Thom Yorke sings on two tracks of Modeselektor's Monkeytown

Thom Yorke sings on “Shipwreck” and “This”, two tracks on Monkeytown, the third album by Modeselektor, the Berlin duo of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. It is his second guest turn for them, after “The White Flash” on Happy Birthday! in 2007.

Spin heard his voice on “Shipwreck” riding a skittering beat close to drum and bass, and on “This” cut up and scattered through the electronics. Szary says the album began as instrumentals that turned out to need voices, and the pair were taken aback by how keenly the singers they asked said yes.

Yorke fell for them on a drive round Berlin, he told Spin. I was just driving round Berlin with them, with Gernot's arms flying round while he drives, listening to all these beats and shit that were so good.² He compares the way they keep moving on to Kraftwerk in the krautrock years. I think it's probably their fault really that I got back so heavily into dance music and DJIng. So you can blame them. Ha!²

The “Shipwreck” video, which has its first showing on NPR's All Songs Considered, has zombies and a little boy hoarding batteries, and neither Yorke nor Modeselektor are in it. Its director, Tony “Truand” Datis, could not follow the English lyrics, so he worked from the sound of Yorke's voice. The duo say the finished film moved them to tears, and Yorke's comment ran to a single word, Wicked.¹¹

Monkeytown, from announcement to video

Modeselektor feat. Thom Yorke, “Shipwreck”, the video directed by Tony “Truand” Datis, October 2011· therealmodeselektorwatch on youtube →