Radiohead worked on '' The King of Limbs '' with longtime producer Nigel Godrich intermittently from May 2009 to January 2011 . It was recorded in Los Angeles , at the home of actress Drew Barrymore . Radiohead wanted to avoid repeating the protracted recording process of their previous album '' In Rainbows '' ( 2007 ) . According to singer Thom Yorke , the band felt that " if we are gon na carry on , we need to do it for a new set of reasons " . Cover artist Stanley Donwood said that whereas '' In Rainbows '' was " very much a definitive statement " , the band wanted to make an album that was more " transitory " . Multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood said : " We did n't want to pick up guitars and write chord sequences . We did n't want to sit in front of a computer either . We wanted a third thing , which involved playing and programming . " Whereas Radiohead developed '' In Rainbows '' from their live performances , '' The King of Limbs '' developed from studio experimentation . Yorke sought to move further from conventional recording methods . After he and Godrich became interested in DJing during their time in Los Angeles , Godrich proposed a two-week experiment whereby the band used turntables and vinyl emulation software instead of conventional instruments . According to Godrich , " That two-week experiment ended up being fucking six months . And that ’s that record , the whole story of all of it . " Much of the album is constructed from samples of the band 's playing , which were looped and edited . Radiohead used sampling software written by Greenwood , which he described as a " wonky , rubbish version " of Ableton Live . Radiohead used this to create sequences of music to which Yorke wrote melodies and lyrics , a process he likened to editing a film . Guitarist Ed O'Brien told '' Rolling Stone '' : " The brick walls we tended to hit were when we knew something was great , like ' Bloom ' , but not finished ... Then Colin Greenwood had that bassline , and Thom started singing . Those things suddenly made it a hundred times better . " On 24 January 2010 , Radiohead suspended recording to perform at the Henry Fonda Theatre , Hollywood , to raise funds for Oxfam responding to the 2010 Haiti earthquake . The show was released free online in December 2010 as '' Radiohead for Haiti '' , and included a solo performance of the future '' King of Limbs '' track " Lotus Flower " by Yorke on acoustic guitar . According to '' Rolling Stone '' , '' The King of Limbs '' saw Radiohead move further from conventional rock music and song structures in favour of " moody , rhythm-heavy electronica , glacially paced ballads and ambient psychedelia " . It makes prominent use of sampling , looping , and ambient sounds , including samples of natural sounds such as birdsong and wind . '' Pitchfork '' described its music as " aggressive rhythms made out of dainty bits of digital detritus , robotically repetitive yet humanly off-kilter , parched thickets of drumming graced with fleeting moments of melodic relief " . Several critics noted dubstep influences . According to O'Brien : " Rhythm is the king of limbs ! The rhythm dictates the record . It 's very important . " The first track , " Bloom " , was inspired by the BBC nature documentary series '' The Blue Planet '' . It opens with a piano loop and features horns and complex rhythms . " Morning Mr Magpie " has " restless guitars " . " Little by Little " features " crumbling guitar shapes " and " clattering " percussion . " Feral " features scattered vocal samples and " mulched-up " drums . " Lotus Flower " features a driving synth bassline and Yorke 's falsetto . " Codex " is a piano ballad with " spectral " horns and strings and a Roland TR-808 drum machine . " Give Up the Ghost " is an acoustic guitar ballad with layered vocal harmonies . The final track , " Separator " , has guitar and piano , a " brittle " drum loop , and echoing vocals
2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The King of Limbs