In Rainbows

In Rainbows was recorded over a period of roughly two years, from early 2005 to mid-2007, primarily at Radiohead's own studio in Oxfordshire, with additional sessions at Halswell House in Somerset and Tottenham House in Wiltshire, both of which were converted country estates used as temporary residential studios. The album was produced by Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's long-time collaborator since OK Computer, and the band themselves. Godrich engineered much of the recording, favoring a mix of analog warmth and digital precision, with the album noted for its spacious, intimate sound achieved partly through live ensemble performances and minimal overdubbing compared to their more electronically layered previous works. The band deliberately took a more relaxed, organic approach to the sessions, allowing songs that had been performed live for years—such as "Nude," "Videotape," and "Bodysnatchers"—to evolve naturally in the studio. In Rainbows was historically significant not only for its production quality but for its unprecedented self-release in October 2007 as a pay-what-you-want digital download, bypassing traditional record label structures after Radiohead's contract with EMI had ended.