In the album version of the song Videotape there is a ever-shifting drum loop that sounds like a passing train. When I listened to this song 10 years ago for the first time, I wondered how Radiohead created this sound and what effects they used. Strangely they never play this drum loop live in the way they did it in the studio, Phil just plays this part on his drums and Jonny just plays his TR-909.

Recently, I've been researching the live version of this song and I noticed that Ed sometimes uses a delay effect to create the lush guitar pad effect and the delay effect he uses is not perfectly on the beat (watch: https://youtu.be/q9RnH6iXQvw?t=2m14s). I did a version of myself and you can here the guitar part at the beginning of this track. 

I found out that if this offset delay effect is applied to a simple drum track, and with fine tweaked delay offset, feedback and EQ, the drum loop can be recreated. So I made a demo for this "discovery" of mine. Changing the delay parameters makes this drum loop shift just like the album version.

It feels good when you dig out some smart shit out of the masterpiece you listen to everyday after 10 years.

Videotape Delay Demo

Scarlet Aster is the solo multimedia project of J Dengate, focusing on themes of maturing and navigating newfound independence in a world of reckless abandon.

Armenian Based Electronic Musician
EyeDee

(not) a bedroom DJ & occasional Ableton tinkerer from Slovakia, currently wandering in the UK

Videotape Delay Demo

808_SOS