Steven Wilson catch-all thread (Porcupine Tree, No-Man, Blackfield, Bass Communion)

[Lerxto]

So, it turns out that Blackfield is still Aviv Geffen's project, after all.
Two songs co-written with Aviv Geffen ('A Drop In The Ocean' and 'Life Is An Ocean'), and 'From 44 To 48', obviously, written by SW. Otherwise all written by AG.
To be fair, he did contribute a lot more as a producer/musician.

I'm also quite surprised by some facts:
a) 'How Was Your Ride?' was not produced by Steven Wilson (not even written by him) but Alan Parsons did the job.
b) Alan Parsons produced 'The Jackal'.
c) About half of the surround mix is done by SW. The other half was done by Simon Bloor & Bruce Soord.
d) If you have the January leak do not delete it, for it's different from the official release. E.g., 'Sorrys' crossfades into 'Life Is An Ocean' in the official release while the leak doesn't.

[Piko]

Sure fooled me. When I first heard "How Was Your Ride" I immediately thought it was all SW. Either way, it's a great album. I'm just happy to see SW doing more. Even if he isn't the main writer.

[simonn]

Great interview here, so many great quotes!

[onthewall2983]

New box set being planned for Porcupine Tree's Arriving Somewhere..., featuring a Blu-ray with a new transfer and 2 CDs

[seasonsinthesky]

New box set being planned for Porcupine Tree's Arriving Somewhere..., featuring a Blu-ray with a new transfer and 2 CDs

Hoping more songs are included. They played Deadwing at those shows!

[onthewall2983]

I wondered if there were more songs played. It's not even an hour and a half, so quite short for a concert film.

[Maurish]

New box set being planned for Porcupine Tree's Arriving Somewhere..., featuring a Blu-ray with a new transfer and 2 CDs

Very cool, thanks for the heads up! I've had this in my wishlist for a while and had plans to buy it soon but now I will definitely wait for this box set.

[onthewall2983]

Listened to the new Blackfield the other day. I was more impressed with it then I thought I'd be. I like their stuff just fine but whenever a new album has come out I haven't ran towards it like I would SW's other projects. It's good he put more of himself into the new record, as opposed to just giving one song to the last. Him and Aviv do have something special together and this album was a better distillation of that.

Speaking of his collaborators, the new Tim Bowness album is highly recommended. It's more rock-oriented but it manages to fit his voice well.

[onthewall2983]

[onthewall2983]

He mentioned this in passing in January, but it would appear that for his next album, he's signed with a new label. Didn't say who it was, which makes me think it could be a major one.

[henryeatscereal]

He mentioned this in passing in January, but it would appear that for his next album, he's signed with a new label. Didn't say who it was, which makes me think it could be a major one.

I can't imagine Steven as a Universal or WB artist, to me he has always been indie; i hope he's not returning to Roadrunner... to me he's a perfect fit for Matador, XL or Play it Again Sam.

[onthewall2983]

I'm not altogether happy about this, because I think KScope is a good label with admirable aims, and he has done well being kind of the figurehead in terms of artists. But as I get the feeling he's trying to reach a wider swath of people, I can at least understand the need to move to greener pastures. I do hope too he's not returning to any of the major labels, but at least some place that can get him out to a wider audience.

I'll at least be somewhat happy if he is at a Warner label, as it means he can gain control of his Porcupine Tree records and finally work on remixing them to his satisfaction, ridding them of the "loudness wars" stuff which is on them.

[armogi]

Please no matador, please.

[dlb]

Does anyone recollect how expensive the tour programme for hand.cannot.erase was? I'm trying to find a copy for a reasonable price.

[onthewall2983]

The ultra-rare Unreleased Electronic Music getting a new release, exclusive to ToneFloat

In the announcement of this on social media this morning, it said we will be getting tons of info on the new record very soon.

[onthewall2983]

http://no-man.co.uk/

The No-Man website has recently undergone a redesign, with signs pointing at a new project, maybe even a new album. Much as I'd like to see the latter happen, and considering he's working with collaborators more and more lately (between work done on the latest Blackfield album, and considering he is co-writing several of the songs on his new album), I think it could be something related to a new Blu-ray project he's talked about. The DVD editions of Together We're Stranger and Schoolyard Ghosts have been deleted, so I suspect (and he's said as much) that a Blu release with those mixes could be forthcoming.

[onthewall2983]

There's an announcement this morning on his social media pages about his new label, Caroline International

SW: “I’m absolutely delighted to be entering into partnership with Michael Roe and his team at Caroline for my next album. Although Caroline exist within the Universal Music Group, their philosophy allows me to remain creatively independent, while at the same time providing the "muscle" that being with a major organisation brings. This makes it a perfect home for me, and I'm happy to now be label mates with some of the most respected musicians in the industry.”

