Tomorrow Never Knows

The story behind

When you dive into *Tomorrow Never Knows*, you encounter a sound that departs from everything the Beatles had done before. It's a piece that was recorded in April 1966 at EMI Studios in London, but it became the last song we heard on the album Revolver, released in August of that same year. What's interesting is that, although it closes the record, it was the first to be registered for it. Here, the band decided to explore the possibilities of the recording studio without worrying about being able to replicate the result live. The sound is a mix of elements uncommon in pop music of the time: there are influences from musique concrète, avant-garde compositions, and electroacoustic sound manipulation. Imagine a base inspired by Indian music, with tambura and sitar drones, alongside a bass that barely moves from a single chord. Over this, drums with a constant but unconventional rhythmic pattern. To add more texture, they used tapes they had recorded themselves and layered them live over the rhythmic track. Furthermore, John Lennon's voice went through a Leslie speaker, something normally used for Hammond organs, giving it a vibrant effect. Guitars played backward and other effects marked the first time inverted sounds were used in a pop recording.