Phil Selway says the 5/4 “Morning Bell” was his idea

It was Phil Selway who suggested putting “Morning Bell” into 5/4, and he had the pattern ready. He tells Nick Zanca, in a long interview for Reverb, that the first version was the one that ended up on Amnesiac, and that the change turned it into a different song in some ways, though the core of it stayed. The 5/4 version is the one on Kid A.

In Radiohead his job is drums and percussion, and his solo records let him try out the rest of what he can do.

I'm trying to work out which one's my alter ego: my drumming self or my solo self.

Philip Selway¹

On Strange Dance, his third album, out on Bella Union and produced by Marta Salogni, the drummer mostly gave up the drums. A day and a half in, he was bogged down in technicalities, and Valentina Magaletti took over. She built her parts within six or seven takes, and watching her, he says, part of him thought he was not a drummer at all. The single “Picking Up Pieces” started as tape loops of his guitar, hung out on a washing line for about a week and a half. Laura Moody had a free hand with the strings and brass. He has also recorded Nick Drake's “Fly” for a tribute album of about 20 artists, due later this year.

Some songs come back easier than others. When Radiohead brought back “Let Down” in 2016, it had been so long that muscle memory was no help; “Just” was played maybe once or twice between 2016 and 2018, because it did not sit well.

The band have not played in public for five years. Selway expects excitement and trepidation in equal measure when they reconvene, and says they will have to be sure they are doing it for the right reasons.

It is going to be interesting when we get back together because that will be the longest we've gone without playing together.

Philip Selway¹