It’s been a couple years now since Radiohead’s most recent album, 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool, but that doesn’t mean Thom Yorke hasn’t been busy. He’s recently been teasing his upcoming Suspiria soundtrack, sharing tracks like “Suspirium” and “Has Ended.” Now he’s taking a quick break from rolling out that record to share something else that’s important to him: Yorke just dropped a new instrumental called “Hands Off The Antarctic,” which he has released in support of international environmental nonprofit organization Greenpeace.
Greenpeace is currently in the midst of its Protect The Antarctic campaign, which is calling for a 700,000 square mile sanctuary for Antarctic wildlife like penguins, whales, and seals. Yorke says of the campaign:
“There are some places on this planet that are meant to stay raw and wild and not destroyed by humanity’s footprint. This track is about stopping the relentless march of those heavy footsteps. The Antarctic is a true wilderness and what happens there affects us all. That’s why we should protect it.”
The campaign has so far received over two million signatures, and is described:
“Sitting at the bottom of the world, the Antarctic is home to a great diversity of life. It provides food and shelter to amazing creatures such as penguins, whales, seals and orcas. But a warming climate and expanding industrial fishing poses a threat to this vital ocean and its iconic creatures.
The good news is we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to create an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary – the largest protected area on Earth. This would put the waters off-limits to the industrial fishing vessels currently plundering the ocean of tiny shrimp-like krill, on which Antarctic sea life relies.
We need the members of the Antarctic Ocean Commission – the international body tasked with the protection of Antarctic marine ecosystem – to stop dragging their feet and protect the Antarctic Ocean. By working together we can urge members of the Antarctic Ocean Commission to put the Antarctic first and secure an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.”
Listen to “Hands Off The Antarctic” above.
