The King of Limbs

The King of Limbs is the eighth studio album by English alternative rock band Radiohead, produced by Nigel Godrich. It was released on 18 February 2011 as a download in MP3 and WAV formats. It was followed by a physical CD release on 28 March 2011. A special “newspaper” edition was released on 9 May. The “newspaper” edition will contain two 10-inch vinyl records in a special record sleeve, many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork, a compact disc, and a colour piece of oxo-degradable plastic package. The album will be released by Ticker Tape in the United States, XL in the United Kingdom and Hostess Entertainment in Japan.

The album was announced on Radiohead’s website on 14 February 2011, four days before release. The name of the album refers to an oak tree in Wiltshire’s Savernake Forest, thought to be 1,000 years old. The tree is a pollarded oak, referring to an ancient technique for harvesting timber for fencing and firewood. Though it does not feature on maps, the tree is said to be 3 miles (4.8 km) from Tottenham Court House, where Radiohead recorded part of their previous album In Rainbows. On 18 February, Radiohead’s official blog published the first song from the album, “Lotus Flower”, with an accompanying music video, followed by a post announcing the album was released.