Photo by Jeffrey Herman

Back in January, the minimalist composer Steve Reich confirmed that he would premiere a new piece inspired by Radiohead in London on March 5, 2013. The work, "Radio Rewrite", reimagines "Everything In its Right Place" from Kid A as well as "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" from In Rainbows. As mentioned. It's the result of a meeting between Reich and Jonny Greenwood last year in Poland, where Reich saw Greenwood perform his own composition "Electric Counterpoint".

The Quietus has now interviewed Reich regarding the piece. "Radio Rewrite", which will be performed by the London Sinfonietta, will be 18-20 minutes in length and is nearly finished. Reich said it's "not at all a rock piece" and is scored for flute, clarinet, two vibraphones, two pianos, string quartet, and one electric bass (which is performed only in the first and last movements). "If you didn't know the original material, rock and roll wouldn't cross your mind," Reich said. But he noted that "sometimes something comes to the surface which reminds you very clearly... of what [Radiohead does]."

When planning the piece, Reich thought:

What if I took these songs, "Everything in its Right Place" and "Jigsaw Falling into Place", and used some of the harmonies, some of the bass lines, some of the melodic material, but going my own way with it, using that material as a starting point, a stimulus. Sure enough, it worked. You know, you go where the energy is.

Reich told The Quietus that had begun writing a "giant counterpoint piece" for the London Sinfonietta prior to meeting Greenwood, after which he checked out Radiohead and "the whole [piece] changed." On Radiohead, he said:

It's absolutely brilliant songwriting. I saw a black and white video of them rehearsing "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" and what struck me was not only that it was a beautiful song, but that the band are so committed. There's no showbiz, just musicians communicating very directly. There's no fudging that. In both those songs, the chord sequences are very interesting. These are beautiful tunes and I can't improve on them, so I've written my own piece.

Watch a 2006 documentary on Steve Reich: