Notre ami fitz fait des révélations sur etc
Premise: this reconstruction of the events of the last four years that I've been putting together does not aim to provide definitive answers about the future of Radiohead, but rather, it might spark many new discussions and many new questions on this forum. I warn you: I don’t have easy answers for you this time, but "only" (so to speak) some reasoning to do. My reconstruction of the facts doesn’t start with the new recording studio I'm about to tell you about, which Thom & Jonny started thinking about (and then building) in Central Italy at the end of 2024, but this might be the most important fact of the last four years, so I decided to start from here. This story is 100% real and verified by a dear friend of mine who has always lived in Central Italy, and this dear friend (not a source, this time) first told me about it at the end of October 2024. This is more or less his summary of the whole thing: "I know from reliable sources that Thom and Jonny are (or at least were until recently) starting to set up a recording studio in Italy. More precisely, the locations being considered are Rome, the Fermo area (both obvious choices) and, more surprisingly, a middle ground, namely Terni.
The source was a potential supplier right from my city (I won't specify further, because given the peculiarity I would practically be saying who it is), who was later turned down because the request was highly specific, to the point that they will have to import what they asked for from very far away. I won't go beyond this, because the further details I have add nothing to the fact, which suggests that they intend to work together for a long time to come. Of course, I don't know if with The Smile or with Radiohead, but we will see later on."
Almost two years have passed since then (1 year and 9 months, to be exact) and other things have happened. In the end, it seems that the wood supplier with whom they were supposed to [build] the new recording studio couldn't provide them with the right wood, a fine and particular wood that could only be found... in Australia. So, a few months ago, I asked an Australian user of this forum to investigate in great secrecy to try and find out something about it, but unfortunately, nothing has come of it so far (it's not his fault obviously, but rather I sincerely thank him/her for investigating for me).
To date, we don't know for sure whether this new recording studio conceived by Thom & Jonny has been fully completed or is still under construction. And we don't know for certain if the project actually moved to Australia or stayed in Central Italy. What I do know for sure, however, is that this studio will be suitable for both The Smile... and Radiohead. In fact, speaking in person last Monday in Milan with my primary source, it seems the idea for the new recording studio came to Jonny first and that Thom only joined Jonny in conceptualizing the project later on. That being said, my Primary Source also confirmed the authenticity of the project. As for my friend from Central Italy who first told me this story almost two years ago, well... he saw the project documents firsthand, he saw the confidentiality clauses, he even knew which law firm represents Thom in Italy. In short, he knew everything about the project. After telling you this story, I ask you: what do you think? What thoughts come to mind? This is just the first part of what I want to write, I'll post the second part tomorrow. I look forward to your comments, and remember: don't look for definitive answers to this story because there aren't any yet. Thank you.