To remix a Radiohead track is one thing but to remix it and bust out your own magnificent jazz guitar solo on top of that? That’s just stellar. Meet San Diego’s own Scooter Oyama, better known as GO Yama.
Frankly, I love Radiohead and I love a good Radiohead remix just as much. When the homie Deadpoole favourited GO Yama’s reimagining of Flying Lotus and Thundercat’s theme for Aqua TV Show Show, I was dead set on discovering what else the San Diegan had on offer. After a lovely layover via Totoro Bump (yes, GO Yama definitely flipped the score for Studio Ghibli’s classic film My Neighbour Totoro and he certainly did it a superb amount of justice), I arrived at his remix of Radiohead’s Weird Fishes from the lauded independent release In Rainbows. The track begins on a subtle note, creeping into your senses slowly and handsomely just before Thom Yorke’s haunting vocals and a solid kick set the tone. It’s shortly after that where things get busy. As if someone fired a starter pistol at the Olympic 100m final, you are thrown headlong into a kaleidoscopic sound of clean guitar; slightly fuzzy and warbled bass; a clap that ripples through your soul; and Yorke’s vocals floating effortlessly from ear canal to ear canal. Once the ambient breakdown hits, you feel as if you’re hovering somewhere in the exosphere. As you start to get comfortable though, GO Yama sounds another soul shot and the bass – formerly only lightly tinged with a bit of distortion – dials up the intensity and really goes in. Then the magic happens: GO Yama’s guitar solo. The solo break is nothing short of utter brilliance, shimmering brightly like a constellation. As he goes from note to note and slides from fret to fret, I wanted to pick up the phone, ring Jonny Greenwood, play the solo back to him, and then disconnect the call. If GO Yama isn’t on your radar, now’s the time to calibrate your aural frequencies folks. He really is that damn good.
Stream the track below.