When Radiohead were signed in 1991, drummer Philip Selway decided to put his solo ambitions on hold to focus on the band’s career. He didn’t release his own debut album, Familial, until 2010. Speaking to Prog in 2023 as he launched third solo LP Strange Dance, Selway reflected on how his decision had paid off.
When it comes to formative influences, was prog on your radar much when you were growing up?
Yeah. I’ve got two older sisters. When I first started getting into music at the end of the 70s, my initial musical adventures were overhearing records coming out of their rooms. They listened to everything from King Crimson and Pink Floyd through to The Clash. I favoured more that kind of post-punk thing, the new wave thing. That’s where I really connected with music.
Having said that, even at that age, everything was very tribal. So anything prog I probably rejected. But that very formative stage with King Crimson, Pink Floyd and everything else was still in there.
Also, with Radiohead, I guess we’ve kind of drawn on those elements as well at various points – that kind of musical ambition, the scope and the soundscapes. There’s a huge amount to connect with.
As a drummer, did the discovery of bands like Can, Faust and Neu! have a palpable effect on your playing?
I guess from around Kid A onwards, yes. Those kinds of rhythms and textures were really feeding into what I was thinking about. A lot of those drum patterns that were around at that time go into this quite hypnotic space. And I think that motorik approach really suited that. Also, when you’re in a band, you’re very guided by how your other band members respond to what you’re doing.
Does the singer-songwriter part of you alter your approach to drumming?
I think it comes back to how drumming fits in as part of a song, as part of that writing process; I think that’s where I’ve always come from. When Radiohead were making The Bends our producer, John Leckie, told me I played drums like I was playing guitar.
I thought, “Oh, that’s interesting!” But I knew what he meant. It’s part of that rhythmic texture, if you like. What I do is very embedded in the song.
Radiohead has often been a collaborative effort – but was a solo career always in the back of your head?
For me, drumming’s always been about how it fits into that broader scope of songwriting. So yes, I’ve always wanted to develop my songwriting. When Radiohead got signed and things started to develop for us, I realised I needed to just completely focus on the drumming and what that could bring to our material.
All of us in the band have taken that relationship to places that we couldn’t have imagined when we started. And within that, I think we’ve all shaped our musical voices and output.
I was just thinking of a trilogy of records. I didn’t think I’d end up doing soundtrack work or any of the other stuff
It’s the realisation that Radiohead is only part of the story. It’s been important that Jonny’s done his soundtrack work, and that Thom’s done his work on Atoms For Peace and joining Jonny for Smile, and Ed doing his solo stuff. And Colin’s been out playing with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, which is incredible. Isn’t that just the ultimate gig?
You’ve previously said that 2010’s Familial was you making up for lost time. Did you wish you’d started making solo albums a little earlier?
In some ways. But then again I don’t think I’d have been able to do it in the way that I did – as a voice in my own right. It wasn’t completely developed until then. You need to launch into that to actually find out where you want to go, musically. So it felt like a very natural jump-off point for me at that stage.
I don’t have any regrets about it not having happened before. When I started out doing the solo material, I realised it was a steep learning curve for me, and I guess the scope of it has grown with the musical experiences I’ve had in there, making the records, doing the soundtracks, people that I’ve worked with.
And is your next solo album already starting to take shape in your mind?
It is, actually. You get to the end of one project and can’t see beyond that for a little while, but it’s led by the ideas that you’ve got coming as well. To do a solo record you need songs, and they’re starting to happen a bit more now. So yeah, I would love to.
When I first started doing the solo stuff, I was just thinking of it as a trilogy of records and didn’t really project beyond that. I certainly didn’t think I’d end up doing soundtrack work or any of the other stuff. It feels wonderful to be at that point.
