Porcupine Tree
Encyclopedia
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock
band formed by Steven Wilson
in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead
, Hertfordshire
, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock
and progressive rock
, yet having been influenced by trance
, krautrock
and ambient
due to Steven Wilson and Richard Barbieri
's penchant for the Kosmische Musik scene of the early 1970s, led by bands such as Tangerine Dream
, Neu!
and Can
. Since the early 2000s, their music has been leaning towards progressive metal
and alternative rock
.
The band are noted for their multimedia approach, with their live performances including screens displaying a different film projection to each song. This visual element was introduced during the tour for the In Absentia
album, when the band started to work with Danish photographer and filmmaker Lasse Hoile
. This involvement created a distinctive image for the band.
Despite being signed to both Roadrunner
and Atlantic
labels, the band has their own record label, Transmission
, which they use to launch some independent releases and special editions of their albums. In 2007 the band was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album
with their album Fear of a Blank Planet
and then again in 2010 with The Incident
.
Music Radar website placed them amongst "The 30 greatest live acts in the world today" (as of 2010), coming at #4.
/progressive
bands of the 1970s (such as Pink Floyd
) that had dominated the music scene during their youth, the two decided to form a fictional legendary rock band named The Porcupine Tree. The two fabricated a detailed back-story including information on alleged band members and album titles, as well as a "colourful" history which purportedly included events such as a meeting at a 1970s rock festival and several trips in and out of prison. As soon as he had put aside enough money to buy his own studio equipment, Wilson obliged this creation with several hours of music to provide "evidence" of its existence. Although Stocks provided a few passages of treated vocals and experimental guitar playing, his role in the project was mostly as occasional ideas man, with the bulk of the material being written, recorded, played and sung by Wilson.
At this point, Porcupine Tree was little more than a joke and a private amusement, as Wilson was concentrating on his other project, No-Man
(an endeavour with UK based singer and songwriter Tim Bowness
). However, by 1989 he began to consider some of the Porcupine Tree music as potentially marketable. Wilson created an 80-minute-long cassette titled Tarquin's Seaweed Farm
under the name of Porcupine Tree. Still showing the spirit of his joke, Wilson included an 8-page inlay which further revealed the hoaxed Porcupine Tree backstory, including references to fictitious band members such as Sir Tarquin Underspoon and Timothy Tadpole-Jones.
Wilson sent out copies of Tarquin's Seaweed Farm to several people he felt would be interested in the recordings. Nick Saloman (the cult UK guitarist better known as The Bevis Frond
) had suggested that he send one to Richard Allen, a writer for the UK counter-cultural magazine Encyclopaedia Psychedelica
and co-editor (with Ivor Trueman) of the UK psychedelic garage rock magazine Freakbeat. Allen reviewed the tape in both magazines. Whilst he disliked some of the material he gave much of it a positive review. Several months later Allen invited Wilson to contribute a track to the double LP A Psychedelic Psauna - In Four Parts that was being put together to launch the new Delerium label. Allen would also become the bands manager, press agent and promoter up until 2004, his role in marketing the bands image decreasing after The Sky Moves Sideways album. In the meantime Wilson had continued to work on new material. In 1990 he released The Love, Death & Mussolini E.P.
, issued in a very limited run of 10 copies. The EP remains an extremely rare, collectible piece. It was composed of nine at-the-time-unreleased tracks, as a preview for the upcoming second album. Later in 1990, Wilson released a second full-length Porcupine Tree cassette called The Nostalgia Factory
, which further expanded Porcupine Tree's underground fanbase, although at this point the band was still carrying on the charade of being '70s rock legends. By this point, Porcupine Tree was entirely a solo project, with Stocks having amicably moved on to other activities.
compilation, which featured the Porcupine Tree track "Linton Samuel Dawson" the newly formed Delerium
label, formed by Freakbeat editors Richard Allen and Ivor Trueman offered to reissue the cassettes Tarquin's Seaweed Farm and The Nostalgia Factory. 200 copies of each cassette were sold through Freakbeat Magazines mail order The Freak Emporium to the same audience that was buying the very popular tapes by Ozric Tentacles
and soon Porcupine Tree became known as a mysterious new psychedelic/space rock act amongst fans of the then UK underground psychedelic music scene.
Wilson was invited shortly thereafter to sign with Delerium as one of the label's founder artists and a double vinyl album and single CD compiling the best material from his two cassettes, was released in mid 1991 as On the Sunday of Life...
a title that was chosen from a long list of possible nonsense titles compiled by Richard Allen. The rest of the music from the initial tapes was released on the limited edition, compilation album
Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape.
In 1992, Delerium released On the Sunday of Life... as an edition of 1,000 copies, complete with a deluxe gatefold sleeve. The album sold very well particularly in Italy and pressure from public and press alike ensured that it was briefly repressed on vinyl and has remained in print on CD ever since its release. The album featured future concert favourite and frequent encore
song "Radioactive Toy". By 2000, On the Sunday of Life... had racked up sales of more than 20,000 copies.
, had been getting excellent UK press (singles of the week in Melody Maker
and Sounds
), which led to the band being signed to One Little Indian Records
, Hit & Run publishing in the UK and Epic 440/Sony in the US. No-Man's success gave Wilson the opportunity to leave his regular job and devote his time solely to music.
On May 1993 the second Porcupine Tree album, Up the Downstair
, was released, another prospective double album that was finally slimmed down to a single record. "Voyage 34" was actually going to take up the second disc, but it was last decided to be released alone as a single.
The album was greeted with rapture, Melody Maker
describing it as "a psychedelic masterpiece... one of the albums of the year." The album continued the fusion
of dance
and rock and also featured guest appearances from two future full-time Porcupine Tree members, Richard Barbieri
(ex-80s art rock band Japan
) and Colin Edwin
.
In November 1993, Voyage 34 was reissued alongside an additional 12 inch
remix
by Astralasia. With non-existent radio play it still managed to enter the NME
indie chart for six weeks and became an underground chill-out classic.
on drums and Richard Barbieri on keyboards.
All three new members of the group had worked with Steven on various projects over the preceding years (Richard Barbieri and Chris Maitland had been part of No-Man
's touring band) and all were excellent musicians sympathetic to the sound and direction of Porcupine Tree. The new line up had immediate chemistry as illustrated by the Spiral Circus
album (issued on vinyl in 1997) which contained recordings from their first ever 3 performances, including a BBC Radio One
session for Mark Radcliffe
, an early champion of the group and the bands very first performance at the Nags Head pub in High Wycombe (a legendary venue that saw performances by The Rolling Stones in the 1960s) .
The next album would not emerge until early 1995, but was preceded by the classic Moonloop E.P.
, the last two tracks to be recorded during the album sessions and the first to feature the new band.
Released in 1995, the band's third studio album, The Sky Moves Sideways
became a success among progressive rock
fans, and Porcupine Tree were hailed as the Pink Floyd
of the nineties. Wilson would later lament this, stating "I can't help that. It's true that during the period of The Sky Moves Sideways, I had done a little too much of it in the sense of satisfying, in a way, the fans of Pink Floyd who were listening to us because that group doesn't make albums any more. Moreover, I regret it."
The Sky Moves Sideways was an expansive soundscape
of melody
and ambient rock experimentation, but would prove to be a transitional work with half recorded before the formation of the band and half recorded after. Most of the album was taken up with the 35-minute title track, which at one point Steven had intended to be long enough to occupy the whole album (an alternate version of the track, containing some of the excised music, was included on the 2004 remastered version of the album). It also entered the NME, Melody Maker and Music Week
charts. Together with the Moonloop EP, this album became the first Porcupine Tree music to be issued in America
in the autumn of 1995, and attracted favourable press on both sides of the Atlantic
. The band supported the album with numerous concerts throughout the year at major music venues in the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, and Greece.
After the release of the first real Porcupine Tree single ("Waiting
"), which entered all UK indie charts and the UK National chart attracting airplay all over Europe, Signify
finally saw the light in September 1996. The album was a mixture of instrumental tracks and more song-oriented tunes, blending together numerous rock and avant-garde
styles, whilst absorbing many diverse influences but relying on none and still providing a mixture of dreamy melodies and raw power or dark moods. The musicians received writing credits for some tracks, most notably for "Intermediate Jesus," which evolved from a jam session (parts of which would be released on the limited edition double 10 inch LP, Metanoia, at the end of 1998).
A large amount of major European media interest accompanied the album's release, as Porcupine Tree had now become a highly respected force in the musical underground.
Meanwhile the fanbase of the band kept on growing, especially in Italy where airplay on a popular radio show had turned the band into a teenagers' favourite, a remarkable crowd compared to the more progressive rock
-oriented listeners elsewhere. In March 1997, they played three nights in Rome to an audience that surpassed 5,000 people. All three dates were recorded for use in the 1997 live album Coma Divine - Recorded Live in Rome
that was released as a goodbye to Delerium Records, which felt it could no longer offer the kind of resources the band needed in order to continue to build its profile worldwide.
In late 1997 the band's first three albums were remaster
ed and reissued. Signify also saw a release in the US on Miles Copeland
's Ark 21
label.
