further special guests are set to make appearances also.
Ed, who will sing, play guitar and bass on the project, has worked with U2 producer Flood and Catherine Marks – who is best known for her work with The Killers and Wolf Alice – on the album.
Appearing on an episode of the ‘That Pedal Show’ YouTube series recently, Ed said: "You’ll make a little connection. There will be textures. There’s quite a lot of depth to it. It’s a little bit magical realist, slightly psychedelic, a lot of colour."
The Oxford-born musician is currently in the process of scouting a label to release the album and the plan is to hit the road with a "funk and jazz focus" band, which he is also on the look out for.
The 50-year-old musician previously revealed his plans to channel his inner rock god away from Radiohead – who are fronted by Thom Yorke – in 2016.
He said: "We’ve attempted to do something like a full solo album – you know, stand there on the mountaintop with the hair going and the Les Paul and create a whole Ed O’Brien. I haven’t up until two years ago but I am going to now. I’m gonna do one next year."
He first got the idea while he was living in Brazil with his wife Susan Kobrin and their two children, son Salvador, 15, and daughter Oona, 13.
The family lived in the countryside of the South American nation and the simplicity of his life their inspired him to write the bulk of the songs that will feature on his solo album.
He shared: "It starts in Brazil … the kids were born 2004 and 2006. And I said to the guys, in five years time, me and my wife are gonna go and live in Brazil for a year … I was really aware that I’d had so many adventures with this band; I wanted to have an adventure with my family … So we went to live in Brazil, in the middle of the Brazilian countryside, and we lived on a little farm in basically a hut. Life was really simple. The kids went to the local school. No one could speak English, so they picked it up, the language of play and stuff. And life was reduced to its simple parts. For me, it was music and my family. And I would go each day, walk up the hill to this beautiful little hut next to this lake, and I started writing. All I wanted to do was sit there and play guitar."
Ed also took a trip to Brazil’s famous Rio Carnival and the joyful nature of the music that is played at the event had a "profound" effect on him and he wants to replicate that on his solo tracks.
Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien plots September release for solo album
