Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has seemingly teased the release of his next solo album, after a series of mysterious adverts popped up across the world.
The advertisement for ‘Anima Technologies’ has been spotted on London underground trains, photos booths in Milan and even the pages of The Dallas Observer. Photos posted on social media reveal that the advert is promoting a “dream camera” to capture our subconscious thoughts, alongside a phone number (916-619-6192 in the US or 07588733111 in the UK).
When fans dial the number, a pre-recorded voice message says that “Anima Technologies has been ordered by the authorities to cease and desist from undertaking its advertised business.” A previously unreleased track from Yorke called ‘Not the News’ is then played in the background.
A website for Anima Technologies also contains a similar message to the phone, claiming that the company has “been ordered by the High Court to cease and desist from undertaking its advertised business” and that the website “has been seized by the Authorities to prevent anymore on-line activities in relation to the aforementioned business.”
Hey #London folks! We think we have spotted part of an ARG on the tube this morning (Jubilee line).
Anyone know anything more about this?#Anima#AnimaTechnologies pic.twitter.com/7GM4Eks5jY
— Kim Warren (@Fellwolf) June 13, 2019
So this is strange. Viral campaign for something but what? #anima #animatechnologies #dreams #dreamcamera pic.twitter.com/vLkVIonGJl
— Ian Abbott (@radharc) June 13, 2019
Ok…so after a bit of digging tonight, I think I've worked some of it out. I think it's got something to do with @thomyorke and/or @radiohead. THREAD. https://t.co/eLARPLtTHN
— Tom Roles ? (@tomroles) June 14, 2019
Recommended
This comes after Yorke discussed the forthcoming record earlier this year, admitting that it was inspired by dystopia, anxiety, and a “crisis point” in our social system.
“The dystopian thing is one part of it, yes, but for me, one of the big, prevailing things was a sense of anxiety,” Yorke explained. “If you suffer from anxiety it manifests itself in unpredictable ways, some people have over-emotional reactions. [For] some people the roots of reality can just get pulled out, you don’t know what’s happening. Then eventually reality comes back.
“For some reason I thought a really good way of expressing anxiety creatively was in a dystopian environment. I had so many visual things going on at this point.”
Meanwhile, Radiohead last week responded to being “hacked” after having 18 hours of previously unheard material from the making of ‘OK Computer’ leaked by releasing the sessions themselves, for a limited time.