RadioheadOutlandishly enough, expert Australian pianist Josh Cohen was not initially a big Radiohead fan – which makes the fact that the iconic alt rock band gave Cohen the green light to release two official songbooks and perform their songs across the globe all the more extraordinary.
Zooming in from his Berlin studio, Cohen explains that one of his friends, Nick, first introduced him to the band (through the medium of their groundbreaking album OK Computer) while they were both studying at university, at the approximate age of 19.
“It was one of those things where the pill kind of kicked in over time,” he admits. “There wasn’t really an instant connection.”
Nick was a “hardcore” fan – the kind that was receiving Google Alerts every time the band was mentioned online. But Cohen…not so much. “I didn’t really like Thom Yorke’s vocals, just didn’t really connect with the band, and then slowly, with a bit of time…” He shrugs. “Well, here we are.”
Josh Cohen’s piano tutorials of Radiohead’s songs, posted to his YouTube channel, have racked up well over 20 million views, eventuating to the Radiohead-approved songbooks of Cohen’s arrangements to be released by their publisher, Faber Music.
Though he is now based in Berlin, he will be returning to Australia in May to play the show dubbed Radiohead For Solo Piano II.
When asked how Radiohead came to sign off the project, he looks blankly through the screen, and then deadpans, “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”
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Eventually, he reveals that he first approached the band’s UK publisher years ago. “They were originally not interested, and then I sent through links to my YouTube videos, and said, ‘Look, I actually happen to have the highest number of views on YouTube for Radiohead tutorials globally.’”
The publishers were then, finally, convinced. They involved artist Stanley Donwood (known for having created all of the band’s cover-art), who contributed illustrations to the songbook.
He expands on why Radiohead’s music seems to work so well on his instrument of choice, the piano (which he has been playing since the tender age of seven).
“Musically, they’ve got really interesting time signatures,” he offers. “They play around with rhythm, which I also love to do.”
Some of the covers he plays involve little interpretation – they are played straight up, served neatly. Others allow him to have more fun.
“There are quite a few tracks where I can really start to bring a little bit of my electronic influence and improvisational training, and I find it to be a really fun place to just jam,” Cohen enthuses.
Cohen states that he could “basically play anything” on the piano – so playing is much more fulfilling when he can bring his own flare. “I’m like a pig in mud when I can really start to improvise,” he notes.
“And some of the tracks have actually influenced my own improvisation and the way that I play the piano as well, which has been really interesting.”
Though he initially was not drawn to their style, Radiohead has now somehow become the ideal musical outlet for him. “I’m just able to interpret their music in a way that resonates perfectly with the way that I play,” he explains.
“It’s just the right amount of interest where it’s not too obscure, it’s not too mainstream. And it just fits into this really nice window where I can bring my own level of intuitive improvisation and approach the piano and just use their music as a vehicle to play.”
Cohen has spent the majority of his life teaching music – he still possesses a small clientele list of online students all around the world that he teaches from his studio. Before he moved to Berlin, he ran two music schools in Melbourne.
“So the arrangements that I chose for that first book were based around an educational perspective,” he explains. “I specifically chose tracks for that first book that are really easy to learn. I put on my teacher’s hat and made that selection.
“And then the second book, which I put together while in Berlin, is more based on the way that I improvise and play the piano – definitely more personal.”
In fact, last month he launched a new project that he has spent the past few years “cooking up”: The Emergency Piano Hotline. “It’s a brand new online Radiohead piano course that I’ve released,” he says.
“It’s actually officially licensed tutorials to match up with my Radiohead arrangements. So I’ve recorded all these tutorials in my studio in Berlin.” The project is, once again, officially licensed through Radiohead’s publisher.
(When, at the mention of this new project, a suggestion is made that he has quite a bit on his plate, he quips dryly, “Don’t even get me started, I’m properly cooking myself over here.”)
Cohen has been located in Berlin for four years now, and describes the experience as the first time he has truly, wholeheartedly, dedicated himself to the arts. “That was the whole idea,” he notes.
“I just sold both schools and bought a one-way ticket to Berlin, just to see what would happen if I poured all my energy into doing music full-time.”
The transition has been “cool,” but has also required an adjustment period. “I’m in a different country, it’s a foreign place,” he admits. “It’s taken a while to get my head around the language and the culture and the experience of living in Berlin.
“It’s still evolving and still changing all the time, especially as I start to pick up more of the language and start to feel more immersed.”
The city, he says, is “saturated” with artists. “I really like the city. I’ve changed over the past few years living here.”
It affords the space to pursue one’s desires, in a way that he feels Australia does not. “It is very freeing compared to some of the restrictions you might feel living in Australia,” he adds.
That being said, Cohen is looking forward to landing on his home turf in May.
“To come back, to kill two birds with one stone and play some shows as well as see everyone, is a nice way to do it,” he explains. “Especially, if you can line it up with the weather – that’s even better.”
The past winter in Berlin, he says, has been bitterly cold. “It’ll be great to hear some more Australian accents, to get a bit of that Australian warmth from everyone.”
And he is looking forward to seeing where the keys of his piano take him when he plays to audiences on tour.
“My passion is improvisation,” he states emphatically. “It always comes back to improvisation. I just love the idea of sitting down and playing and seeing where I might go.
“And I’ve trained myself to be able to make very impulsive decisions in the moment. That’s what makes each show special to me. That’s where I feel at home.”
Tickets to Josh Cohen’s Radiohead For Solo Piano II Australian tour are on sale now.
Josh Cohen – Radiohead For Solo Piano II Australian Tour
Friday, April 10th – Townsville Civic Theatre, Townsville, QLD
Wednesday, April 15th – Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne, VIC
Friday, April 24th – State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth, WA
Saturday, May 9th – Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra, ACT
Thursday, May 14th – QPAC, Brisbane, QLD
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
