Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree live in Poznan 2007
General information
Genre (s)	Progressive rock , psychedelic rock
founding	1987
resolution	2010
Website	http://www.porcupinetree.com/
Last occupation
Vocals , guitar	Steven Wilson
Keyboard , synthesizer	Richard Barbieri
bass	Colin Edwin
Drums	Gavin Harrison
Guitar, vocals	John Wesley (only at concerts)
former members
Drums	Chris Maitland

Porcupine Tree (literally translated "porcupine tree ") was a progressive rock band from England founded in 1987 around guitarist, singer and composer Steven Wilson .

history

The beginnings (1987 to 1990)

Porcupine Tree was initially a solo project by Steven Wilson. Parallel to his work with Tim Bowness ( No-Man ), he recorded his first tapes in his home studio , influenced by psychedelic rock bands from the 1970s. Fearing that he would be denied recognition as a "hobby musician", he invented the fictional band Porcupine Tree, which allegedly got together at a rock festival in the 1970s after a long prison term. He forged a related discography and in 1989 released an 80-minute cassette entitled Tarquin's Seaweed Farm , which already contained a first version of Radioactive Toy , one of the best-known titles from the early stages of Porcupine Tree. The fictitious information about Porcupine Tree was printed in the inlay of the cassette.

Further small editions of cassettes followed, which initially received little attention. Nonetheless, the record company “Delerium”, newly founded by the British underground magazine “Freakbeat”, signed him as the first artist. The Porcupine Tree track Linton Samuel Dawson was released on a record label sampler and Tarquin's Seaweed Farm was released in slightly larger editions.

On the Sunday of Life ... and Up the Downstair (1991 to 1994)

In 1992, On the Sunday of Life was released on record in an edition of 1000 copies. This album contained a selection of the best pieces from the previously published records and was sold out shortly after publication. Due to the high demand, the record was re-pressed and the album was also released on CD. By 2000, On the Sunday of Life had sold more than 20,000 copies.

In the following years, the style of Wilson's publications changed. In November 1992 the EP Voyage 34 (phase 1 and 2) was about 30 minutes long . The music mixes influences from ambient and trance and is based on works by groups such as The Orb or Future Sound of London . The pieces are characterized by long solos, known as liquid rock , and a narrative that tells of an LSD trip. The EP received good reviews and reached the Top 20 on the UK Independent Singles Chart. At the end of 1993, the second Voyage 34 EP followed (phases 3 and 4), which brought the drug trip to an end (all four tracks were re-released on a CD in 2000).

In 1993, however, Up the Downstair followed and was received with enthusiasm. The British music magazine Melody Maker called it a "psychedelic masterpiece". The style of music, which was again located between rock and ambient , was further developed. The unused pieces of the sessions were released shortly afterwards as EP Staircase Infinities . Wilson worked for the first time on the recordings of Up the Downstair with his future band mates Richard Barbieri (keyboards, formerly active in the band Japan ) and Colin Edwin (bass), which can be heard especially on the ten-minute title track. In late 1993 Porcupine Tree made their live debut. Drummer Chris Maitland, whom Wilson already knew from his No-Man project, was brought in. The “classic” line-up was born. In 1994 Porcupine Tree released a cover version of the Prince song The Cross from his album Sign "☮" the Times . In the 2005 CD reissue of Up the Downstair , the drum machine used on the original version was replaced by Gavin Harrison's drumming and Staircase Infinities was added to a bonus CD.

The Sky Moves Sideways and Signify (1995 to 1997)

The work on the next album should not be finished until the beginning of 1995 and therefore Porcupine Tree released the EP Moonloop in October 1994 , which included two tracks from the next album ( Stars Die was initially only included on the US version of the record and Moonloop on the Album was shortened).

In February 1995 the band released the third studio album The Sky Moves Sideways . It was the first work recorded entirely with the new line-up and was such a success that Porcupine Tree was hailed as the Pink Floyd of the 1990s. Nevertheless, Steven Wilson regretted this comparison:

“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. "

- Steven Wilson

In the 2003 CD reissue, not only was the drum computer replaced by real drums on two tracks, but an additional CD also contained the complete EP version of Moonloop , Stars Die , and the title track as an alternative, almost 35-minute version .

After the release of the first single Waiting , the next album Signify was released in September 1996. The album was a mixture of instrumentals and rock songs, which also had influences from the avant-garde . Intermediate Jesus stood out in particular , which arose from a jam session and was partly released on the limited Metanoia EP at the end of 1998.

