Thom Yorke’s new project will be taking him to the Broadway stage. The man behind the renowned band Radiohead agreed to compose the soundtrack to Douglas Hodge’s Broadway revival play, Old Times.
Since the performance will be a play and not a musical, Yorke’s role will be slightly understated. Variety magazine points out, “Yorke’s music will operate as transitional tunes between scenes or as underscoring, rather than as full-blown, razzle-dazzle musical numbers.”
Besides his involvement with Radiohead, Yorke has written two solo albums. His signature falsetto voice has been dubbed “sweet and cautious” and even “haunting” by Paste Magazine. Both Yorke and his fellow band member Johnny Greenwood have written soundtracks for films during their career. Interestingly, unlike Greenwood, Yorke cannot read sheet music. In a 2006 interview with the New York Times, he explains, “If someone lays the notes on a page in front of me, it’s meaningless … because to me you can’t express the rhythms properly like that. It’s a very ineffective way of doing it, so I’ve never really bothered picking it up.”
Both Hodge and Yorke have spoken favorably of the collaboration. Hodge explains Yorke’s progress: “In true Thom Yorke‐style, the music is epic, heartbreaking, irresistible and complex. I’m hopeful this collaboration will result in a new kind of theatergoer coming to our show.”
The play, starring Clive Owen, will premiere October 6th at New York City’s American Airlines Theatre.
