Kid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on October 2, 2000 by Parlophone. It was recorded with their producer, Nigel Godrich, in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Departing from their earlier sound, Radiohead incorporated influences from electronic music, krautrock, jazz and 20th-century classical music, with a wider range of instruments and effects. The singer, Thom Yorke, wrote impersonal and abstract lyrics, cutting up phrases and assembling them at random.
In a departure from industry practice, Radiohead released no singles and conducted few interviews and photoshoots. Instead, they released short animations and became one of the first major acts to use the Internet for promotion. Bootlegs of early performances were shared on filesharing services, and Kid A was leaked before release. In 2000, Radiohead toured Europe in a custom-built tent without corporate logos.
Kid A debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and became Radiohead’s first number-one album on the US Billboard 200. It was certified platinum in the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, France and Japan. Its new sound divided listeners, and some dismissed it as pretentious or derivative. However, at the end of the decade, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and the Times ranked it the greatest album of the 2000s, and in 2020 Rolling Stone ranked it number 20 on its updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Kid A won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Radiohead released a second album of material from the sessions, Amnesiac, in 2001. In 2021, they released Kid A Mnesia, an anniversary reissue compiling Kid A, Amnesiac and previously unreleased material.
Tracklist:
- Everything in Its Right Place
- Kid A
- The National Anthem
- How to Disappear Completely
- Treefingers
- Optimistic
- In Limbo
- Idioteque
- Morning Bell
- Motion Picture Soundtrack
- Untitled hidden track
Credits:
Production
Nigel Godrich: production, engineering, mixing
Radiohead: production
Gerard Navarro: production assistance, additional engineering
Graeme Stewart: additional engineering
Stanley: artwork (“Landscapes, Knives and Glue”)
Tchock: artwork (“Landscapes, Knives and Glue”)
Chris Blair: mastering
Additional musicians
Orchestra of St John’s: strings
John Lubbock: conducting
Jonny Greenwood: scoring
Horns on “The National Anthem”
Andy Bush: trumpet
Steve Hamilton: alto saxophone[b]
Martin Hathaway: alto saxophone (etc.)
Andy Hamilton: tenor saxophone
Mark Lockheart: tenor saxophone
Stan Harrison: baritone saxophone
Liam Kirkham: trombone
Mike Kearsey: bass trombone
Henry Binns: rhythm sampling on “The National Anthem”