Michael Roe, Joint Managing Director of Caroline International: “I’ve been a fan of Steven’s recorded and production work for many years. He’s an incredible talent with a big and dedicated fanbase but someone who has not received the wider recognition I think he deserves. I’m thrilled he’s chosen Caroline as a home”.


The follow up to 2015’s Hand. Cannot. Erase. will be released later this year, more news coming soon.

[pulse]

He’s an incredible talent with a big and dedicated fanbase but someone who has not received the wider recognition I think he deserves.

That's one hell of an understatement. Yes, the man as made a plethora of interesting, complicated and obscure music over his lengthy career. But he has also made just as many highly accessible listener-friendly pop songs that, for the life of me, I cannot imagine how they've managed to stay off the radar of mainstream radio over the past 25 years. He's always been my best-kept secret to introduce to people who've never heard of him only to get a reconnect weeks or months down the road thanking me for the introduction. It'd be cool to know just how many people I'm directly or indirectly responsible for making Wilson fans over the years since the 1990s. Probably more so than any other artist I've followed closely.

But I'd gladly give all that up for him to get far greater recognition for his work as an artist, engineer and producer that he deserves. Not that Steven probably gives a damn. But the man deserves a lifetime achievement Grammy for his mixing/remixing work alone, much more his own recording masterpieces. Here's to hoping he gets something to put up on his mantle, besides perhaps even a little more in the coffers.

In addition to the above, perhaps exposure to a wider audience might get him involved with some film scores. I belief Wilson could make some epic music for film. He has mentioned more than once he would love to do this at some point. With his production knowledge, he seems like a very good prospect. Surely an avenue will open eventually and an opportunity will come his way.

[onthewall2983]

It would appear that promos for the new album are already going out

[onthewall2983]

https://twitter.com/StevenWilsonHQ/s...55890341806080

[onthewall2983]

Time Flies: The History of Porcupine Tree by author Rich Wilson (no relation) coming out soon.

[henryeatscereal]

Time Flies: The History of Porcupine Tree by author Rich Wilson (no relation) coming out soon.

I hope the author interviewed Malcom Stocks; i've always been curious to know what he's been up to and his viewpoint of the Porcupine Tree story.

[onthewall2983]

I hope the author interviewed Malcom Stocks; i've always been curious to know what he's been up to and his viewpoint of the Porcupine Tree story.

Here's the answer from the author himself

[onthewall2983]

To The Bone, August 18th

1. To the Bone
2. Nowhere Now
3. Pariah
4. The Same Asylum As Before
5. Refuge
6. Permanating
7. Blank Tapes
8. People Who Eat Darkness
9. Song of I
10. Detonation
11. Song of Unborn

"Fusing driving futurist rock and spectral electronics to elegiac hyper-space ambience and dizzying, squalling guitars, To The Bone is Steven Wilson’s hat-tip to the hugely ambitious progressive pop records of his youth (think Peter Gabriel’s So, Talk Talk’s Colour of Spring, Tears for Fears Seeds of Love).


Lyrically, the album’s eleven tracks veer from the paranoid chaos of the post-truth era and the creeping self-loathing of the technology age to steely fly-on-the-wall observations of the everyday lives of religious fundamentalists with a welcome shot or two of wide-eyed escapism. Sonically and melodically stunning, To The Bone is a high definition snapshot of the disconcerting times we live in."

[henryeatscereal]

Here's the answer from the author himself

Bummer!
Still, that book sounds rich, do want!

[onthewall2983]

[onthewall2983]

Pre-order details

Tour dates for his first leg in Europe, starting next January

[eversonpoe]

i woke up this morning and was so excited to see the pre-order e-mail, and particularly excited that, unlike his last few special editions, this one is only $65 (rather than $100). finally listened to pariah while registering for an account so i could order the special edition, and liked it more than i thought i would. then i got to the shipping portion of checkout. THIRTY FIVE FUCKING DOLLARS to ship a vinyl-sized book that can't possibly weigh more than a couple pounds? what the FUCK?

i'm at a loss, here. i really want the special edition of this (i have Hand.Cannot.Erase and Grace For Drowning, missed out on the other two), but paying that much for shipping seems pretty ridiculous. i figured $15, maybe $20. :/

[onthewall2983]

I've heard it's even more expensive in a few other places. My guess is that Wilson wants there to be as much care in terms of how it's handled by the mailmen and other various people this will be handed off too in the process of shipping it out. I might just get the Blu-ray, and take the chance with the second-hand market later.

Interesting there's finally a feature-length documentary on the video portion of this.

[eversonpoe]

I've heard it's even more expensive in a few other places. My guess is that Wilson wants there to be as much care in terms of how it's handled by the mailmen and other various people this will be handed off too in the process of shipping it out. I might just get the Blu-ray, and take the chance with the second-hand market later.

Interesting there's finally a feature-length documentary on the video portion of this.

yeah, the documentary is a big part of why i wanted it. i'm assuming that's not on the standard blu-ray? or did i skip over that?

edit: i guess it IS on the standard blu-ray...hmmm