RADIOHEAD’S ED O’BRIEN AND PHIL SELWAY TO RE-JOIN NEIL FINN FOR NEW SEVEN WORLDS COLLIDE PROJECT

Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien and Phil Selway will once again back Neil Finn for a follow up to the acclaimed Seven Worlds Collide, a project supporting international development organization Oxfam.

Seven years ago OBrien and Selway were invited by Finn to participate in a special series of concerts in New Zealand under the banner Seven Worlds Collide. Also returning from that original Seven Worlds Collide lineup will be founder of the Smiths and member of Modest Mouse Johnny Marr, Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg, songwriter and violinist Lisa Germano, and Liam Finn. Artists newly joining the project include Jeff Tweedy, John Stirrat, Glenn Kotche and Pat Sansone from Wilco, and New Zealand songwriters Bic Runga and Don McGlashan. Behind the mixing desk will be master recording engineer Jim Scott. More names will be added to the lineup in the coming weeks.

The album will be recorded over the next few months in Auckland’s Roundhead Studios and is due for release in 2009. Like its predecessor, the project will also see a series of concerts featuring many of the artists included in the lineup. The shows will take place in Auckland early in the New Year. Details will be announced soon.

Seven Worlds Collide
Seven Worlds Collide is a live album released in 2001 by New Zealand singer/songwriter, Neil Finn. This is a live recording culled from a series of five shows from April 2, 2001 to April 6, 2001 featuring Neil Finn & Friends recorded at the St James theatre in Auckland, New Zealand. Notable guests in Finn’s band included Eddie Vedder, Johnny Marr, Ed O’Brien, Tim Finn, Sebastian Steinberg, Phil Selway, Lisa Germano and Betchadupa. The title of this album is derived from the line “Seven worlds will collide / whenever I am by your side” from Crowded House’s 1993 single Distant Sun.

Oxfam International
Oxfam is an international development organisation working to end poverty and injustice to bring real and lasting change to the lives of people living in poverty and to create a safer, fairer and more sustainable world.
Oxfam believes that poverty is not inevitable. Instead, poverty results from unjust policies, and the denial of basic rights and opportunities. There are 13 Oxfam affiliates working with communities on the ground in over 100 countries. We put all our effort and expertise into saving lives, developing programmes that empower people, and campaigning for lasting change.

Radiohead
Radiohead is Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, Philip Selway and Thom Yorke. Radiohead’s recordings have included 1993’s Pablo Honey, 1995’s The Bends, 1997’s OK Computer (the tour for which was documented by the 1998 film Meeting People Is Easy), 2000’s Kid A, 2001’s Amnesiac, 2003’s Hail To The Thief and In Rainbows, which was self-released via Radiohead.com in October 2007. In Rainbows was released to traditional retail by TBD Records/ATO in January 2008 and entered the U.S. chart at #1.