Ed O'Brien Had to Disappear

Blue Morpho took four years to write and record, resulting in seven songs shaped by Ed O’Brien’s experience of deep depression and long-standing emotional trauma intensified by pandemic lockdowns. Healing came through immersion in nature, including walking in trees and by a river to feel light and recalibrate, with the album’s title referencing a rare butterfly species he encountered with his family. The music blends mossy psych-folk beats, self-recorded bird chirps, tuned flutes, and jazzy string arrangements. O’Brien also describes creative burnout with alternative guitar music, saying he no longer wanted to hear it. He plans limited overseas tour dates but doubts bringing the show to the U.S. soon due to the high cost of touring.

"It took four years to write and record its seven songs, which were spurred by the Radiohead guitarist's experience of falling into a deep depression and navigating decades of emotional trauma exacerbated by the pandemic lockdowns. O'Brien learned that being immersed in nature is where he felt the strongest - the title Blue Morpho refers to a rare species of butterfly he encountered with his family. "Part of my healing journey was walking in the trees and in the river, feeling the light, and recalibrating there," he explains. "My cathedral is in the woods.""

"The album contains mossy psych-folk beats, self-recorded bird chirps, perfectly tuned flutes, and jazzy string arrangements waiting to enchant your ears, not unlike anotherrocker's recent solo project. "I couldn't listen to any more alternative guitar music," he says. "It got to a point when I was like, I never need to hear this again. It doesn't interest me anymore. ""

"Besides a few tour dates planned overseas in October to support Blue Morpho, O'Brien - despite the financial cushion from being in one of the most successful rock bands of all time - doesn't think it's feasible to bring the show over to the U.S. in the near future. "It's shit economics," he admits. "It's so expensive to tour." He's currently unsure which city or venue Radiohead will select for its 2027 slate of performances, but the Sphere doesn't interest him much."

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