Mark Pritchard has recruited Thom Yorke of The Smile and Radiohead for a new single. Together, the two have unveiled the recording for “Back in the Game,” which was previewed live throughout Yorke’s 2024 solo tour. Take a listen below.
While the two have been frequent creative partners over the past decade, often appearing on each other’s records (like Pritchard’s 2016 single “Beautiful People”) and in live performance settings, “Back in the Game” marks their first proper collaboration. On the track, Pritchard digitally distorted Yorke’s distinct vocals with a H910 Harmonizer, lending an edgy, haunting quality to the song.
The visual was directed by longtime Pritchard collaborator Jonathan Zawada, a creator known for mixing digital and analogue techniques. “I was immediately struck by the deranged bassline that made me think of the final scene of Staying Alive where John Travolta is cockily strutting through the New York streets, but I saw it with a more sinister overlay,” Zawada shared in a statement. “Slowly, a version of that visual arose around a character wearing a kind of giant parade head with a fixed expression of mania stuck on their face, such that you couldn’t tell if their endless march was one of aggression or celebration.”
In the meantime, as Yorke has been busy pursuing projects like “Back in the Game” or his work with The Smile, including 2024’s Cutouts, he maintains that he really doesn’t care about the people hoping for new releases from Radiohead.
“Back in the Game” Artwork: