Radiohead lead guitarist and keyboardist Jonny Greenwood worked with Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, India’s Rajasthan Express and producer Nigel Godrich recently to record an album called Junun. Greenwood, Shye Ben Tzur and Godrich traveled to India to record the album, according to Pitchfork, and film director Paul Thomas Anderson joined the trip to make documentary, also called Junun. The documentary premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2015. The album was released November 20 via Nonesuch Records.
A video for “Hu,” a song that appears on the Junun album, has now been shared by Greenwood. It features an outtake from Anderson’s film in which the musicians record “Hu.” The video is a great look at Indian and English artists working together to create something beautiful together, using traditional sounds from both cultures. The Rajasthan Express consists of 19 performers, then there is Greenwood, while the songs were written by Shye Ben Tzur. The language of the lyrics differs based on which track you’re listening to; Junun contains lyrics in Hindi, Hebrew and Urdu. “Hu” is a song that starts out steady and simple, then builds up to something more. Watch the video of the track’s recording below.
Greenwood and Anderson have worked together in the past, as Greenwood has composed soundtracks for three of Anderson’s movies: 2007’s There Will Be Blood, 2012’s The Master and 2014’s Inherent Vice. Greenwood isn’t just about solo projects these days though – he has plenty going on with Radiohead as well. This past September, drummer Philip Selway gave updates on the band’s forthcoming album, which they have been recording in autumn 2015. Greenwood divulged over the summer that the band planned to do a studio recording of “Lift” for the first time, because “Lift” is a track they play at most of their live shows. Fans can almost certainly expect that song to make the cut for Radiohead’s next album.
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