The Radiohead frontman has shared a new track in support of Greenpeace’s campaign to protect the Atlantic Ocean.
It’s been a busy few weeks for Thom Yorke. Last week he dropped Volk, the third release from his forthcoming Suspiria soundtrack. Now he’s released Hands Off the Antarctic in support of Greenpeace’s quest for a vast Antarctic ocean sanctuary. Yorke shared the news to Twitter last night (16 October) with the caption: “My new collaboration with Greenpeace is dedicated to the Antarctic, and the two million people working to protect it.”
My new collaboration with @Greenpeace is dedicated to the Antarctic, and the two million people working to protect it.https://t.co/ZhTsf6PYo0
— Thom Yorke (@thomyorke) 16 October 2018
“There are some places on this planet that are meant to stay raw and wild and not destroyed by humanity’s footprint,” he said in a statement. “This track is about stopping the relentless march of those heavy footsteps. The Antarctic is a true wilderness and what happens there affects us all. That’s why we should protect it.”
The instrumental track comes with a video featuring footage captured from Greenpeace’s ship Arctic Sunrise, gathered from a three-month expedition last year.
This isn’t the first time Yorke has spoken out on environmental issues, having fronted a major campaign for Friends of the Earth in 2006. In a piece for Observer Magazine in 2008, he called himself a “climate optimist” and revealed that “scary statistics about icecaps melting, and changing weather patterns” inspired the mountain range cover image for Radiohead’s LP Kid A, released in 2000.
Find out more about the Greenpeace campaign here.