Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke’s This Conversation is Missing Your Voice: Music Kid A Would Listen to

Mark Pritchard is an English electronic musician who specialises in textured landscapes and asymmetrical synth arrangements…music right up Thom Yorke’s alley. If you think about later Radiohead records, Yorke’s solo work and his work with Atoms For Peace, he loves to explore electronic spaces. He is just at home with lush heavily textured arrangements as he is with stark 8 minute epics that seem to come from the apocalypse. Mark’s mix of sparse beeps with layered synth lines is a great vehicle for Yorke’s vocal. So, let’s see what electronic concoction these two can cook up.

First of all, Mark’s electronic work is a good mix of club and music theory. He seems to dance on this line between accessible electro music and arty performance piece. Yorke has composed and guested on some very obtuse music that is difficult to unpack, Radiohead’s Amnesiac comes to mind as an example. However, Prichard seems to have a little for everyone. There is an electro bass thump that drives the track and is a great foil to hand claps and distant synth lines. This nod to the club gives the track some accessibility. And yet, there are a variety of discordant synth notes, bug like textured beeps and bold vocal post-production filters that will get your inner music nerd geek out…”Wow! Those notes seem to flatten out, which are great contrasts to Yorke’s vocal!” But at the same time, you can bob your head and vibe out.

For however much I respect Pritchard’s music, it is Yorke’s vocal that carries it for me. Reminiscent to his work on Kid A, Yorke’s vocal reaches these ethereal falcetto that leave you in awe. This is a great fit for Pritchard and Yorke’s vocal becomes another sonic instrument for Pritchard to play with. Much like a lot of Yorke’s and Radiohead’s later work, he sings about disconnection in modern life combined with destructive commercialism. This happens to the point where the speaker cannot voice their pain and are totally excluded from the conversation. Yorke’s scepticism of the benefits of modern society are as sharp as ever in this track.

For those of us waiting for a new Radiohead record, this is a great substitute. Pritchard’s music is both complex and compelling, while Yorke’s vocal is as on point as ever. It’s exciting to hear new work from Yorke and experience his artistic and vocal choices. This track may challenge your views on what music is, which is when Yorke is at his best.

Listen to This Conversation is Missing Your Voice