Recommendations of the Editorial team
Radiohead’s immersive multimedia experience Motion Picture House: Kid A Mnesia will have its world premiere at Coachella on April 10. All festival goers can enter the 1,580 square meter bunker at the Empire Polo Field – with 12 meter high ceilings – and experience a film that shows artwork by Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood, created during the work on the albums “Kid A” and “Amnesiac”, released in 2000 and 2001. The images play to a soundtrack of Radiohead’s music, compiled from the original multi-track recordings and in 6-channel surround played. The whole thing is complemented by a gallery with large-format works of art from that time. (Although the band completed its first tour dates since 2018 last year, the members themselves will not be there.)
A trailer shows the silhouette of a horned creature with spindly fingers tiptoeing against a red background until it spots human-looking silhouettes against a white background. Ambient music also sounds. Thom Yorke described the film’s plot in a statement: “It features a monster trapped in an abandoned museum of the lost and forgotten. A relic of a time when technology could have saved us.”
After Coachella, the Motion Picture House will travel to Brooklyn, Chicago, Mexico City and San Francisco – each for residencies lasting several weeks until next year. Tickets for these events are available through Fair AXS. Those interested can pre-register via a dedicated website; Registered users will be randomly notified as to whether they have the opportunity to purchase tickets. General pre-sales start on April 24th at 10 a.m. local time.
Two hours in the bunker
Visits to the installation are possible in two-hour slots. Of this, 75 minutes are reserved for the audiovisual show; The remaining time is left to explore the gallery.
“Kid A Mnesia” – also the title of a box set anthology the band released in 2021 – was previously a Sean Evans-directed exhibition that appeared on the Epic Games Store and PS5 during the Covid lockdown. The Motion Picture House is the form in which Radiohead originally intended the project for audiences.
Even though this isn’t a Radiohead concert, guitarist Ed O’Brien recently revealed to Rolling Stone that the band has found a way to tour that feels sustainable for them. “What we plan to do: Every year we play a different continent, and we do 20 shows a year,” he said. “No more, no less.” However, they’re taking a break in 2026 – so fans will have to wait until next year to find out where they go next.
All residency dates
Motion Picture House: Kid A Mnesia – Residency dates:
- 6–31 May: Brooklyn @ Agger Fish Building
- July 30 – August 23: Chicago @ Cinespace Studio
- October 27th – November 15th: Mexico City @ La Maravilla Studios
- January 14 – February 7, 2027: San Francisco @ Palace of Fine Arts