Meanwhile, the fan base grew steadily, especially in Italy, where the band's songs were played by many radio stations. In March 1997 Porcupine Tree played three concerts in front of 5000 people in Rome. The material from the three concerts was used for the live album Coma Divine - Recorded Live in Rome , which was also considered a farewell for Porcupine Tree on Delerium Records, as the band wanted to become known worldwide and therefore a larger label was in demand.

In late 1997, the band's first three albums were re-released and remastered . Signify was released in the United States under Ark 21 Records by Miles Copeland III .

Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun (1998 to 2001)

The recordings for the fifth studio album Stupid Dream extended over the whole of 1998. Wilson names the album Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys as well as Todd Rundgren and Crosby, Stills and Nash as sources of inspiration. At the time of recording, the band had no record deal, which they signed with Snapper Music that same year.

March 1999 the album Stupid Dream was released. A long tour of Great Britain, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France, Poland and the United States followed. Furthermore, three singles, Piano Lessons , Stranger by the Minute and Pure Narcotic , were released from the album, which were played by European and American radios and were able to place themselves in the British independent charts. With its new style, which contained elements of Britpop , the album caused some uncertainty among old fans of the band. However, many new fans were also gained and so the album became the band's best-selling and most renowned work to date.

The sixth album Lightbulb Sun was released in May 2000 and features guest contributions by Dave Gregory of the band XTC . The single Four Chords That Made a Million was extracted from this . A special double CD edition of Lightbulb Sun with bonus material was also released in Germany and Israel . This was followed by a joint European tour with Dream Theater . In May 2001 Porcupine Tree supported Marillion in France, Germany and the Netherlands. In June the band played a short US tour; including appearances at the North East Art Rock Festival in Pennsylvania and in the Bottom Line in New York. Shortly thereafter, Porcupine Tree announced they would sign an international record deal with Atlantic Records .

In Absentia (2002 to 2004)

In February 2002 the line-up changed because the drummer Chris Maitland left the band after eight years and was replaced by the new drummer Gavin Harrison. March 2002 appeared the double CD box Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991–1997 , the highlights of the band's earlier works up to the album Signify , remixes and unreleased pieces contained. The band began recording In Absentia at Avatar Studios in New York for their first major label album. It was mixed by Tim Palmer in Los Angeles.

The new album In Absentia was released by Lava Records in September 2002 and received good reviews worldwide. It became the band's best-selling album with 100,000 copies in the first year and received several placements in the European charts. A 5.1 surround sound version has also been released, produced by Elliot Scheiner. This version won the award for the best 5.1 mix at the Surround Sound Music Awards in Los Angeles.

To promote the album, the band went on four tours through Europe and North America, including one with the renowned Swedish metal band Opeth . The band line-up was supplemented during the tours by the guitarist and singer John Wesley. During the tour, the visual elements at the concerts were enhanced with the participation of filmmaker and photographer Lasse Hoile, who also designed the cover for In Absentia , creating a contrast to the music of Porcupine Tree through dark and surreal visual elements. The long promotional campaign for the album ended on November 30, 2003 when the band played the campaign's closing concert in a sold out Astoria , London .

In 2003 Porcupine Tree set up their own online label Transmission , which was supported by the record label Burning Shed. The first release on the online label was a studio recording for XM Radio, Washington. The band intends to make further exclusive studio recordings available through this label.

Also in 2003, the earlier albums Up the Downstair , The Sky Moves Sideways and Signify were remastered and released as a new edition with double CDs, each consisting of a CD with a new stereo mix of the albums and an additional CD with bonus material.

Deadwing and Arriving Somewhere DVD (2004 to 2006)

In the spring of 2004, Porcupine Tree began recording their eighth studio album. A script by Steven Wilson and his friend Mike Bennion served as inspiration. Worldwide sales of the band neared half a million, the demand for a new album increased, the media coverage of Porcupine Tree increased and so large fan circles developed.

Deadwing was released in the United States and Europe in the spring of 2005 as a standard stereo and 5.1 surround edition. In addition, the two singles Lazarus in Europe and Shallow in the United States were released. The album includes guest appearances by Adrian Belew from King Crimson and Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth and sold successfully. The single Shallow placed 26th on the "US Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks" charts. The track was later used for the soundtrack for Four Brothers . Lazarus placed 91st in the German top 100 singles. On March 22, 2006 the album was also released in Japan, making it the first band release in the country.

The album won the Surround Music Award in the "Best Made-For-Surround Title" category that same year and was voted the second best album of 2005 by the US music magazine Sound & Vision.

