Ed O’Brien has announced details of his long-awaited second solo album, Blue Morpho, set for release on 22nd May 2026. Alongside the announcement, O’Brien has unveiled the album’s title track, offering a first glimpse into a deeply personal and transformative body of work.
Ed O'Brien
Marking his first release under his full name, Blue Morpho represents a significant new chapter for the Radiohead guitarist. Produced by Paul Epworth, the album emerged from an intense and introspective period in O’Brien’s life, shaped by personal struggle, healing, and a renewed creative outlook.
The title track itself is a luminous introduction to the record’s sonic world, blending hypnotic psych-folk textures, atmospheric electronics and expansive guitar work. Inspired by the restorative power of nature, Blue Morpho signals an artist stepping beyond familiar structures into more exploratory, emotionally resonant territory.
Following the release of his debut solo album Earth in 2020 (under the moniker EOB), O’Brien found himself grappling with both creative frustration and a profound period of depression. Retreating into a daily practice of meditation and cold exposure inspired by Wim Hof, he began to rebuild his relationship with music from the ground up—spending hours in his London studio improvising and documenting ideas without expectation or direction.
Those sessions ultimately laid the foundation for Blue Morpho, a record that channels years of emotional reckoning into something both intimate and expansive. Over time, the project evolved through a series of organic collaborations, including contributions from Shabaka Hutchings, who added flute textures, and Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits, who arranged strings performed by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra.
Ed O'Brien of Radiohead @ Glastonbury at Glastonbury Festival 2017
Recording took place between O’Brien’s studio in Wales and The Church Studios, with additional input from producer Flood on sequencing and Ben Baptie on mixing.
Accompanying the album is a short film, Blue Morpho: The Three Act Play, which recently premiered at South by Southwest and will be released in full alongside the album. The project further expands the album’s themes, presenting a visual exploration of transformation, darkness and renewal.
With Blue Morpho, Ed O’Brien steps confidently into a new creative identity—one that embraces vulnerability, experimentation and the unknown, resulting in a work that feels both deeply personal and strikingly universal.
Meanwhile O’Brien has revealed Radiohead’s touring plans: “What we’re going to do is, every year we’re going to do a different continent, and we’re going to do 20 shows each year. No more, no less”.
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