Note how each instrument can select between one of two patterns. *Clearly a raised scale degree to reach C#, so B# is more appropriate than C natural.Ī screenshot from Jonny’s score to Water (from fabermusic). We get an F# major triad at 3:23, but the pattern violins remain on F# until 3:34-3:36, when they join together to play B#* and then finish on C#. Jonny used the latter technique in his score for Water, and I think that it is more likely what he used for Burn The Witch. By giving several players multiple patterns to choose from, they would almost always end up picking different patterns, and (if the patterns are written to enable it) would play at different times despite being in time with eachother. Another options is that Jonny gave each violin players an option to choose between patterns on each measure. It seems possible that Jonny used this technique to make several violins stress the same note with seemingly at random. One way to achieve this might have been a technique borrowed from Penderecki: the Polish composer frequently has several instruments play the same pattern - only offset slightly from each other ( example video of Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima). Jonny likes to write separate scores for very single musician, and during this section there are several violins playing completely out of sync. The climax (starting at ~3:10) is marked by the low strings playing a much louder arco rhythm while the violins go crazy with short arco bursts. The bursts accent the first and fourth beats of every other measure - a particularly effective syncopation. When we get the same “swell” during the chorus (at 1:17-1:29), it is peaked with short glissando bursts. This is made particularly effective by having the arco players on one side (left channel) and the col legno players on the other (right channel). Then on top of this initial web we get small swells of higher pitch at 0:03-0:07 and again at 0:10-0:13, with a combination of both arco and col lengo crescendo’ing and decrescendo’ing over the course of two measures. There also seems to be a plucked C# on the off-beats of the first two measures which fades out by the third. F#4, but in the second measure the players pluck eight notes starting on the the third beat and fade out quickly. On the third beat of the first measure, we get a single pizz. Then we get a col legno “thwack” on every third beat. Low pitched pizzicato F#’s are mixed in as well. We get plectrums on muted strings tapping out every eighth note, forming the true foundation for everything else. However, the string players are really put to work on the new single, with extensive col legno and pizzicato playing.įrom the start, Jonny uses several techniques simultaneous for particularly complex textures. This is distinct from Spectre, since the would-be theme song’s orchestration also included trumpets and french horns. The orchestra on Burn The Witch consists entirely of strings. This was very likely the session for Spectre, but tracks from LP9 may have been recorded at the time as well. Photo posted by Robert Ziegler on twitter (since deleted) of when he conducted an orchestra for Radiohead in September 2015. Thom also adds some vibrato, while Ed’s note is played “clean”.įrom the 2012 MOMA PS1 DJ set: Thom’s Roland Analog Echo DC-20 which may have been used for the thick, dark delays on Burn The Witch. The humming fades in very slowly, so it can be hard to notice, but it’s really clear when you switch quickly between 1:16 and 3:08. In addition to the primary vocals, from 3:04-3:24 Thom’s humming is layered over a sustained F# played by Ed. Another case is the thick, dark (but rhythmically distinguishable) delay at 1:07-1:09 in the left channel while Thom sustains the word “burn”. For example, there’s a burst of reverb in the left channel at 1:03-1:04 when Thom sings “witch”. The choruses (“burn the witch) feature very specific bursts of well filtered reverb and delay. Thom’s vocals are unusually dry through the verses, with just a tiny bit of reverb to help them fit better in the mix. When Radiohead start the 2016 tour we will very likely learn about some new bits of gear which were used to craft the album, but the tiny glances we’ve had into their workflow on solo projects have been sufficiently illuminating that this analysis should (for the most part) stand the test of time. Taking our past knowledge of how Radiohead creates music into account, it seems possible to understand many of those complexities, both in terms of the instruments/tools used and how they were employed. The amount of precision and thought that went into every detail – even the ones resulting in indeterminacy – is staggering. It may clock in at under four minutes, but Burn The Witch is an incredibly dense track. Radiohead’s BURN THE WITCH – Instrumental and Theoretical Analysis
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