Ed O’Brien is stepping further out of Radiohead’s shadow with his second solo album, Blue Morpho, a deeply personal record shaped in part by the depression he experienced after years of performing with one of Britain’s most influential bands.
O’Brien said the period surrounding his first solo release was difficult. He had recently completed a Radiohead tour and was struggling with anxiety and the pressure of following a band whose musical reputation had become so difficult to match.
“I wasn’t well when my first album came out,” he said. “I had a lot of fears.”
He now sees that experience differently. The pressure of comparison has become less important to him, and completing the album itself has become the measure of success.
“You can’t equal Radiohead,” O’Brien said. “Of course some people won’t like what you do. And that’s fine.”
Blue Morpho draws directly on the darker period of his life. O’Brien has described the depression he experienced as being connected to childhood trauma and said that making the album became a form of therapy.
Born in 1968, he reflected on how attitudes towards parenting and emotional wellbeing have changed between his generation and that of his children, who are now 20 and 22.
He also credits spending time in nature with helping him recover.
O’Brien said he underwent therapy but believes that people living in cities can particularly benefit from having access to quiet natural environments. Walking, rivers and birdsong, he argued, can provide a sense of calm that is increasingly difficult to find in modern life.
His environmental concerns also extend to the wider debate about technology and humanity’s relationship with the planet. He criticised the idea of wealthy technology entrepreneurs looking towards Mars while Earth faces environmental problems.
“We have an incredible planet,” he said, arguing that greater attention should be paid to protecting and restoring it.
Musically, Blue Morpho moves between trip-hop, psychedelic sounds and hypnotic guitar work, while also reflecting O’Brien’s longstanding connection with Brazil.
For his live performances, he will be joined by a six-piece band that includes jazz musicians. The shows will also give him the chance to explore his new role as a frontman.
O’Brien admits that performing at the centre of a stage does not come naturally to him. He said watching Thom Yorke evolve as a performer over more than three decades has nevertheless given him a point of reference.
“The Thom of 2026 is not the same as the Thom of 1991,” he said.
He recalled Radiohead’s first tour of the United States as a particularly important moment for the band, saying the experience made the group more open and changed the way they interacted with audiences.
For O’Brien, that relationship with the crowd remains central to live music. Even when audiences do not explicitly respond, he said musicians can usually sense whether their work is connecting.
He recalled the release of Radiohead’s 2011 album The King of Limbs, when the band could feel that some listeners were uncertain about the record.
Music, he said, ultimately reflects who an artist is at a particular moment.
What comes next for Radiohead?
Radiohead returned to the stage last year after a long period away from touring, an experience O’Brien described as emotional and powerful. He expects the band’s next shows to be equally significant.
A new Radiohead album, however, does not appear to be on the immediate agenda.
“We haven’t talked about recording new music at all,” O’Brien said, adding that he did not know what would happen next.
He understands why fans want another Radiohead album, but believes the members have benefited from pursuing separate projects.
After spending so many years together, he compared being in Radiohead to living with a family. Eventually, he said, everyone had to leave home and find their own space.
For now, those separate paths make returning to the stage together even more special.
One thing O’Brien says he would find particularly difficult to imagine is Radiohead embracing artificial intelligence.
“I hate AI,” he said, arguing that the growing overload of technology is harmful. He therefore finds it difficult to imagine the band using AI in its future work.
Be First to Comment