Skrting on the Surface

Variations on the title phrase appeared on the Radiohead website around the time of their album OK Computer (1997). In 2012, Radiohead performed a different arrangement, which Pitchfork described as "a bleak slow-groover". In 2021, Yorke and the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood announced a new band, the Smile, with the drummer Tom Skinner. Skinner said "Skrting on the Surface" was one of the first songs they worked on, and developed from Greenwood's Undecuple meter| guitar arpeggios. The Smile debuted "Skrting on the Surface", then titled "Skating on the Surface", in a surprise performance for Live at Worthy Farm, a live video produced by Glastonbury Festival streamed on 22 May 2021. The single was released on 17 March 2022. ==Music video==

The video was directed by Mark Jenkin, who also directed the previous Smile video, "The Smoke". It was shot on 16 mm film in the Rosevale Tin Mine in Cornwall, England. Water from the mine was used to develop the film by hand. The video was filmed during Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin; the crew were unaware of the storm damage while they worked underground. ==Reception==

The Fader journalist Jordan Darville called the song "an unabashed channeling of what has made Greenwood and Yorke's creative partnership so successful over the course of many decades". The Rolling Stone journalist Daniel Kreps said Skinner's drumming and Greenwood's arpeggios gave the song "a technicolour makeover" in comparison to the earlier versions. ==Track listing==

The song, on specific streaming services and digital storefronts, also contains the Smile's two previously released singles. ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from album liner notes. The Smile • Thom Yorke — vocals, bass • Jonny Greenwood — guitar, bass • Tom Skinner — drums Production • Nigel Godrich Additional musicians • London Contemporary Orchestra • Hugh Brunt – orchestration • Eloisa-Fleur Thom – violin • Alessandro Ruisi – violin • Zara Benyounes – violin • Sophie Mather – violin • Agata Daraskaite – violin • Charlotte Bonneton – violin • Zoe Matthews – viola • Clifton Harrison – viola • Oliver Coates – cello • Max Ruisi – cello • Clare O’Connell – cello • Jason Yarde – saxophone • Robert Stillman – saxophone • Chelsea Carmichael – flute • Nathaniel Cross – trombone • Byron Wallen – trumpet • Theon Cross – tuba • Tom Herbert – double bass • Dave Brown – double bass ==References==