Anima is the third studio album by the English musician Thom Yorke, released on 27 June 2019 through XL Recordings. It was produced by Yorke‘s longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich. Anima comprises electronic music developed through live performances and studio work, with themes of anxiety and dystopia.
The album accompanied by a short film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, which was released on Netflix and in select IMAX theatres, and a music video for “Last I Heard (…He Was Circling the Drain)”. Yorke embarked on an international tour to support the album; later dates were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Anima became Yorke‘s first number-one album on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
It received positive reviews and was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package at the 2020 Grammy Awards. The Anima film received acclaim and was nominated for the Grammy for Best Music Film.
The project was followed by the Not the News Rmx EP, featuring an extended version of “Not the News” plus remixes.
Tracklist:
- Traffic
- Last I Heard (…He Was Circling the Drain)
- Twist
- Dawn Chorus
- I Am a Very Rude Person
- Not the News
- The Axe
- Impossible Knots
- Runwayaway
Vinyl bonus track - (Ladies & Gentlemen, Thank You for Coming)
Anima was accompanied by a 15-minute film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The Anima film was played in some IMAX theatres and released on Netflix on the day of the album release. It features Yorke‘s partner, the actress Dajana Roncione, plus choreography by Damien Jalet, cinematography by Darius Khondji and projections by Tarik Barri. In the film, Yorke rides a train of uniformed passengers (Not the News). He meets the eye of a woman (Roncione), and pursues her when she forgets her bag (Traffic). They meet in the street, dance together and board a tram (Dawn Chorus). The film began with a concept from Yorke about workers whose bodies don’t work any more and are being pushed by an invisible force.
The team wanted the first sequence to be oppressive and hyper-precise so it feels like a machine, influenced by dystopian stories such as Nineteen Eighty Four and Metropolis and the physical comedy of Charlie Chaplin. For the Traffic sequence, the team created a platform inclined at a 34 degree angle and placed the camera at the same angle, erasing the slope.It was nominated for Best Music Film at the 2020 Grammy Awards.
Personnel
Additional musicians
Joey Waronker – drums at the end of “The Axe”
Philip Selway – sped-up drums on “Impossible Knots”
London Contemporary Orchestra and Choir
Hugh Brunt – conducting, orchestrations
Talia Morey – copy
Galya Bisengalieva (leader), Alessandro Ruisi, Zara Benyounes, Alexandra Caldon, Venetia Jollands, Patrick Savage, Anna Ovsyanikova, Marianne Haynes – first violins
Eloisa-Fleur Thom, Emily Holland, Gillon Cameron, Guy Button, Nicole Stokes, Francesca Barritt, Violeta Barreña, Ed McCullagh – second violins
Ian Anderson, Clifton Harrison, Matt Kettle, Matthew Maguire, Diana Matthews, Alison D’Souza, Jenny Lewisohn, Meghan Cassidy – violas
Brian O’Kane, Reinoud Ford, Jonny Byers, Gregor Riddell, Zoe Martlew, Sergio Serra – cellos
Dave Brown, Roger Linley, Laurence Ungless, Gwen Reed – double basses
Pasha Mansurov (solo: piccolo, alto and bass), Zinajda Kodrič (II: alto and bass), Gareth Mclearnon (III: alto, bass and contrabass) – flutes
Craig Apps, Zands Duggan, Louise Anna Duggan – percussion
Josephine Stephenson, Héloïse Werner, Fiona Fraser, Harriet Armston-Clarke, Laurel Neighbour, Eleanor Gregory – sopranos
Rose Martin, Katie Schofield, Amy Lyddon, Emma Lewis, Lissie Paul, Judy Brown – altos
Technical personnel
Nigel Godrich – production
Bob Ludwig – mastering
Artwork
Stanley Donwood – artwork (“graphite”)
Thom Yorke (credited as Tchocky) – artwork (“graphite”)