' Pet Sounds
, Todd Rundgren
, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
and "anything with really good ensemble singing". He also indicated that he was "interested in the idea of the pop song as a kind of experimental symphony."
At the time of recording, the band had no record deal, but later that year they signed to the Snapper
/K-Scope label and in March 1999, the new album, Stupid Dream
, was issued. The album was supported by a lengthy tour of the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France, Poland, and the United States. The three singles taken from the album, "Piano Lessons
", "Stranger by the Minute
" and "Pure Narcotic
," all achieved mainstream exposure in the US and in Europe and appeared well placed in the UK independent charts and on radio station playlists. Although the album was a departure from their earlier sound, it brought the band new found popularity and went on to become the band's best-selling and most acclaimed release up to that time.
The time spent looking for a record deal had not been wasted, and only a few months after the release of Stupid Dream the band were ready to begin working on a followup.
, Porcupine Tree's sixth studio album Lightbulb Sun
built on the mix of songwriting, soundscaping, and rock dynamics of Stupid Dream. It was released in May 2000, preceded by the single "Four Chords That Made a Million
". A sold out show at the Scala
in London began a short run of UK shows, to be followed later in the year by European festival dates and a major tour supporting Dream Theater
.
The band continued touring through the end of 2000 and start of 2001, including their first major tour of Germany. A special double CD edition of the Lightbulb Sun album was issued in Israel
and Germany, and in May, Recordings
, a limited edition collection of EP tracks and out-takes from the previous two albums, was released as the band's final release under their Snapper/K-Scope contract. In May 2001 they did three consecutive dates as a support band to Marillion
, in France, Germany and The Netherlands respectively. In June the band played a short US tour, starting with an appearance in the famous NEARfest
of Pennsylvania
to culminate in a sold out show at the Bottom Line
in New York City. Shortly afterwards Porcupine Tree announced that they had signed a new international
record deal with Lava
/Atlantic Records
.
to the line-up. In March 2002 a box set of the band's early work was released, Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997
, and the band commenced recording their first major label album, drawing from a pool of 30 new songs written by Steven in the previous two years.
Recording sessions took place at Avatar Studios
in New York and London, with veteran audio engineer Paul Northfield
and string arranger Dave Gregory also playing major roles in the making of the record. Mixing of the new album was completed in Los Angeles in May with Tim Palmer
.
The eagerly awaited new album, In Absentia
, was released by Lava Records
in September 2002 (European release January 2003). The album received great praise worldwide and went on to become the band's best selling album, shifting over 100,000 copies in its first year of release and charting in several European countries. The band also released a 5.1 surround sound
version of the album, mixed by Grammy Award
winning producer Elliot Scheiner
. The surround sound version of the album won the award for best 5.1 mix at the 2004 Surround Sound Music awards in Los Angeles.
To promote the album the band undertook four tours of Europe and North America, including one with acclaimed Swedish metal
band Opeth
. On tour the new line up of the band was further augmented by additional touring vocalist/guitarist John Wesley
. During these tours the visual element of the band's performance was taken to new heights with the involvement of filmmaker
and photographer
Lasse Hoile
, who had created the cover art for In Absentia and now went on to create a dark and surreal
visual counterpoint
to Porcupine Tree's music. The long promotional campaign
for In Absentia ended on 30 November 2003, as the band played a homecoming show to a sold out London Astoria
.
During 2003 Porcupine Tree set up their own label, Transmission
, with an online store
hosted by Burning Shed
record label. The first release on the Transmission label was a studio session recorded for XM Radio
, Washington, D.C., followed in 2004 by a recording from Polish radio in 2001. The band plan to use the label to issue a series of well recorded and packaged live and exclusive studio recordings.
2003 also saw the start of a lengthy reissue/remaster campaign, with many of the early albums expanded to double CDs. These reissues included re-recorded/remixed double CD versions of the Up the Downstair, The Sky Moves Sideways and Signify albums, and the reissue of Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun, both comprising a CD with a new stereo mix of the album plus a DVD-Audio
with a 5.1 surround mix.
, their second for Lava/Atlantic. The album takes its inspiration from a film script
written by Wilson with his filmmaker friend Mike Bennion. With the album sessions completed in November 2004, and the band's total worldwide sales now approaching half a million units, demand for new music from the band was at an all time high, and increasing media coverage, word of mouth and fan-power continued to create interest in Porcupine Tree throughout the world.
Deadwing was released in Europe and the US during the spring of 2005 as both a stereo and 5.1 surround sound album, preceded by the release of two singles, "Shallow
" in the US, and "Lazarus
" in Europe. The album benefited from guest appearances by Adrian Belew
from King Crimson
and Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt
and was a commercial success, due in part to "Shallow" receiving airplay, peaking at #26 in the Billboard
's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. "Lazarus" entered the Germany singles Top 100 at #91.
The tour to promote the album commenced in the UK at the end of March and continued throughout the year. The song "Shallow" would later be featured in the soundtrack for the film Four Brothers
.
Later on, Mike Bennion created a MySpace page dedicated to the prospective Deadwing film, in which he posted the first fifteen pages of the script and included a trailer
. However, whilst the scripts are finished, the project is still on hiatus due to lack of budget.
The album won the Surround Music Awards for "Best Made-For-Surround Title" the same year of its release and was voted number 2 album of 2005 in Sound & Vision
, the most widely distributed US magazine in the field of home electronics and entertainment.
Porcupine Tree released Deadwing in Japan on 22 March 2006, making it the first album by the band to be released in that country.
On 8 August 2006, it was announced that Porcupine Tree had signed with Roadrunner Records UK
. Wilson commented that "Roadrunner has established itself as one of the world's premier independent labels for rock music, and we couldn't be more enthusiastic about working with them to expand our audience and elevate Porcupine Tree to the next level."
The first Porcupine Tree concert DVD, Arriving Somewhere..., was released on 10 October 2006. It was accompanied by a brief tour in which the group performed 50 minutes of new material for the forthcoming studio album for the first half of the shows. Supporting acts included Swedish band Paatos
in Europe (except France and Belgium where they were supported by Oceansize
), and ProjeKCt 6 (Robert Fripp
and Adrian Belew) in the United States. In January, 2007, it was revealed the title for the forthcoming album would be Fear of a Blank Planet
With the release of Fear of a Blank Planet
on 16 April 2007, Porcupine Tree charted in almost all European countries. and peaking at #59 on the Billboard 200
A 92-date tour for 2007, took the band to countries they had never visited, like Finland and Mexico. The tour included appearances in many major music festivals such as the Voodoo Experience
in New Orleans, the German twin-festivals, Hurricane
and Southside
, and the Download Festival
of Donington Park
. Later in 2008 when the tour resumed, the band performed their first ever shows in Australia.
The lyrics of the album deal with some common behaviour tendencies concerning society (especially youth) in the beginning of the 21st century such as bipolar disorder
, attention deficit disorder, drug abuse
, alienation and depravation caused by mass media.
The concept of the album was inspired mainly by Bret Easton Ellis
novel Lunar Park
and the title alludes to Public Enemy's album, Fear of a Black Planet
, both sharing the particularity of reflecting notorious conflicts affecting society in the world at some time. Wilson notes that whilst race relationship
was the main issue among young people when Public Enemy's album was released, in the 21st century it was replaced by a general superficiality, boredom, and introversion. The album features contributions from Rush
's Alex Lifeson
and King Crimson
's Robert Fripp
.
A new EP
called Nil Recurring
was released on 17 September 2007, featuring four unreleased tracks from the Fear of a Blank Planet sessions and including another contribution from Robert Fripp. The second leg of the tour started on 3 October 2007, now promoting new music from the EP. Nil Recurring entered the UK Top 30 Independent Label Albums
at #8. The EP was later reissued in 18 February 2008 through Peaceville Records
.
On 5 November 2007, Fear of a Blank Planet won the "Album of the Year" award for the 2007 Classic Rock
magazine awards. In December, 2007, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Surround Sound Album"
though Love
by The Beatles
won the award. In January, 2008, was voted "Best Album of 2007" by readers of the Dutch Progressive Rock Page. The LP version of Fear of a Blank Planet includes the Nil Recurring EP tracks.
A recording from an 4 October 2007 in-store, mostly acoustic, performance at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Florida
was released on 18 February 2008 on CD under the name of We Lost The Skyline
. The title is a reference to the lyrics of "The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One)
," which was the opening song on the live set. The album was released on vinyl
of 21 March 2008. It was originally intended to be a full-band show, but lack of space in the store determined that only the two guitarists, Steven Wilson and John Wesley, played.
forum's post #2540 of Gavin's thread. The band played a short European tour in October 2008 in order to shoot their second live concert film, Anesthetize. The filming took place on 15 and 16 October 2008 in the Netherlands at the 013 Tilburg
venue. In this leg of the tour the band played for the first time as headliners in Portugal.
During one of these shows, Wilson mentioned that Porcupine Tree had started work on material for their next album, with an eye toward a release in 2009.
