What differentiates the Martenot from other electronic instruments is its interface, the way that the player controls the sound. The songs Kid A, The National Anthem, How to Disappear Completely, Optimistic, Motion Picture Soundtrack, Pyramid Song, You and Whose Army, and Morning Bell / Amnesiac all feature the ondes Martenot – and that doesn’t include the b-sides from this era! This acquisition would be pivotal for the recording of Kid A and Amnesiac, and in no short time Jonny was teaching himself the instrument (hence his unusual playing technique) and using it to define the sound of those albums. It wasn’t until 1999, when he learned of one for sale in Paris and purchased it with its Palme diffuseur, that Jonny finally became acquainted with the instrument. He only knew it from the sweet melodies and dramatic electronic glissandi in recordings of Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphony. Although today Jonny is known for popularizing the ondes Martenot in the english-speaking world, until the late-90s he hadn’t so much as seen a picture of one. Radiohead’s tour dates in 2000 were the first time that Jonny publicly performed with an ondes Martenot, and also one of the few tours he performed with the original 80s Martenot played on Kid A and Amnesiac.
The gear behind Radiohead’s ‘Kid A’ sound in Dublin Highlight: Jonny’s original ondes Martenot
