Porcupine Tree / Steven Wilson - All Things Related Thread

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Post by edin »



Time for this thread to restart. This thread is for any discussion related to Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson and his many related projects like Bass Communion, No-Man, IEM, Blackfield, Storm Corrosion and any tours or related activity he or the members of Porcupine Tree are involved with. Show reviews, album and song discussions, Porcupine Tree and Steven collectors discussions, pictures, stuff on ebay, etc are welcome here.

 

So, time for a quick update.

 

Porcupine Tree

 

Initially, the band had mentioned the possibility of working on new music in 2012, with Wilson mentioning "early 2012", and Harrison guessing they would start work in 2012 and release music in 2013. However, this soon changed, with Wilson announcing that he would continue to focus his future on his solo career. 

 

This new focus included recording a third solo album "The Raven That Refused to Sing", in the second half of the year with his touring band, releasing it in early 2013, and then touring in support of the third solo album for "much of the year" - throughout 2013. 

 

With pushing potential Porcupine Tree activity to at least beyond 2013, Wilson still says the band "haven’t split up and with no intentions of splitting up" but also says he has no specific plans for a new album either. 

 

While he said that he still "want(s) to get Porcupine Tree back together at some point", he conceded that he isn't sure what direction he wants to take the band, only that he is "tired of metal music" and that one member of the band does not like jazz, so it won't go into the direction of his solo project either.

 

In June 2012, Wilson re-emphasized his continued focus on his solo career, with his answer to the question "...is (there) a danger that Porcupine Tree might fall by the wayside?" being "The honest answer is I don’t know. The solo career for me now is probably the most important. I think about it more than anything else, I’m more focused on it than anything else, I enjoy it more than anything else..." 

 

The Raven That Refused to Sing

 

This album is out next month, (Febuary 25th) and it lools like all the tour dates have been announced. Steven's official store has been taking preorders for quite sometime now. If you want to preorder, there are four different kinds you can buy here including the usual Deluxe Edition.

https://www.burningshed.com/store/steve ... ection/65/

 

There may also be a high quality download available from the store the day of the release for those of us who live hours from a CD store that will carry it and don't want to wait a week to get our shipment.

 

I wanted to mention that there is a special show with Opeth in Albany, NY on April 28th. Possible Storm Corrosion performance? 

 

 

These are the dates for The Raven That Refused to Sing world tour. Almost all of the links to purchase tickets can be found here: 

http://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/tour-dates/

Americans and Canadians will have to flip the month and day for this.

 

 

United Kingdom 

 

01/03/13 

Manchester, Lancashire, Academy 1, United Kingdom, Manchester University Union, Oxford Road

 

02/03/13

Glasgow, Lanarkshire ABC, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 300 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

 

04/03/13 

London, Greater London Royal Festival Hall, United Kingdom, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road

 

Europe 

 

08/03/13

Paris, Paris, Le Trianon, France, 80 Boulevard de Rochechouart

 

10/03/13

Cologne, Köln, Live Music Hall, Germany, Lichtstraße 30

 

11/03/13

Melkweg, Amsterdam, Rabozaal, Netherlands, Lijnbaansgracht 234

 

12/03/13

Antwerpen, Arenberg, Schouwburg, Belgium, Arenbergstraat 28

 

14/03/13

Hamburg, CCH Saal 2, Germany, Am Dammtor / Marseiller Straße

 

16/03/13

Stockholm, Filadelfiakyrkan, Sweden, Rörstrandsgatan 5

 

18/03/13

Oslo, Sentrum Scene, Norway, Arbeidersamfunnets Plass 1

 

19/03/13

Copenhagen, VEGA, Denmark, Enghavevej 40

 

21/03/13

Berlin, Hasenheide, Huxley’s, Germany, Hasenheide 107-113

 

22/03/13

Essen, Altendorfer Straße, Colosseum, Germany, Altendorfer Straße 1

 

23/03/13

Frankfurt, Neu-Isenburg, Hugenottenhalle, Germany, Frankfurter Straße 152

 

25/03/13

Stuttgart, Siemensstraße Theaterhaus,Germany, Siemensstraße 11

 

26/03/13

Munich, Theresienhöhe, Alte Kongresshalle, Germany, Theresienhöhe 15

 

27/03/13

Zürich, Volkshaus, Switzerland, Stauffacherstr. 60.

 

28/03/13

Milan, Assago Teatro, Della LunaItaly, Via G. Di Vittorio, 6.

 

USA/Canada 

 

16/04/13

Tampa, Florida, The State Theater, United States, 687 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg

 

17/04/13

Atlanta, Georgia, The Variety Playhouse, United States, 1099 Euclid Avenue Northeast

 

19/04/13

Glenside, Philadelphia, Keswick Theatre, United States, 291 North Keswick Avenue

 

20/04/13

Washington, Washington DC, Howard Theatre, United States, 620 T Street Northwest

 

21/04/13

Buffalo, New York, Town Ballroom, United States, 681 Main Street.