The band started recording their tenth studio album—The Incident
—in February 2009. This was confirmed by the band, posting this message on their official website: "Writing for the next PT studio record is well underway, with the band recently spending two weeks scheduled in the English countryside working on new tracks. Recording of these pieces and a new 35 minute SW song cycle were due to start in February..." A tour was announced on the band's website and MySpace, along with dates, following release of the new album. Around March and April, Wilson commented the 35-minute song kept evolving and now it has become a 55-minute song, occupying the entire disc.
On 12 June 2009, details were revealed on the Porcupine Tree website: "the record is set to be released via Roadrunner Records worldwide on 21 September, as a double CD. The centre-piece is the title track, which takes up the whole of the first disc. The 55-minute work is described as a slightly surreal song cycle about beginnings and endings and the sense that ‘after this, things will never be the same again.’ The self-produced album is completed by four standalone compositions that developed out of band writing sessions last December – Flicker, Bonnie The Cat, Black Dahlia, and Remember Me Lover feature on a separate EP length disc to stress their independence from the song cycle."
On 20 May 2010, Porcupine Tree released their second live concert film on DVD and Blu-Ray titled Anesthetize
, it was recorded live on 15 and 16 October 2008 in the Netherlands at the 013 Tilburg venue.
On 17 June, the band announced on their website that a new live album titled Atlanta
, recorded during the tour of Fear Of A Blank Planet at the Roxy theatre, Atlanta, on 29 October 2007, would be released in a near future. This album was released via online distribution only, without any class of physical format; all the sale proceeds were donated to Mick Karn
for his treatment against cancer.
Wilson has announced that the band will get back together to start work on a new album in early 2012.
whilst his mother got Donna Summer
's Love to Love You Baby
, which Wilson assures, both played "in a continuous way". These albums would heavily influence his further songwriting (especially the Pink Floyd one). Other known influences are Karlheinz Stockhausen
and Abba
.
Later in his teens, Wilson briefly became a fan of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
, but as soon as he discovered Seventies
music and progressive rock, his interest in metal diminished in favour of experimental music. He later (in the 2000s) discovered bands in the likes of Gojira
, Sunn O)))
, Neurosis
and Meshuggah
, which restored his faith in metal music. "For a long time I couldn't find where all these creative musicians were going…", said Wilson, "and I found them, they were working in extreme metal
." Shortly thereafter he went to produce three consecutive albums by Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth
which had a considerable influence in his further songwriting.
There is also some noticeable influence from krautrock
and electronic music
since Wilson likes bands such as Can
, Neu!
, Tangerine Dream
, Squarepusher
, Aphex Twin
and artists like Klaus Schulze
and Conrad Schnitzler
among others. More contemporary influences cited include: Muse
, The Mars Volta
, Radiohead
and Sigur Rós
. Wilson has also mentioned on multiple occasions that he also admires the work of American musician Trent Reznor
, the sole official member of Nine Inch Nails
.
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Porcupine Tree is notable for being an album-oriented band, making very conceptual records where many songs are related to each other. Even so, each Porcupine Tree song has a distinguishable personality. Wilson explains:
, banjo
, hammered dulcimer
and guimbri among other instruments unusual for rock bands.
Above all, Porcupine Tree music has maintained a strong textural and experimental quality, often fusing many genres in a single track. The band's work is noted for its atmospheric
nature (strongly helped by Barbieri's keyboard style and sound-processing abilities) and cinematic scope (Wilson is a declared fan of American filmmaker David Lynch
, whose films are renowned for their sonic content). "Very layered, very produced, very arranged and [with] complex arrangements" is the way Wilson describes the sound of the band. Apart from their regular edition, the albums Stupid Dream, Lightbulb Sun, In Absentia, Deadwing, Fear of a Blank Planet and The Incident are available in DTS
(5.1 Surround Sound) mix; this mixing technique has become a tradition for the band in recent years.
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band formed by Steven Wilson
Steven Wilson
Steven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
and progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, yet having been influenced by trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
, krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
and ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
due to Steven Wilson and Richard Barbieri
Richard Barbieri
Richard Barbieri, is an English synthesiser player, keyboardist and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London...
's penchant for the Kosmische Musik scene of the early 1970s, led by bands such as Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
, Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
and Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
. Since the early 2000s, their music has been leaning towards progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
.
The band are noted for their multimedia approach, with their live performances including screens displaying a different film projection to each song. This visual element was introduced during the tour for the In Absentia
In Absentia
In Absentia is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. It was their first release on a major record label, Lava Records. It is Metal Storm's number 3 of the Top 20 albums of 2002 and number 49 on the Top 100 albums of all time...
album, when the band started to work with Danish photographer and filmmaker Lasse Hoile
Lasse Hoile
Lasse Hoile is an acclaimed artist of mix media, photographer, graphic artist writer, film-maker/director, and cinematographer. Recognized for his unique vintage style intertwined with a modern day twist, Hoile is best known for his close work with Steven Wilson and his projects Porcupine Tree and...
. This involvement created a distinctive image for the band.
Despite being signed to both Roadrunner
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
and Atlantic
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
labels, the band has their own record label, Transmission
Transmission (record label)
Transmission is an independent record label set by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree in 2003. It was named after an information service by mail of the same name the band had during the nineties...
, which they use to launch some independent releases and special editions of their albums. In 2007 the band was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album
Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album
The Grammy Award for "Best Surround Sound Album" was first awarded in 2005, as the first category in a new "Surround Sound" field.-Nominees::*An Evening With Dave Grusin...
with their album Fear of a Blank Planet
Fear of a Blank Planet
Fear of a Blank Planet is the ninth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree and their best selling . Released by Roadrunner on 16 April 2007 in the UK and Europe, 24 April 2007 in the United States through Atlantic, 25 April 2007 in Japan on WHD and 1 May 2007 in Canada by WEA...
and then again in 2010 with The Incident
The Incident (album)
The Incident is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It was released on September 14, 2009 by Roadrunner Records. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album and reached the Top 25 on both the US and UK album charts.-History:The band...
.
Music Radar website placed them amongst "The 30 greatest live acts in the world today" (as of 2010), coming at #4.
Origins (1987–1990)
Porcupine Tree originated in 1987 as a collaborative hoax project by Steven Wilson and Malcolm Stocks. Partially inspired by the psychedelicPsychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
/progressive
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
bands of the 1970s (such as Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
) that had dominated the music scene during their youth, the two decided to form a fictional legendary rock band named The Porcupine Tree. The two fabricated a detailed back-story including information on alleged band members and album titles, as well as a "colourful" history which purportedly included events such as a meeting at a 1970s rock festival and several trips in and out of prison. As soon as he had put aside enough money to buy his own studio equipment, Wilson obliged this creation with several hours of music to provide "evidence" of its existence. Although Stocks provided a few passages of treated vocals and experimental guitar playing, his role in the project was mostly as occasional ideas man, with the bulk of the material being written, recorded, played and sung by Wilson.
At this point, Porcupine Tree was little more than a joke and a private amusement, as Wilson was concentrating on his other project, No-Man
No-Man
No-Man are a British art-pop duo formed in 1987 as No Man Is An Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson . The band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections...
(an endeavour with UK based singer and songwriter Tim Bowness
Tim Bowness
Tim Bowness is a singer/songwriter primarily known for his work as part of the band No-Man, a long-term project formed in 1987 with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson.-Music career:...
). However, by 1989 he began to consider some of the Porcupine Tree music as potentially marketable. Wilson created an 80-minute-long cassette titled Tarquin's Seaweed Farm
Tarquin's Seaweed Farm
Tarquin's Seaweed Farm, subtitled "Words from a Hessian Sack", is the first album to be released by Steven Wilson under the name 'Porcupine Tree'. It was originally a compiled cassette of experimental music made by Steven Wilson for his joke band he formed with his friend Malcom Stocks...
under the name of Porcupine Tree. Still showing the spirit of his joke, Wilson included an 8-page inlay which further revealed the hoaxed Porcupine Tree backstory, including references to fictitious band members such as Sir Tarquin Underspoon and Timothy Tadpole-Jones.
Wilson sent out copies of Tarquin's Seaweed Farm to several people he felt would be interested in the recordings. Nick Saloman (the cult UK guitarist better known as The Bevis Frond
The Bevis Frond
The Bevis Frond is a British musical group whose range covers hard edge to melancholy vintage indie rock to poetic, "classic-rock" songcraft with a thick Walthamstow accent. Nick Saloman is the band's frontman and songwriter...
) had suggested that he send one to Richard Allen, a writer for the UK counter-cultural magazine Encyclopaedia Psychedelica
Encyclopaedia Psychedelica
Encyclopedia Psychedelica was an independent London-based magazine in the late 1980s espousing a return to hippy values at a time when to call someone a 'Hippy' was considered an insult...
and co-editor (with Ivor Trueman) of the UK psychedelic garage rock magazine Freakbeat. Allen reviewed the tape in both magazines. Whilst he disliked some of the material he gave much of it a positive review. Several months later Allen invited Wilson to contribute a track to the double LP A Psychedelic Psauna - In Four Parts that was being put together to launch the new Delerium label. Allen would also become the bands manager, press agent and promoter up until 2004, his role in marketing the bands image decreasing after The Sky Moves Sideways album. In the meantime Wilson had continued to work on new material. In 1990 he released The Love, Death & Mussolini E.P.
