Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard team up on new single ‘Back In The Game’
Marking their second collaboration, Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke have teamed up once more for ‘Back In The Game’, a throbbing, gothic slice of electronic music. Featuring Yorke’s vocals and Prichard’s signature glitchy sound, it’s the perfect coming together of the two.
This isn’t the first time the duo have teamed up. In 2016, their track ‘Beautiful People’ appeared on Pritchard’s record, Under The Sun. In 2011, Pritchard also released two different remixes of Radiohead’s ‘Bloom’, as well as working with material from Aphex Twin, Depeche Mode, PJ Harvey, Slowdive and more across his incredibly broad and eclectic career.
While electronic music and Thom Yorke’s left-field rock sound wouldn’t be an obvious fit, the two figures are true luminaries of the 1990s music scene. Back then, Pritchard led the way with his own genre while Radiohead dominated the rock scene, expanding it into something new and exciting by pushing the limits and boundaries of what would be expected from a guitar band.
So, the two being regular collaborators and now pairing up again for ‘Back In The Game’ is a fine way to not only honour their creative relationship but also celebrate two truly essential and pioneering figures.
Their collaboration also celebrates an essential and pioneering instrument. As on ‘Beautiful People, ‘Back In The Game’ sees Pritchard using an H910 Harmonizer to distort Yorke’s voice, one of the world’s first devices for creating audio digital effects. He nods to the importance of these tools of the trade as well as the people behind these music-defining moves and moments.
There’s no word yet as to whether this new single will be part of a bigger project. Either way, it’s the first new music from Pritchard since 2020, and the new track marks a strong return.
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