Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien On His New “Earth” Album, Surviving COVID-19, Nathan East & More

Ed O’Brien never planned to make a solo record. As guitarist with Radiohead, who for over almost three decades and nine albums have established themselves as one of the most innovative and influential musical forces of our time, had thought his artistic side had its outlet via Radiohead and was happy to spend any downtime he had from Radiohead with his family. But suddenly a switch was flicked and the songs came pouring out of O’Brien. That creative surge resulted in Earth — as credited to “EOB” — an album of rediscovery and adventure that deftly veers from moments of delicate folk to euphoric house, its songs seamlessly pinned together by melodic hooks and candid lyricism.

Composed by Ed O’Brien and produced by Flood (U2, Nine Inch Nails, New Order, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Killers) — with the exception of “Olympik,” which was co-produced by Flood and Catherine Marks — Earth features Ed on vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion and programming. O’Brien’s songs were brought to life on Earth by a diverse and stellar array of musicians including appearances by O’Brien’s Radiohead bandmate Colin Greenwood, Portishead guitarist Adrian Utley, Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, drum legend Omar Hakim, bass virtuoso Nathan East, Laura Marling, David Okumu of The Invisible, Marcelo S. Silva, and the aforementioned Flood and Catherine Marks.

I had the pleasure of interviewing with Ed O’Brien via Zoom on April 23, 2020, as embedded below for your viewing pleasure; the chat is also set to appear on a future edition of the V13-produced Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz podcast. More on O’Brien and Earth can be found online by visiting www.eobmusic.com, www.twitter.com/eobofficial and/or www.facebook.com/EOBBandOfficial.

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Tags: covid-19, Ed O'Brien, EOB, Flood, Nathan East, Nine Inch Nails, Omar Hakim, Radiohead, Wilco

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."