Love, Death & Mussolini
The Love, Death & Mussolini E.P. was a cassette released by Steven Wilson under the pseudonym of 'Porcupine Tree'. It compiles a total of nine tracks of which seven were shortly after released in The Nostalgia Factory...
, issued in a very limited run of 10 copies. The EP remains an extremely rare, collectible piece. It was composed of nine at-the-time-unreleased tracks, as a preview for the upcoming second album. Later in 1990, Wilson released a second full-length Porcupine Tree cassette called The Nostalgia Factory
The Nostalgia Factory
The Nostalgia Factory, subtitled "...and other tips for amateur golfers", is the second album to be released by Steven Wilson under the name 'Porcupine Tree'. It was the second full-length cassette produced for his 'joke' project with friend Malcom Stocks...
, which further expanded Porcupine Tree's underground fanbase, although at this point the band was still carrying on the charade of being '70s rock legends. By this point, Porcupine Tree was entirely a solo project, with Stocks having amicably moved on to other activities.
On the Sunday of Life...
Along with the A Psychedelic PsaunaA Psychedelic Psauna
A Psychedelic Psauna is the name of a compilation album released by record label Delerium in 1991.The album was intended to celebrate the birth of the label and to promote the first artists who were signed, mainly psychedelic bands...
compilation, which featured the Porcupine Tree track "Linton Samuel Dawson" the newly formed Delerium
Delerium Records
Delerium Records was a UK record label, that specialised in psychedelic music which ran from 1991 to 2003, and was notable in promoting the careers of bands including Porcupine Tree, Ozric Tentacles, Kava Kava, Mandragora, Sons of Selina and Moom and for starting the Freak Emporium and Molten...
label, formed by Freakbeat editors Richard Allen and Ivor Trueman offered to reissue the cassettes Tarquin's Seaweed Farm and The Nostalgia Factory. 200 copies of each cassette were sold through Freakbeat Magazines mail order The Freak Emporium to the same audience that was buying the very popular tapes by Ozric Tentacles
Ozric Tentacles
Ozric Tentacles are an instrumental rock band from Somerset, England, whose music can loosely be described as psychedelic or space rock. Formed in 1983, the band has released 28 albums as of 2011, and become a cottage industry selling over a million albums worldwide despite never having major...
and soon Porcupine Tree became known as a mysterious new psychedelic/space rock act amongst fans of the then UK underground psychedelic music scene.
Wilson was invited shortly thereafter to sign with Delerium as one of the label's founder artists and a double vinyl album and single CD compiling the best material from his two cassettes, was released in mid 1991 as On the Sunday of Life...
On the Sunday of Life
On the Sunday of Life is the debut album of English progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in July, 1991. It compiles tracks that Steven Wilson produced and recorded for two cassette-only releases, Tarquin's Seaweed Farm and The Nostalgia Factory...
a title that was chosen from a long list of possible nonsense titles compiled by Richard Allen. The rest of the music from the initial tapes was released on the limited edition, compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape.
In 1992, Delerium released On the Sunday of Life... as an edition of 1,000 copies, complete with a deluxe gatefold sleeve. The album sold very well particularly in Italy and pressure from public and press alike ensured that it was briefly repressed on vinyl and has remained in print on CD ever since its release. The album featured future concert favourite and frequent encore
Encore (concert)
An encore is an additional performance added to the end of a concert, from the French "encore", which means "again", "some more"; multiple encores are not uncommon. Encores originated spontaneously, when audiences would continue to applaud and demand additional performance from the artist after the...
song "Radioactive Toy". By 2000, On the Sunday of Life... had racked up sales of more than 20,000 copies.
Up the Downstair
In the midst of Porcupine Tree's rising success, Wilson's other band, No-ManNo-Man
No-Man are a British art-pop duo formed in 1987 as No Man Is An Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson . The band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections...
, had been getting excellent UK press (singles of the week in Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
and Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
), which led to the band being signed to One Little Indian Records
One Little Indian Records
One Little Indian Records is a London-based independent record label that rose from the ashes of punk record company Spiderleg Records. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarchist punk bands, and managed by ex-Flux of Pink Indians Derek Birkett. The first success came with A.R. Kane and...
, Hit & Run publishing in the UK and Epic 440/Sony in the US. No-Man's success gave Wilson the opportunity to leave his regular job and devote his time solely to music.
On May 1993 the second Porcupine Tree album, Up the Downstair
Up the Downstair
Up the Downstair is the second studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in May 1993. It was originally intended to be a double album set including the song "Voyage 34", which was instead released as a single in 1992, and other material that ended up on the...
, was released, another prospective double album that was finally slimmed down to a single record. "Voyage 34" was actually going to take up the second disc, but it was last decided to be released alone as a single.
The album was greeted with rapture, Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
describing it as "a psychedelic masterpiece... one of the albums of the year." The album continued the fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
of dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and rock and also featured guest appearances from two future full-time Porcupine Tree members, Richard Barbieri
Richard Barbieri
Richard Barbieri, is an English synthesiser player, keyboardist and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London...
(ex-80s art rock band Japan
Japan (band)
Japan were a British New Wave group, formed in 1974 in Catford, South London. The band achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they were often associated with the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement .- History :The band began as a group of friends...
) and Colin Edwin
Colin Edwin
Colin Edwin is a member of the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, where he plays both fretted and fretless bass guitar as well as double bass and guimbri. He joined the band in December 1993...
.
In November 1993, Voyage 34 was reissued alongside an additional 12 inch
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
by Astralasia. With non-existent radio play it still managed to enter the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
indie chart for six weeks and became an underground chill-out classic.
The Sky Moves Sideways
The profile of Porcupine Tree had now grown to the extent that the question of live performances could no longer be ignored. Thus, in December 1993, Porcupine Tree became a live unit featuring Steven Wilson on lead vocals/guitar, Colin Edwin on bass guitar, Chris MaitlandChris Maitland
Chris Maitland is an English drummer.After being the drummer for No-Man on their Autumn 1993 tour , Maitland was asked by the band's Steven Wilson to join his other main project, the progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
on drums and Richard Barbieri on keyboards.
All three new members of the group had worked with Steven on various projects over the preceding years (Richard Barbieri and Chris Maitland had been part of No-Man
No-Man
No-Man are a British art-pop duo formed in 1987 as No Man Is An Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson . The band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections...
's touring band) and all were excellent musicians sympathetic to the sound and direction of Porcupine Tree. The new line up had immediate chemistry as illustrated by the Spiral Circus
Spiral Circus
Spiral Circus is the name of the first live album by British psychedelic rock/progressive rock band Porcupine Tree from their first tour ever. The tracks were recorded directly from the mixing desk in three different locations of England during December, 1993...
album (issued on vinyl in 1997) which contained recordings from their first ever 3 performances, including a BBC Radio One
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
session for Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week alongside Stuart Maconie, called...
, an early champion of the group and the bands very first performance at the Nags Head pub in High Wycombe (a legendary venue that saw performances by The Rolling Stones in the 1960s) .
The next album would not emerge until early 1995, but was preceded by the classic Moonloop E.P.
Moonloop E.P.
Moonloop is an EP released by British psychedelic rock and progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, prior to the release of their third studio album, The Sky Moves Sideways...
, the last two tracks to be recorded during the album sessions and the first to feature the new band.
Released in 1995, the band's third studio album, The Sky Moves Sideways
The Sky Moves Sideways
The Sky Moves Sideways is the third studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in February, 1995. It has been compared to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here because of their similar structure; both albums have extended pieces at the beginning and end, which are the...
became a success among progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
fans, and Porcupine Tree were hailed as the Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
of the nineties. Wilson would later lament this, stating "I can't help that. It's true that during the period of The Sky Moves Sideways, I had done a little too much of it in the sense of satisfying, in a way, the fans of Pink Floyd who were listening to us because that group doesn't make albums any more. Moreover, I regret it."
The Sky Moves Sideways was an expansive soundscape
Soundscape
A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology...
of melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and ambient rock experimentation, but would prove to be a transitional work with half recorded before the formation of the band and half recorded after. Most of the album was taken up with the 35-minute title track, which at one point Steven had intended to be long enough to occupy the whole album (an alternate version of the track, containing some of the excised music, was included on the 2004 remastered version of the album). It also entered the NME, Melody Maker and Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
charts. Together with the Moonloop EP, this album became the first Porcupine Tree music to be issued in America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
in the autumn of 1995, and attracted favourable press on both sides of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. The band supported the album with numerous concerts throughout the year at major music venues in the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, and Greece.
Signify
Partly unsatisfied with the half band/half solo nature of The Sky Moves Sideways, Porcupine Tree promptly got down to the task of recording the first proper band record. Wilson admitted he was always "in love with the idea of the rock band" because "bands have a kind of glamour, and appeal, and a romance about them the solo projects just don't have." The band worked sporadically over the next year on developing a tighter and more ambitious rock sound.After the release of the first real Porcupine Tree single ("Waiting
Waiting (Porcupine Tree song)
"Waiting" is the first single of British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released in May 1996. It came in two formats: a regular CD and a 12" vinyl. At the time, the single was intended to promote the forthcoming album Signify...