On August 8, 2006 it was announced that Porcupine Tree had signed a record deal with Roadrunner Records UK:

"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."

- Steven Wilson

The first Porcupine Tree concert DVD Arriving Somewhere ... was released on October 10, 2006. On the following tour, 50 minutes of new material was played in the first half of the shows, with this material being found to be released on the upcoming album in January 2007. The tour was supported by the Swedish band Paatos , Oceansize and ProjeKt 6 .

Fear of a Blank Planet and The Incident (2007 to 2009)

Richard Barbieri during a 2007 Porcupine Tree concert in Krakow , Poland

The album Fear of a Blank Planet , released on April 16, 2007, placed in almost all European charts and on the 59th place on the Billboard 200. The band toured 92 dates in various countries, including first-time appearances in Finland and Mexico as well as appearances at some major festivals such as the German Hurricane Festival , the Southside Festival and Download Festival . In 2008 the band played their first appearances in Australia. The concept of the album was mainly by Bret Easton Ellis ' novel Lunar Park inspired the title is a play on the album Fear of a Black Planet of Public Enemy . The album includes contributions from Alex Lifeson ( Rush ) and Robert Fripp ( King Crimson ). On September 17, 2007 the EP Nil Recurring was released, which contains four unreleased tracks. The tour for the album continued and in particular the new material of the EP was promoted, whereby the EP climbed to eighth place in the British independent album charts. The EP was later re-released on February 18, 2008 on Peaceville Records. Fear of a Blank Planet won the “Album of the Year Award” for the 2007 Classic Rock Awards Magazine in early November. In December 2007 it was also nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Surround Sound Album” category. At the beginning of 2008, the award "Best Album of 2007" was given by the readers of the Dutch Progressive Rock Page (DPRP).

The following album, The Incident , was released on September 11, 2009. This album, too, was voted “Best Album 2009” by DPRP.

Originally it was said that the band would get together in early 2012 to work on a new album. In an interview on December 7th, 2011, however, Wilson stated, contrary to this statement, that he would initially continue to tour his solo album Grace for Drowning and write a third solo album. Despite the band's inactivity, a live version of the Incident album, Octane Twisted , was released in 2012 two years after it was recorded. Steven Wilson stated in several interviews that he wants to pursue his solo career. He didn't rule out another album with the band. Instead of writing songs for a band, he is now writing for himself. He noted that it is human for fans to cling to "brands".

style

music

Their music is carried by strong melody work and a high level of attention to detail, which not only includes the instrumentality, but also the song structure. The polyphonic singing and the arrangements on their consistently progressive earlier albums are reminiscent of music groups such as Pink Floyd or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in déjà vu times. With the album In Absentia , released in 2002, Porcupine Tree oriented themselves towards harder tones, giving up the earlier demands on lightness and melody.

Texts

Porcupine Tree's lyrics often relate to current developments in politics or society, but also in the music business: For example, in Four Chords That Made A Million on the album Lightbulb Sun (2000), the exploitation of briefly successful musicians is denounced, while in other songs about the moral decline of society.

The concept album Fear of a Blank Planet (2007) is the culmination of this review for the time being; on it, Porcupine Tree thematize the moral decline of young people through subtle manipulation and excessive consumption of mass media and drugs.

Side projects

Steven Wilson is known as a " workaholic ", which is reflected in the number and style of his other projects in addition to his "main band" Porcupine Tree and his work as a producer for Fish , Opeth , Orphaned Land and Anja Garbarek, among others .

• No-man
• Blackfield
• Steven Wilson (solo)
• Bass communion
• IEM (Incredible Expanding Mindfuck)
• Continuum
• Storm corrosion

Richard Barbieri has not participated in as many projects since joining Porcupine Tree as before. Under the name Jansen / Barbieri / Karn four albums were released between 1994 and 2004, on which ambient and electronic music can be found.

Gavin Harrison , on the other hand, has always played in many other bands and projects, including Claudio Baglioni , King Crimson and The Pineapple Thief .

Colin Edwin is also the bass player in the band Ex-Wise Heads , who have been releasing albums since 1997 and playing art rock music, in which a wind instrument usually carries the melody and other instruments accompany it. The wind instruments are played by the artist and multi-instrumentalist Geoff Leigh and in addition to Colin Edwin there are also some guest musicians such as Rick Edwards on drums or other percussive instruments.

