Atoms For Peace have been rehearsing this week in Los Angeles at legendary producer Rick Rubin’s house and spoke to the Associated Press about their forthcoming tour.  During the interview they discuss working in L.A. instead of the U.K., rehearsals, Flying Lotus’ musical influence, and the possibility of recording new music together in the future.  Here’s part of the interview:

For everyone involved, who made their names performing with other groups, Atoms For Peace “feels like a musical vacation, like going on a field trip,” Flea said, smiling between sips of tea.

As rehearsal began, band members struggled to match the electronic sounds and skittering beats that Yorke had blended with their original playing.

“When I first heard the record, I didn’t know what I played on or what I didn’t play on,” Flea said. “It’s something getting interpreted from a live thing into an electronic creation. And it’s being reinterpreted again for a live band, which is what we’re doing now. It’s kind of fascinating to see what happens. … There were moments where I was like, ‘Is this feeble now?’ But yesterday I just felt like it was magical. There were just moments when I just felt like I was floating on a groove.”

And could those slinky grooves be evolving into another standalone project for the always-exploring singer-songwriter?

“No. I’m deliberately not talking about any new ideas right now because I think all our heads would collectively go pop,” Yorke said, taking bites from a banana. “No believe me, I’m restraining the urge to like go into studio and try to do some more stuff. I’m very happy to start things and not finish them, forever and ever.”

Yorke, in a grey t-shirt, blue jeans and wearing a black trucker hat with MIDI emblazoned on it, said sunny Los Angeles has kept him creatively inspired. He’s a fan of the city’s burgeoning experimental hip-hop and electronic beat scene, specifically 29-year-old producer and rapper Flying Lotus.

“I’ve grown up with a sense of sort of snobbery to someone who just stands on a stage with one interface and a laptop. That’s it?! But he completely flipped my mind about that,” Yorke said. “Because actually watching what he was doing and everything, it was like, OK, now I get it. It turned me on to that idea much more. The next generation will come up. And all the rules that you’ve made for yourself, they don’t give a (expletive).”

Yorke says the band will be playing cuts from “Amok,” ”The Eraser” songs and some B-sides on tour. The laptop figures heavily into the band’s sound, but they’ll rely on live instruments as much as possible at the shows. Flea said he’s been just as impressed as fans by the quality of the assembled musicians.

“This might not ever happen again. There’s just this window,” Flea said. “Every time we play, it just feels really important.”

Read the full interview here.

Atoms For Peace have been uploading short video clips from rehearsal’s on their YouTube channel.  Here’s the newest one released moments ago:

Update 6/01/2013 – Another clip from rehearsals has been released “Default”

Update #2 6/02/2013 Atoms For Peace released more footage from rehearsals today of Thom performing a song he co-wrote with U.N.K.L.E. “Rabbit In Your Headlights:

Update #3 6/03/2013 Here’s another footage from rehearsals. “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses”

Update #4 6/04/2013

Update #5 6/05/2013 “What The Eyeballs Did”

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