"), which entered all UK indie charts and the UK National chart attracting airplay all over Europe, Signify
Signify
Signify is the fourth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in September 1996. It was the first album that frontman Steven Wilson recorded with a full group of musicians on board from the beginning. Previously he had been recording albums primarily as a...
finally saw the light in September 1996. The album was a mixture of instrumental tracks and more song-oriented tunes, blending together numerous rock and avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
styles, whilst absorbing many diverse influences but relying on none and still providing a mixture of dreamy melodies and raw power or dark moods. The musicians received writing credits for some tracks, most notably for "Intermediate Jesus," which evolved from a jam session (parts of which would be released on the limited edition double 10 inch LP, Metanoia, at the end of 1998).
Wilson: "For me, tracks like 'Every Home Is Wired' and 'Dark Matter' totally transcend both genre and comparison. Finally, I think we are making a completely original and '90s form of music, but which still has its root in progressive music."
Meanwhile the fanbase of the band kept on growing, especially in Italy where airplay on a popular radio show had turned the band into a teenagers' favourite, a remarkable crowd compared to the more progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
-oriented listeners elsewhere. In March 1997, they played three nights in Rome to an audience that surpassed 5,000 people. All three dates were recorded for use in the 1997 live album Coma Divine - Recorded Live in Rome
Coma Divine - Recorded Live in Rome
Coma Divine – Recorded Live in Rome or just Coma Divine, is a live album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in October, 1997. It was expanded to a double album in 2003, adding the two tracks from the promotional single Coma Divine II , and two more previously unreleased...
that was released as a goodbye to Delerium Records, which felt it could no longer offer the kind of resources the band needed in order to continue to build its profile worldwide.
In late 1997 the band's first three albums were remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed and reissued. Signify also saw a release in the US on Miles Copeland
Miles Copeland III
Miles Axe Copeland III is an American entertainment executive, best known for founding I.R.S. Records. His brother, Stewart Copeland, was part of the pop-rock trio The Police, which Miles managed...
's Ark 21
Ark 21 Records
Ark 21 Records is a record label established by Miles Copeland & Stewart Copeland. The record label is based out of Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California.-Artists:* Ragheb Alamah* Beats Antique* The Badlees* Farrah* Faudel* The Human League* Hakim...
label.
Stupid Dream
Wilson, Barbieri, Edwin, and Maitland spent all of 1998 recording their fifth studio album, a release that reflected the band's move towards a more song-oriented writing. Wilson acknowledged this time he was "much more interested in songwriting as an art form, as opposed to soundscape development" and commented he took influence from The Beach BoysThe Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
' Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds
Pet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band The Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966, on Capitol Records. It has since been recognized as one of the most influential records in the history of popular music and one of the best albums of the 1960s, including songs such as "Wouldn't...
, Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young)
Crosby, Stills & Nash is a folk rock supergroup made up of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, also known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young when joined by occasional fourth member Neil Young...
and "anything with really good ensemble singing". He also indicated that he was "interested in the idea of the pop song as a kind of experimental symphony."
At the time of recording, the band had no record deal, but later that year they signed to the Snapper
Snapper Music
Snapper Music is an independent record label founded in 1996 by former head of Castle Communications Jon Beecher, Dougie Dudgeon and funded by the late Mark Levinson from Palan Music Publishing. In 1999 Snapper broke away from its parent company in an MBO in association with ACT and CAI venture...
/K-Scope label and in March 1999, the new album, Stupid Dream
Stupid Dream
Stupid Dream is the fifth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in March 1999. It became the band's best selling album up to the time of its release....
, was issued. The album was supported by a lengthy tour of the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France, Poland, and the United States. The three singles taken from the album, "Piano Lessons
Piano Lessons (single)
"Piano Lessons" is a single by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, from their album Stupid Dream, released in April 1999. It came in two formats: a regular CD and a 7" vinyl...
", "Stranger by the Minute
Stranger by the Minute
"Stranger by the Minute" is a single by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released in October 1999, from the Stupid Dream album. It came in two formats: a regular CD and a 7" vinyl which features "Hallogallo", a Neu! cover...
" and "Pure Narcotic
Pure Narcotic
"Pure Narcotic" is a single by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released in November 1999, from the Stupid Dream album. It came in two formats: a regular CD and a 7" vinyl .-Track listing :...
," all achieved mainstream exposure in the US and in Europe and appeared well placed in the UK independent charts and on radio station playlists. Although the album was a departure from their earlier sound, it brought the band new found popularity and went on to become the band's best-selling and most acclaimed release up to that time.
The time spent looking for a record deal had not been wasted, and only a few months after the release of Stupid Dream the band were ready to begin working on a followup.
Lightbulb Sun
Completed for February 2000, with string arrangements provided by Dave Gregory of XTCXTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, Porcupine Tree's sixth studio album Lightbulb Sun
Lightbulb Sun
-2008 Reissues:A reissue of Lightbulb Sun was released on April 21, 2008 through Kscope as 2 disc set; or a 3 disc set for the first 5,000 pre-ordered copies. Disc one is a CD containing a remastered version of the original album album, while disc two is a DVD-A containing the album remixed into...
built on the mix of songwriting, soundscaping, and rock dynamics of Stupid Dream. It was released in May 2000, preceded by the single "Four Chords That Made a Million
Four Chords That Made a Million
"Four Chords That Made a Million" is a single by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released in April 2000, a month before the release of the album Lightbulb Sun, in order to promote it...
". A sold out show at the Scala
Scala (club)
Scala is a nightclub in London, England, near King's Cross railway station.-History:The Scala was originally built as a cinema to the designs of H Courtney Constantine, but construction was interrupted by the First World War and it spent some time being used to manufacture aircraft parts, and as a...
in London began a short run of UK shows, to be followed later in the year by European festival dates and a major tour supporting Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
.
The band continued touring through the end of 2000 and start of 2001, including their first major tour of Germany. A special double CD edition of the Lightbulb Sun album was issued in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Germany, and in May, Recordings
Recordings (album)
Recordings is a compilation album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in May 2001. It is a collection of b-sides from the albums Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun along with one new song, "Access Denied". Recordings was originally a limited pressing release, limited to only...
, a limited edition collection of EP tracks and out-takes from the previous two albums, was released as the band's final release under their Snapper/K-Scope contract. In May 2001 they did three consecutive dates as a support band to Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
, in France, Germany and The Netherlands respectively. In June the band played a short US tour, starting with an appearance in the famous NEARfest
NEARfest
The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, is a multi-day event celebrating the resurgence of progressive and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event is held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, approximately one hour north of Philadelphia...
of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to culminate in a sold out show at the Bottom Line
Bottom Line
The Bottom Line was a music venue at 15 West Fourth Street between Mercer Street and Greene Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
in New York City. Shortly afterwards Porcupine Tree announced that they had signed a new international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
record deal with Lava
Lava Records
Lava Records is an American based record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated through Universal Republic Records.-Company history:...
/Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
.
In Absentia
In February 2002 Porcupine Tree's first line-up change occurred when drummer Chris Maitland departed after eight years with the band. The band welcomed drummer and longtime acquaintance Gavin HarrisonGavin Harrison
Gavin Harrison is a British drummer and percussionist. He is best known for playing with the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree which he joined in 2002. As of 2008, he also plays with the band King Crimson....
to the line-up. In March 2002 a box set of the band's early work was released, Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997
Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997
Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997 is a double album compilation by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in March, 2002...
, and the band commenced recording their first major label album, drawing from a pool of 30 new songs written by Steven in the previous two years.
Recording sessions took place at Avatar Studios
Avatar Studios
Avatar Studios, formerly known as The Power Station, is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street in Manhattan, New York City.The building was originally a Consolidated Edison power plant; but after a period of vacancy, it was used as a sound stage for the television game show Let's Make a Deal...
in New York and London, with veteran audio engineer Paul Northfield
Paul Northfield
Paul Northfield is a prolific record producer and sound engineer, who has worked on albums by bands like Dream Theater, Queensrÿche, Rush and Suicidal Tendencies.-Selected discography:-External links:* * *...
and string arranger Dave Gregory also playing major roles in the making of the record. Mixing of the new album was completed in Los Angeles in May with Tim Palmer
Tim Palmer
Tim Palmer is a British music producer, audio engineer and songwriter of rock and alternative music.-1980-1990:Palmer worked as an assistant engineer at Utopia Studios in London, England in the early 1980s...
.
The eagerly awaited new album, In Absentia
In Absentia
In Absentia is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. It was their first release on a major record label, Lava Records. It is Metal Storm's number 3 of the Top 20 albums of 2002 and number 49 on the Top 100 albums of all time...
