“From the Basement” was a live performance web series created by producer Nigel Godrich that ran from 2006 to 2009. Inspired by BBC series The Old Grey Whistle Test and the Rolling Stones Circus film, it was shot at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios and had no host or audience or interviews, just artists performing live. “I’m a sad fan trying to bring the magic back to music TV,” said Godrich at the time.
The first episode featured Thom Yorke previewing then-new Radiohead songs and The White Stripes; Radiohead would also play In Rainbows and King of Limbs in full “From the Basement,” and other guests included Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop, PJ Harvey, Sparks, Beck, Jarvis Cocker, The Fall, Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Thundercat, Andrew Bird, Super Furry Animals, Willis Earl Beal, Damien Rice, José González, Eels, Albert Hammond Jr, Jamie Lidell, CSS, Seasick Steve, Queens of the Stone Age, and more.
Nigel has just announced that the entire From the Basement archives are officially coming to YouTube “in its full glory.” The news came Thursday with sharing Radiohead’s King of Limbs set (a “From the Basement” special in 2011), as part of the band’s weekly streaming concert series, and the’ve now uploaded performances from from The White Stripes, Jarvis Cocker, Andrew Bird, Laura Marling, Willis Earl Beal, and more. Watch a few of those below and check out the growing From the Basement archive here.
We did it against all odds.. spanning 3 series.. It was a joy to record and film the likes of The Fall, The White Stripes, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Jarvis Cocker, Beck, Sparks and more. We captured Thom playing unrecorded songs for the first time, and the first TV of Laura Marling
— . (@nigelgod) May 21, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IOFqSgsrAg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aaIBX0FPGI