LISTEN: Thom Yorke shares remix of MF DOOM’s ‘GAZZILLION EAR’

Thom Yorke has dropped a remix of MF DOOM’s track ‘GAZZILION EAR,’ taken from the late rapper’s 2009 album BORN LIKE THIS.

The remix is part of Lex XX, a remix series by Lex Records to celebrate the London label’s 20th anniversary. Thom Yorke remixed ‘GAZZILLION EAR’ – originally produced by J Dilla – for the first time in 2009 as an iTunes bonus track for BORN LIKE THIS.

The Radiohead frontman has had this second remix in the vault for a while. He teased it in 2016 when he co-hosted Benji B’s BBC Radio 1 show, and he has released the new remix under the moniker “Thom Yorke Man On Fire.”

“Daniel Dumile (RIP) was one of the most prolific artists on Lex, releasing three studio albums as lead vocalist and one as a beatmaker,” said Lex Records in a statement.

“We spent a huge amount of time with him in the 2010s. He’ll be missed always.

“J Dilla and MF DOOM only made a handful of tracks together. The best was ‘GAZILLION EAR,’ built around a massive Giorgio Moroder sample," the statement continued.

“Thom Yorke remixed the track twice. The first version was originally released simply under “Thom Yorke Remix” but he delivered it with the moniker “Monkey Hustle Remix” to differentiate it from the “Man on Fire Remix,” which gets its debut release 12 years after Thom delivered it.

“The “Man on Fire Remix” is searing caustic noise on first listen, but in that dense mass of jarring sirens there’s a lurching, jerking funk track that becomes clearer on every repeat,” the record company concluded.

MF DOOM died in October 2020 however his death was not revealed until New Year’s Eve. Several tracks featuring the hip-hop icon have been released posthumously, including collaborations with Your Old Droog & IDK, a remix from avalanches and a collaborative album with Czarface.

Thom Yorke recently debuted his new band The Smile at Glastonbury’s Live At Worthy Farm event. The British songwriter is joined by former Radiohead band mate Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner of Sons of Kemet.

Listen to the Thom Yorke Man On Fire remix of ‘GAZZILLION EAR’ below.