, was released by Lava Records
Lava Records
Lava Records is an American based record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated through Universal Republic Records.-Company history:...
in September 2002 (European release January 2003). The album received great praise worldwide and went on to become the band's best selling album, shifting over 100,000 copies in its first year of release and charting in several European countries. The band also released a 5.1 surround sound
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
version of the album, mixed by Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning producer Elliot Scheiner
Elliot Scheiner
Elliot Scheiner is a record producer and record engineer. Scheiner has received 23 Grammy Award nominations, 6 of which he won, and he has been awarded four Emmy nominations, one Emmy award for his work with the Eagles on their farewell tour broadcast, three TEC Awards nominations, a TEC Hall of...
. The surround sound version of the album won the award for best 5.1 mix at the 2004 Surround Sound Music awards in Los Angeles.
To promote the album the band undertook four tours of Europe and North America, including one with acclaimed Swedish metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
. On tour the new line up of the band was further augmented by additional touring vocalist/guitarist John Wesley
John Wesley (guitarist)
John Wesley is an American singer, songwriter and guitar player. John Wesley's professional music career began in the early 1980s in the Tampa, Florida area where he founded 1991 Southwestern Music Conference's showcase act Autodrive along with drummer/producer Mark Prator...
. During these tours the visual element of the band's performance was taken to new heights with the involvement of filmmaker
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and photographer
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Lasse Hoile
Lasse Hoile
Lasse Hoile is an acclaimed artist of mix media, photographer, graphic artist writer, film-maker/director, and cinematographer. Recognized for his unique vintage style intertwined with a modern day twist, Hoile is best known for his close work with Steven Wilson and his projects Porcupine Tree and...
, who had created the cover art for In Absentia and now went on to create a dark and surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
visual counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
to Porcupine Tree's music. The long promotional campaign
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
for In Absentia ended on 30 November 2003, as the band played a homecoming show to a sold out London Astoria
London Astoria
The London Astoria was a music venue, located at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. It had been leased and run by Festival Republic since 2000. It was closed on 15 January 2009 and has since been demolished...
.
During 2003 Porcupine Tree set up their own label, Transmission
Transmission (record label)
Transmission is an independent record label set by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree in 2003. It was named after an information service by mail of the same name the band had during the nineties...
, with an online store
Online shop
Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time, without an intermediary service, over the Internet. It is a form of electronic commerce...
hosted by Burning Shed
Burning Shed
Burning Shed is an independent record label established in April 2001 by musicians Tim Bowness and Peter Chilvers, in association with duplication company manager and former Noisebox Records boss, Pete Morgan....
record label. The first release on the Transmission label was a studio session recorded for XM Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
, Washington, D.C., followed in 2004 by a recording from Polish radio in 2001. The band plan to use the label to issue a series of well recorded and packaged live and exclusive studio recordings.
2003 also saw the start of a lengthy reissue/remaster campaign, with many of the early albums expanded to double CDs. These reissues included re-recorded/remixed double CD versions of the Up the Downstair, The Sky Moves Sideways and Signify albums, and the reissue of Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun, both comprising a CD with a new stereo mix of the album plus a DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio is not intended to be a video delivery format and is not the same as video DVDs containing concert films or music videos....
with a 5.1 surround mix.
Deadwing
In early 2004 the band embarked on the recording sessions for an ambitious new record, DeadwingDeadwing
American edition10. "Shesmovedon " – 4:59DVD-A edition10. "Revenant" – 3:04 11. "Mother and Child Divided" – 4:59 12. "Half-Light" – 6:20 13. "Shesmovedon " - 4:59 LP edition...
, their second for Lava/Atlantic. The album takes its inspiration from a film script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
written by Wilson with his filmmaker friend Mike Bennion. With the album sessions completed in November 2004, and the band's total worldwide sales now approaching half a million units, demand for new music from the band was at an all time high, and increasing media coverage, word of mouth and fan-power continued to create interest in Porcupine Tree throughout the world.
Deadwing was released in Europe and the US during the spring of 2005 as both a stereo and 5.1 surround sound album, preceded by the release of two singles, "Shallow
Shallow (song)
"Shallow" is a single by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, taken from the Deadwing album, released in January 2005 exclusively in the United States for radio broadcast purposes...
" in the US, and "Lazarus
Lazarus (song)
"Lazarus" is a single by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released in March 2005 in Poland and Germany only. It contains a radio edit of the title track plus two songs that were later added on the DVD audio version and the vinyl edition of Deadwing. It was accompanied by a music...
" in Europe. The album benefited from guest appearances by Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
from King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
and Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt
Mikael Åkerfeldt
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath. He was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Sörskogen and the guitarist of the band Steel...
and was a commercial success, due in part to "Shallow" receiving airplay, peaking at #26 in the Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. "Lazarus" entered the Germany singles Top 100 at #91.
The tour to promote the album commenced in the UK at the end of March and continued throughout the year. The song "Shallow" would later be featured in the soundtrack for the film Four Brothers
Four Brothers (film)
Four Brothers is a 2005 action crime film directed by John Singleton. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin and Garrett Hedlund. The film was shot in Detroit, Michigan and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada...
.
Later on, Mike Bennion created a MySpace page dedicated to the prospective Deadwing film, in which he posted the first fifteen pages of the script and included a trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
. However, whilst the scripts are finished, the project is still on hiatus due to lack of budget.
The album won the Surround Music Awards for "Best Made-For-Surround Title" the same year of its release and was voted number 2 album of 2005 in Sound & Vision
Sound and Vision (magazine)
Sound & Vision is an American magazine, published by Bonnier Corporation, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products....
, the most widely distributed US magazine in the field of home electronics and entertainment.
Porcupine Tree released Deadwing in Japan on 22 March 2006, making it the first album by the band to be released in that country.
Fear of a Blank Planet
The band's website announced that new material would be played during the first half of their tours of Europe and the United States. Their new material was much heavier and layered than anything they had previously done, indicating that Porcupine Tree was heading toward an even more metal-oriented sound.On 8 August 2006, it was announced that Porcupine Tree had signed with Roadrunner Records UK
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
. Wilson commented that "Roadrunner has established itself as one of the world's premier independent labels for rock music, and we couldn't be more enthusiastic about working with them to expand our audience and elevate Porcupine Tree to the next level."
The first Porcupine Tree concert DVD, Arriving Somewhere..., was released on 10 October 2006. It was accompanied by a brief tour in which the group performed 50 minutes of new material for the forthcoming studio album for the first half of the shows. Supporting acts included Swedish band Paatos
Paatos
Paatos is a Swedish rock band that was formed in 1999 by Reine Fiske and Stefan Dimle , Petronella Nettermalm, Ricard Nettermalm and Johan Wallen...
in Europe (except France and Belgium where they were supported by Oceansize
Oceansize
Oceansize were a British rock band, formed in Manchester, England on 19th October 1998. The band consisted of Mike Vennart , Steve Durose , Richard "Gambler" Ingram , Mark Heron and Jon Ellis for the majority of its career, with Steve Hodson replacing Ellis on bass in 2006...
), and ProjeKCt 6 (Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
and Adrian Belew) in the United States. In January, 2007, it was revealed the title for the forthcoming album would be Fear of a Blank Planet
Fear of a Blank Planet
Fear of a Blank Planet is the ninth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree and their best selling . Released by Roadrunner on 16 April 2007 in the UK and Europe, 24 April 2007 in the United States through Atlantic, 25 April 2007 in Japan on WHD and 1 May 2007 in Canada by WEA...
With the release of Fear of a Blank Planet
Fear of a Blank Planet
Fear of a Blank Planet is the ninth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree and their best selling . Released by Roadrunner on 16 April 2007 in the UK and Europe, 24 April 2007 in the United States through Atlantic, 25 April 2007 in Japan on WHD and 1 May 2007 in Canada by WEA...
on 16 April 2007, Porcupine Tree charted in almost all European countries. and peaking at #59 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
A 92-date tour for 2007, took the band to countries they had never visited, like Finland and Mexico. The tour included appearances in many major music festivals such as the Voodoo Experience
Voodoo Experience
Voodoo Experience, also commonly referred to as Voodoo or Voodoo Fest, is a multi-day music and arts festival held in City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana. It was first held on Halloween weekend in 1999. It has since moved between the weekend before Halloween and Halloween weekend throughout the years...
in New Orleans, the German twin-festivals, Hurricane
Hurricane Festival
The Hurricane Festival, also just Hurricane, is a music festival that takes place in Scheeßel near Bremen, Germany, usually every June. It is promoted by German private music television channel VIVA, which belongs to Viacom, the MTV Network's parent company, as of 2004...
and Southside
Southside Festival
The Southside Festival, also just Southside, is a music festival that takes place near Tuttlingen, southern Germany, usually every June. It is promoted by German private music television channel VIVA, which belongs to Viacom, the MTV Network's parent company, since the end of 2004...
, and the Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
of Donington Park
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...
. Later in 2008 when the tour resumed, the band performed their first ever shows in Australia.
The lyrics of the album deal with some common behaviour tendencies concerning society (especially youth) in the beginning of the 21st century such as bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
, attention deficit disorder, drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, alienation and depravation caused by mass media.
Wilson: "My fear is that the current generation of kids who're being born into this information revolution, growing up with the Internet, cell phones, iPods, this download culture, 'American Idol,' reality TV, prescription drugs, PlayStations—all of these things kind of distract people from what's important about life, which is to develop a sense of curiosity about what's out there."
