Thom’s sideman has a new sound

Music producers rarely leap from mixing desk to live room – even Ian Broudie of Lightning Seeds fame had form on the Liverpool band scene before he worked with Echo and the Bunnymen.

The latest figure to come out of the control room is Nigel Godrich, who made his name via a long-term relationship with Radiohead and, especially, their singer Thom Yorke, where he has been more collaborator than sound-mixer.

Having also worked with such stellar names as Paul McCartney and REM, Godrich has now formed the trio Ultraista, its name taken from a Surrealist Spanish literary movement, that features drummer Joey Waronker and the hitherto unknown Laura Bettinson.

The producer had been quietly working for a while with his mate and favoured session sticksman on Afrobeat and Krautrock-inspired experiments when they decided to add an extra element. Via tenuous connections they found Bettinson, performing under the stage name Dimbleby and Capper, who provides Ultraista with a hazy vocal style. Ultraista’s self-titled album is out now on Temporary Residence