Songfacts®:

• The Smile is a Radiohead side project comprising Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from the band along with Tom Skinner. Sons Of Kemet drummer Skinner first worked with Greenwood when he played on his soundtrack to the 2012 film The Master. The band take their name from a Ted Hughes poem titled "The Smile."
  
  This song is from their debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention.
• "Free In The Knowledge" is a cynically optimistic art-rock anthem that blends cynicism with a glimmer of hope. Yorke reaches out to those trapped in the gray zone, enduring the fallout caused by corrupt and ineffective figures.
  
  Turns out we're in this together
  Both me and you
  
  Like it or not, we are united in this messed-up era of history.
• Free in the knowledge that one day this will end
  Free in the knowledge everything is change
  
  Uncut magazine commented to Yorke that ""Free In The Knowledge" feels almost hopeful. Asked what currently gives him hope, he replied: "Perhaps we have all forgotten, but there was a lot of taking to the streets going on during the pandemic, a huge woman's movement formed and then Black Lives Matter. I took part in the huge Brexit protest march in London with my family - I can't remember ever seen so many people together in one place. This all had a very deep effect on me."
• The song features strings by the London Contemporary Orchestra and a full brass section of contemporary UK jazz players. They include trumpeter Byron Wallen, tuba player Theon Cross, and saxophonist Jason Yarde.
• As the UK COVID-19 lockdowns loomed, The Smile, accompanied by longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, embarked on the creation of A Light for Attracting Attention. Yorke, confined to his home during the lockdowns, penned the lyrics. Using streaming software, he laid down his vocals remotely at Godrich's studio, ensuring he wrapped up before his children returned from school each day.
  
  "The Smile came about from just wanting to work on music with Thom in lockdown," Greenwood told NME. "We didn't have much time, but we just wanted to finish some songs together. It's been very stop-start, but it's felt a happy way to make music."
• Released digitally through XL Recordings on May 13, 2022, A Light for Attracting Attention garnered universal critical acclaim. Uncut magazine named it their album of the year for 2022.