The concept of the album was inspired mainly by Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
novel Lunar Park
Lunar Park
Lunar Park is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis with elements of faux autobiography and pastiche. It was released by Knopf on August 16, 2005. It is notable for being the first book written by Ellis to use past tense narrative.-Plot summary:...
and the title alludes to Public Enemy's album, Fear of a Black Planet
Fear of a Black Planet
Fear of a Black Planet is the third studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released April 10, 1990, on Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. Production for the album was handled by the group's production team The Bomb Squad, who expanded on the dense, sample-layered sound of the...
, both sharing the particularity of reflecting notorious conflicts affecting society in the world at some time. Wilson notes that whilst race relationship
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
was the main issue among young people when Public Enemy's album was released, in the 21st century it was replaced by a general superficiality, boredom, and introversion. The album features contributions from Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
's Alex Lifeson
Alex Lifeson
Aleksandar Živojinović, OC, better known by his stage name Alex Lifeson, is a second generation Serbian-Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. In the summer of 1968, Lifeson founded the band that would become Rush with friend, drummer John Rutsey...
and King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
's Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
.
A new EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
called Nil Recurring
Nil Recurring
Nil Recurring is an EP by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released on 17 September 2007 through the band's online store...
was released on 17 September 2007, featuring four unreleased tracks from the Fear of a Blank Planet sessions and including another contribution from Robert Fripp. The second leg of the tour started on 3 October 2007, now promoting new music from the EP. Nil Recurring entered the UK Top 30 Independent Label Albums
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
at #8. The EP was later reissued in 18 February 2008 through Peaceville Records
Peaceville Records
Peaceville Records is a British independent metal-oriented record label. The label was founded by Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw in 1987, in Dewsbury, England...
.
On 5 November 2007, Fear of a Blank Planet won the "Album of the Year" award for the 2007 Classic Rock
Classic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
magazine awards. In December, 2007, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Surround Sound Album"
Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album
The Grammy Award for "Best Surround Sound Album" was first awarded in 2005, as the first category in a new "Surround Sound" field.-Nominees::*An Evening With Dave Grusin...
though Love
Love (The Beatles album)
Love is a Grammy Award-winning soundtrack remix album of music recorded by The Beatles, released in November 2006. It features music compiled and remixed as a mashup for the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name...
by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
won the award. In January, 2008, was voted "Best Album of 2007" by readers of the Dutch Progressive Rock Page. The LP version of Fear of a Blank Planet includes the Nil Recurring EP tracks.
A recording from an 4 October 2007 in-store, mostly acoustic, performance at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
was released on 18 February 2008 on CD under the name of We Lost The Skyline
We Lost the Skyline
We Lost the Skyline is a live recording by Porcupine Tree, recorded during an in-store performance at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Florida, with 200 fans in attendance. Although it was originally planned that the full band would play, lack of space dictated that only the two guitarists/singers...
. The title is a reference to the lyrics of "The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One)
The Sky Moves Sideways
The Sky Moves Sideways is the third studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in February, 1995. It has been compared to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here because of their similar structure; both albums have extended pieces at the beginning and end, which are the...
," which was the opening song on the live set. The album was released on vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
of 21 March 2008. It was originally intended to be a full-band show, but lack of space in the store determined that only the two guitarists, Steven Wilson and John Wesley, played.
The Incident
According to Porcupine Tree's manager, Andy Leff, the band planned to release a live album in September, 2008. Wilson commented that the album will be issued through Roadrunner Records. However, the live record is currently put on hold without a known future. This was confirmed by Gavin Harrison on the DrummerworldDrummerworld
Drummerworld.com is an encyclopedia-like website about significant jazz, jazz fusion, rock, funk and pop drummers. The site features biographies, sounds, videos and pictures of important drummers, as well as a drum clinic section where drummers can learn from the masters...
forum's post #2540 of Gavin's thread. The band played a short European tour in October 2008 in order to shoot their second live concert film, Anesthetize. The filming took place on 15 and 16 October 2008 in the Netherlands at the 013 Tilburg
Tilburg
Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....
venue. In this leg of the tour the band played for the first time as headliners in Portugal.
During one of these shows, Wilson mentioned that Porcupine Tree had started work on material for their next album, with an eye toward a release in 2009.
The band started recording their tenth studio album—The Incident
The Incident (album)
The Incident is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It was released on September 14, 2009 by Roadrunner Records. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album and reached the Top 25 on both the US and UK album charts.-History:The band...
—in February 2009. This was confirmed by the band, posting this message on their official website: "Writing for the next PT studio record is well underway, with the band recently spending two weeks scheduled in the English countryside working on new tracks. Recording of these pieces and a new 35 minute SW song cycle were due to start in February..." A tour was announced on the band's website and MySpace, along with dates, following release of the new album. Around March and April, Wilson commented the 35-minute song kept evolving and now it has become a 55-minute song, occupying the entire disc.
On 12 June 2009, details were revealed on the Porcupine Tree website: "the record is set to be released via Roadrunner Records worldwide on 21 September, as a double CD. The centre-piece is the title track, which takes up the whole of the first disc. The 55-minute work is described as a slightly surreal song cycle about beginnings and endings and the sense that ‘after this, things will never be the same again.’ The self-produced album is completed by four standalone compositions that developed out of band writing sessions last December – Flicker, Bonnie The Cat, Black Dahlia, and Remember Me Lover feature on a separate EP length disc to stress their independence from the song cycle."
On 20 May 2010, Porcupine Tree released their second live concert film on DVD and Blu-Ray titled Anesthetize
Anesthetize (video)
Anesthetize is the second live DVD by progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released on May 20, 2010. The blu-ray edition was released on June 15. It is filmed in high definition and taken from two concerts given by Porcupine Tree at Tilburg, Netherlands on October 15 and 16, at the end of the Fear...
, it was recorded live on 15 and 16 October 2008 in the Netherlands at the 013 Tilburg venue.
On 17 June, the band announced on their website that a new live album titled Atlanta
Atlanta (album)
-Personnel:*Steven Wilson – keyboards, vocals, guitar*Colin Edwin – bass guitar*Richard Barbieri – keyboards, synthesizers*Gavin Harrison – drums*John Wesley – backing vocals, guitar...
, recorded during the tour of Fear Of A Blank Planet at the Roxy theatre, Atlanta, on 29 October 2007, would be released in a near future. This album was released via online distribution only, without any class of physical format; all the sale proceeds were donated to Mick Karn
Mick Karn
Andonis Michaelides , better known as Mick Karn, was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and songwriter, who came to fame as the bassist for the art rock band Japan, from 1974 to 1982....
for his treatment against cancer.
Wilson has announced that the band will get back together to start work on a new album in early 2012.
Influences
Much of the inherent musical background of Porcupine Tree goes back to Wilson's childhood, when his parents gave Christmas presents to each other. His father received Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the MoonThe Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
whilst his mother got Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
's Love to Love You Baby
Love to Love You Baby
Love to Love You Baby is the second album by Donna Summer, and her first to be released internationally and in the US. Her previous album Lady of the Night was released only in the Netherlands. Love to Love You Baby was released in the US on August 27, 1975.-History:In the summer of 1975, Summer...
, which Wilson assures, both played "in a continuous way". These albums would heavily influence his further songwriting (especially the Pink Floyd one). Other known influences are Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
and Abba
Abba
ABBA is the name of a former Swedish pop music group.Abba may also refer to:* ABBA , a self-titled album by the Swedish pop music group ABBA* "Abba ", a song by Christian pop and rock artist, Rebecca St...
.
Later in his teens, Wilson briefly became a fan of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
, but as soon as he discovered Seventies
1970s in music
For music from a year in the 1970s, go to 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1970s....
music and progressive rock, his interest in metal diminished in favour of experimental music. He later (in the 2000s) discovered bands in the likes of Gojira
Gojira
Gojira is a heavy metal band formed in 1996 in Bayonne, France. The band was known as Godzilla until 2001. Gojira is composed of Joe Duplantier on vocals and guitar, his brother Mario Duplantier on drums, Christian Andreu on guitar and Jean-Michel Labadie on bass...
, Sunn O)))
Sunn O)))
Sunn O))) is an American doom metal band known for its synthesis of diverse genres including drone, ambient, noise, and black metal. Supported by a varying cast of collaborators, the band has two core members: Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson .-History:Sunn O))) is named after the Sunn...
, Neurosis
Neurosis (band)
Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
and Meshuggah
Meshuggah
Meshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...
, which restored his faith in metal music. "For a long time I couldn't find where all these creative musicians were going…", said Wilson, "and I found them, they were working in extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
." Shortly thereafter he went to produce three consecutive albums by Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
which had a considerable influence in his further songwriting.
There is also some noticeable influence from krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
since Wilson likes bands such as Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
, Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
, Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
, Squarepusher
Squarepusher
Squarepusher is the performing pseudonym of Tom Jenkinson, an English electronic music artist signed to Warp Records. He specialises in the electronic music genres of drum and bass and acid, with a significant jazz and musique concrète influence....
, Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
and artists like Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze is a German electronic music composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried. He was briefly a member of the electronic bands Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across five decades.-1970s:In...
and Conrad Schnitzler
Conrad Schnitzler
Conrad Schnitzler was a prolific German experimental musician.Schnitzler was born in Düsseldorf. He was an early member of Tangerine Dream and a founder of the band Kluster. He left Kluster in 1971, first working with his group Eruption and then focusing on solo works...
among others. More contemporary influences cited include: Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
, The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is a Grammy award winning American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
and Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
. Wilson has also mentioned on multiple occasions that he also admires the work of American musician Trent Reznor
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is also a member of How to Destroy Angels alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross. He was previously associated with bands Option 30,...
, the sole official member of Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
.
Characteristics
The music of Porcupine Tree is often described as melancholic by many people, even though it is not necessarily linked to Steven Wilson's personality. He states music is a way for him to channel all his negative feelings, and "an exorcism of those elements within", finding it "easier to write songs about the negative side of the world than it is about the happy side of the world." In the Warszawa live radio broadcast album, before performing "Stop Swimming", Wilson can be heard saying "the saddest music is often the most beautiful."Porcupine Tree is notable for being an album-oriented band, making very conceptual records where many songs are related to each other. Even so, each Porcupine Tree song has a distinguishable personality. Wilson explains:
"The important thing with Porcupine Tree is that all our songs have a unique sound world that they inhabit. I don't like the idea of any song sounding like any other song. So most of the time it's a case of finding the sound world first whether it be a texture or a drum rhythm that sets you off on a certain musical path, or particular musical atmosphere, or flavour."For their recordings the band has included mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, hammered dulcimer
Hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
and guimbri among other instruments unusual for rock bands.
Above all, Porcupine Tree music has maintained a strong textural and experimental quality, often fusing many genres in a single track. The band's work is noted for its atmospheric
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
nature (strongly helped by Barbieri's keyboard style and sound-processing abilities) and cinematic scope (Wilson is a declared fan of American filmmaker David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, whose films are renowned for their sonic content). "Very layered, very produced, very arranged and [with] complex arrangements" is the way Wilson describes the sound of the band. Apart from their regular edition, the albums Stupid Dream, Lightbulb Sun, In Absentia, Deadwing, Fear of a Blank Planet and The Incident are available in DTS
Digital Theater System
DTS is a series of multichannel audio technologies owned by DTS, Inc. , an American company specializing in digital surround sound formats used for both commercial/theatrical and consumer grade applications...
(5.1 Surround Sound) mix; this mixing technique has become a tradition for the band in recent years.
Genre discord
Porcupine Tree are often categorised as a progressive rock band. Although many listeners familiar with the group label them as such, Steven Wilson has been noted in the past to express a certain dislike for the use of the term "progressive" to refer to them. However, more recently, he made note that he has since become more relaxed toward the word considering it is becoming "a much broader term" as time passes. He has frequently stated that he dislikes the press comparing Porcupine Tree with neo prog bands or citing them as 'the New Pink Floyd'. "For me that is so insulting", commented Wilson in an interview with The Dutch Progressive Rock Page, "because it insinuates that you are living in the shadow of some other band. I particularly never wanted to be the new anybody, I just wanted to be the old Porcupine Tree, or the new Porcupine Tree."Current members
- Steven WilsonSteven WilsonSteven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
– vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, synthesisers, hammer dulcimer, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, samplerSampler (musical instrument)A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
, various instruments (1987–present) - Richard BarbieriRichard BarbieriRichard Barbieri, is an English synthesiser player, keyboardist and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, synthesisers, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and sound processing (1993–present) - Colin EdwinColin EdwinColin Edwin is a member of the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, where he plays both fretted and fretless bass guitar as well as double bass and guimbri. He joined the band in December 1993...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
(1993–present) - Gavin HarrisonGavin HarrisonGavin Harrison is a British drummer and percussionist. He is best known for playing with the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree which he joined in 2002. As of 2008, he also plays with the band King Crimson....
– drums and percussion (2002–present)
Touring members
- John WesleyJohn Wesley (guitarist)John Wesley is an American singer, songwriter and guitar player. John Wesley's professional music career began in the early 1980s in the Tampa, Florida area where he founded 1991 Southwestern Music Conference's showcase act Autodrive along with drummer/producer Mark Prator...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocals (2002–present)
Guest musicians
- Theo TravisTheo TravisTheo Travis is a British saxophonist and flautist.Travis received his degree in flute and saxophone from the University of Manchester and has worked among others with Robert Fripp, Gong, Porcupine Tree, The Tangent, Bill Nelson, Bass Communion, No-Man, Steven Wilson, David Sylvian, Harold Budd,...
– fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
(1995, 1999) - Stuart Gordon – violin (2000)
- Nick Parry – cello (2000)
- Aviv GeffenAviv GeffenAviv Geffen is an Israeli rock musician, singer, songwriter, producer, keyboardist and guitarist. He is the son of writer and poet Yehonatan Geffen and Nurit Makover, brother of actress Shira Geffen, and an alumnus of Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.Geffen was and is extremely popular...
– vocals (2002) - Mikael ÅkerfeldtMikael ÅkerfeldtLars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath. He was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Sörskogen and the guitarist of the band Steel...
– guitar, backing vocals (2005) - Adrian BelewAdrian BelewAdrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
– guitar (2005) - Alex LifesonAlex LifesonAleksandar Živojinović, OC, better known by his stage name Alex Lifeson, is a second generation Serbian-Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. In the summer of 1968, Lifeson founded the band that would become Rush with friend, drummer John Rutsey...
– guitar (2007) - Robert FrippRobert FrippRobert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
– guitar, soundscapes (2007) - John WesleyJohn Wesley (guitarist)John Wesley is an American singer, songwriter and guitar player. John Wesley's professional music career began in the early 1980s in the Tampa, Florida area where he founded 1991 Southwestern Music Conference's showcase act Autodrive along with drummer/producer Mark Prator...
– vocals (2002, 2007), additional guitar (2002) - Ben Coleman – violin (2007)
- Rick Edwards – percussion (1995)
- Suzanne Barbieri – vocals (1993, 1995)
- Mark Fabri – drums – Radioactive Toy – live studio sessions, Watford (1991)
- Matt Platts – keyboards – Radioactive Toy – live studio sessions, Watford (1991)
Discography
Studio albums- On the Sunday of Life...On the Sunday of LifeOn the Sunday of Life is the debut album of English progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in July, 1991. It compiles tracks that Steven Wilson produced and recorded for two cassette-only releases, Tarquin's Seaweed Farm and The Nostalgia Factory...
(1991) - Up the DownstairUp the DownstairUp the Downstair is the second studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in May 1993. It was originally intended to be a double album set including the song "Voyage 34", which was instead released as a single in 1992, and other material that ended up on the...
(1993) - The Sky Moves SidewaysThe Sky Moves SidewaysThe Sky Moves Sideways is the third studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in February, 1995. It has been compared to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here because of their similar structure; both albums have extended pieces at the beginning and end, which are the...
(1995) - SignifySignifySignify is the fourth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in September 1996. It was the first album that frontman Steven Wilson recorded with a full group of musicians on board from the beginning. Previously he had been recording albums primarily as a...
(1996) - Stupid DreamStupid DreamStupid Dream is the fifth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in March 1999. It became the band's best selling album up to the time of its release....
(1999) - Lightbulb SunLightbulb Sun-2008 Reissues:A reissue of Lightbulb Sun was released on April 21, 2008 through Kscope as 2 disc set; or a 3 disc set for the first 5,000 pre-ordered copies. Disc one is a CD containing a remastered version of the original album album, while disc two is a DVD-A containing the album remixed into...
(2000) - In AbsentiaIn AbsentiaIn Absentia is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. It was their first release on a major record label, Lava Records. It is Metal Storm's number 3 of the Top 20 albums of 2002 and number 49 on the Top 100 albums of all time...
(2002) - DeadwingDeadwingAmerican edition10. "Shesmovedon " – 4:59DVD-A edition10. "Revenant" – 3:04 11. "Mother and Child Divided" – 4:59 12. "Half-Light" – 6:20 13. "Shesmovedon " - 4:59 LP edition...
(2005) - Fear of a Blank PlanetFear of a Blank PlanetFear of a Blank Planet is the ninth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree and their best selling . Released by Roadrunner on 16 April 2007 in the UK and Europe, 24 April 2007 in the United States through Atlantic, 25 April 2007 in Japan on WHD and 1 May 2007 in Canada by WEA...
(2007) - The IncidentThe Incident (album)The Incident is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It was released on September 14, 2009 by Roadrunner Records. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album and reached the Top 25 on both the US and UK album charts.-History:The band...
(2009)
External links
- Porcupine Tree official website
- Porcupine Tree Magazine
- Porcupine Tree at last.fm
- "Interview with Steven Wilson," Quiddity International Literay Journal and Public-Radio Program, December 2009
- Live Review: Porcupine Tree w/ Sleep Parade @ The Tivoli, Brisbane Australia at LifeMusicMedia.com
- The Seaweed Farm – Porcupine Tree / Steven Wilson related news