Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien has finally released his spectral song, “Abbeycwmhir,” which was previously only available on an exclusive seven-inch vinyl. The song arrives two months after the release of O’Brien’s sophomore solo record Blue Morpho.
“Abbeycwmhir” takes its name from a village in Powys, Wales, the Welsh translating to “Abbey in the Long Valley” in English. The brooding, ambient track opens with a chorus of ghostly layered voices as O’Brien’s guitar breaks through a cloud ambient swirls and flourishes.
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The guitarist revealed he battled depression and a “mid-life crisis” spurred by the Covid pandemic while making Blue Morpho in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. Across the four years he recorded the album, he found solace in reconnecting with the nature of the Welsh countryside.
“I’d take our dog, Ziggy, and we’d go off and walk,” O’Brien said. “There are a lot of places of spiritual significance in this land, whether it’s an old monastery or abbey, or a mountain or a waterfall. I was drawn to these places, and through that, I healed.”
“It’s been a really beautiful journey,” he added of Blue Morpho. “This record has taken a long time, but I wouldn’t change it, because there’s been so much life in the record, and that has added to the richness… It felt honest, and at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing for me.”
O’Brien will promote Blue Morpho on a short European tour set to launch in October. In his Rolling Stone interview, he also revealed that Radiohead plan to play 20 shows on a different continent each year.
“We do not ever want it to be like we’re going through the motions or we’re having to run on empty,” he said of the band. “We’ve got to be able to do it. And you know what? We’re not spring chickens anymore.”
Radiohead released their last album A Moon Shaped Pool in 2016. They recently embarked on their first tour in seven years in 2025, and O’Brien described it as revitalizing. “That tour was very, very emotional, very profound,” he said. “We all felt that. We’d look at one another on that stage, like, ‘This is amazing.’ I feel like I’m the luckiest person on the planet, and I’m not just saying that.”
A new Radiohead art installation/film experience titled Kid A Mnensia is on display in the Brooklyn Navy Yard this until July 12. It heads to Mexico City and San Francisco in late 2026 and early 2027, respectively.
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