Discography

→ Main article : Porcupine Tree / Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1989	Tarquin's Seaweed Farm	-	-	-	-	-
1990	The Nostalgia Factory	-	-	-	-	-
1991	On the Sunday of Life	-	-	-	-	-
1993	Up the downstair	-	-	-	-	-	Re-Release 2005 + Staircase Infinities as a bonus disc
1995	The Sky Moves Sideways	-	-	-	-	-	Re-release 2004 + bonus disc
1996	Signify	-	-	-	-	-	Re-Release 2004 + Insignificance as a bonus disc
1999	Stupid Dream	-	-	-	-	-	Re-Release 2006 + DVD-Audio (5.1-Mix)
2000	Lightbulb Sun	-	-	-	-	-	Re-Release April 2008 + DVD-Audio (5.1-Mix)
2002	In Absentia	DE58 (3 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-
2005	Deadwing	DE52 (2 weeks) DE	-	-	UK97 (1 week) UK	US132 (1 week) US	in the UK only in the charts in 2018
2007	Fear of a Blank Planet	DE21 (3 weeks) DE	-	CH41 (3 weeks) CH	UK31 (2 weeks) UK	US59 (2 weeks) US
2009	The incident	DE17 (3 weeks) DE	AT45 (1 week) AT	CH20 (2 weeks) CH	UK23 (2 weeks) UK	US25 (1 week) US

Web links

Commons : Porcupine Tree  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website (English)
• Porcupine Tree at laut.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} The Dutch Progressive Rock Page . Retrieved January 7, 2007.
2. ↑ Steven Wilson - The Complete Discography (6th Edition), p. 20 (PDF; 10.9 MB) Retrieved May 15, 2007.
3. ↑ Porcupine Tree Biography . Retrieved May 15, 2007.
4. ↑ Delerium Records: Porcupine Tree - Up The Downstair . Archived from the original on August 26, 2007. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
5. ↑ "MusicPlayers.com: Features> Guitars> Steven Wilson . Accessed on 8 April 2008.
6. ^ Porcupine Tree - Discography . porcupinetree.com. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
7. ↑ DPRP: Counting Out Time: Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream. . The Dutch Progressive Rock Page. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
8. ^ Specials - Steven Wilson Interview . The Dutch Progressive Rock Page. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
9. ↑ ^{a b c} Porcupine Tree - Complete Tour History . porcupinetree.com. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
10. ^ Porcupine Tree . Free Williamsburg. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
11. ↑ 2004 Surround Music Award Winners and Exclusive Report . Retrieved September 5, 2005.
12. ↑ Billboard Peak Position of 'Shallow' . Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
13. ^ Four Brothers (2005) - Soundtracks . The Internet Movie Database . Retrieved April 2, 2008.
14. ↑ Porcupine Tree - Lazarus - Music Charts . αCharts.us. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
15. ↑ Surround Expo 2005 . December 15, 2005. Archived from the original on December 14, 2005. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 15, 2005. 
16. ^ S&V 2005 Entertainment Awards . February 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
17. ↑ Rock Detector . Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
18. ↑ News: Porcupine Tree Unveil Fear Of A Blank Planet in NYC! . Sea of ​​Tranquility. Retrieved January 26, 2007.
19. ↑ Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet - Music Charts . αCharts.us. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
20. ^ "Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Porcupine Tree . Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved on April 7, 2008.
21. ↑ Hurricane Festival 2007 timeline . Archived from the original on December 27, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
22. ^ Southside Festival 2007 timeline . Archived from the original on March 1, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
23. ↑ Download Festival 2007 Lineup . Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 31, 2011. 
24. ↑ Interview with Steve Wilson in Preston 53 Degrees venue . Caerllysi Music. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 20, 2007. 
25. ^ BBC - Radio 1 - Chart Show . BBC Radio 1 . February 24, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
26. ^ The Seaweed Farm: Nil Recurring on Peaceville Records . Retrieved on November 25, 2007.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
27. ↑ Classic Rock - Oh, what a night! . November 6, 2007. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved on December 5, 2015.
28. ↑ DPRPoll 2007 Results . Archived from the original on April 2, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 5, 2008. 
29. ↑ DPRPoll 2009. (No longer available online.) In: Dutch progressive Rock Page. Archived from the original on December 7, 2010 ; accessed on November 24, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
30. ↑ Interview: Guitarist Steven Wilson of Blackfield and Porcupine Tree. In: Guitar World. Retrieved October 30, 2011 . 
31. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
32. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
33. ↑ http://wp.access2music.de/2013/12/steven-wilson-im-interview/
34. ↑ lyricwiki.org: Lyrics of Four Chords That Made A Million.
35. ↑ lyricwiki.org: Lyrics of Fear of a Blank Planet.
36. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US