Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, and the Rajasthan Express are reuniting for their first album since 2015’s Junun. Titled Ranjha, the record is out May 8 on World Circuit. Greenwood and co. have also shared an eight-minute video for the lead single and title track—you can check that out below.
Greenwood, Tzur, and the Rajasthan Express recorded Junjun in a 15th-century Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur, India. For Ranjha, they relocated to the Oxford studio where Greenwood, Thom Yorke, and drummer Tom Skinner—who also plays on the album—record as The Smile. “It was about getting a clearer sound in a more controlled environment, but using the features of the studio to be creative in a completely different way,” Tzur explained in a press statement.
Greenwood, is married to the Israeli artist Sharona Katan and has also collaborated with the Israeli musician Dudu Tassa. In a Sunday Times interview with Radiohead last year, Yorke said the band would not perform in Israel while Benjamin Netanyahu remains prime minister. Greenwood, however, disagreed with Yorke: “I would argue that the government is more likely to use a boycott and say, ‘Everyone hates us—we should do exactly what we want.’ Which is far more dangerous.”
Revisit the 2015 interview Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and Shye Ben Tzur Talk Junun Project.
Ranjha:
01 Shiqwa
02 Marbolot
03 Ranjha
04 Shemesh
05 Shiqwa (Reprise)
06 Ishq-E-Majnun
07 Saqi
08 Marbolot (Reprise)