 

23/04/13

Toronto, Ontario, Phoenix Concert Theatre, Canada, 410 Sherbourne Street

 

25/04/13

Montreal, Quebec, Club-Soda, Canada, 1225 Saint-Laurent Boul

 

26/04/13

New York City, New York, Best Buy Theater, United States, 515 Broadway

 

27/04/13

Boston, Massachusetts, Berklee Performance Center, United States, 136 Massachusetts Avenue

 

28/04/13

Albany, New York, Upstate Music Hall, United States, 1208 Route 146, Clifton Park. Co-headlining show with OPETH, support from KATATONIA

 

30/04/13

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mr Small’s, United States, 400 Lincoln Avenue

 

02/05/13

Cleveland, Ohio, House of Blues, Cleveland, United States, 308 Euclid Avenue

 

03/05/13

Chicago, Illinois, Park West, United States, 322 West Armitage Avenue.BUY TICKETS

 

04/05/13

Minneapolis, Minnesota, The Fine Line, United States, 318 North 1st Avenue

 

06/05/13

Boulder, Colorado, Boulder Theater, United States, 2032 14th Street

 

09/05/13

San Francisco, California, The Fillmore, United States, 1805 Geary Boulevard

 

10/05/13

Los Angeles, California, Club Nokia, United States, 800 West Olympic Boulevard

 

Mexico 2013

 

14/05/13

Mexico City, Teatro Metropolitan, Mexico, Avenida Independencia 90





 



 


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Post by edin »

Anyway, I will be attending the Minneapolis and Chicago show for sure! Working on possibly making it to the Ohio one yet. These will be my very first Steven shows. Stoked! Apparently, Lasse Hoile and Steven have something even cooler going for the visuals then last tour. These are pretty small clubs he's playing in and tickets have been relatively cheap. A little over 30 a pc it seems. I was escpecially surprised to find out the size of the Minneapolis venue which I had never heard of before, First Line Cafe... Only 750 people! And the First Avenue venue which holds about 5 times that is right down the street. And the Xcel Center, where I expected the show to be is only a couple miles away. 

 

Did they play in these small of venues during the Grace For Drowning tour? 

 

Is this because of acoustics and more intimate experiences?

 

Anyone else going to a show this tour?

Who ordered the Deluxe Edition? I did.

 
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Post by hellboy »

I haven't ordered any editions yet, nor do I care much for PT, but the first half of the new solo album was quite good.  Second half so-so.
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Post by Kittaan »

Glad somebody started the thread, I've been lazy....

 

Yes, have my tix for SF in May and my preorder for Raven (like a fool, yes I ordered yet another deluxe edition).

 

SW's solo project band is freaking amazing - you will be blown away without a doubt.  And head's up on the guitarist, Guthrie Govan, who is also touring with his band The Aristocrats.  Going to see them next Friday in SF.  One of my current favorites.

 

Love the small venue shows, even though it's the Fillmore in SF, which is not tiny.

 

I haven't looked for the leak yet, but I may.  I'll see if I can hold out for the release... it's only a month away.
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Post by edin »

I didn't want to say anything but now that Kitaan mentioned it, the Raven has leaked and there's been a bunch of great reviews and a bunch of not-so-good reviews. I had my mouse over the download link a few times but nah. I'm going to wait and hopefully there will be FLAC download on the website the day of the release so I can directly support Steven, if not I might make plans to drive two or three hours to get it at 8am. All of Steven's stuff, I'm against downloading. Usually, I'm a pirate though. I will buy what I can because of the love he shows for his fans. 

 

And Hellboy, we might have to work on you a bit! : ) Have you heard P T in wvery stage they went through? Because some people just like the way older psychedelic/weird stuff, some really appreciate the middle proggy/space stuff, and others really like the new metal progressive stuff. Knowing your musical taste I'd say you might like In Absentia or Deadwing but I could be wrong. My friend who likes Steven solo the most, his favorite PT album is the second one, Up the Downstair. He thinks any PT beyond In Absentia is too riff-based and is glad for solo Steven. So if you do like Steven's solo stuff at least, I strongly suggest checking out Up the Downstair or The Sky Moves Sideways (my personal favorite). In those days, it was just him in the band so it is kind of like his solo work under the PT pseudonym. The Sky Moves Sideways has a lot of King Crimson-esque and Pink Floyd similarities. Up the Downstair or Deadwing or In Absentia is probably where it's at for you. I just think that there is some stage or album of Porcupine Tree that a Tool fan could appreciate. Maybe I'm not telling you anything you don't know already but just some suggestions.

 

Anyway, Kitaan, do you have the Insurgentes deluxe book that Steven released in very limited quantities when Insugentes came out? Just scraped up a HUGE chunk of change for a still sealed one. 

 
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Post by Kittaan »

@ Edin - Yep, have the deluxe editions of Insurgentes and Grace, as well as the Red edition of Anesthetize (Live PT from Tilburg).  Just the regular Arriving though.  Bought that at my first PT show back in 2007, I think?  It was at the same venue this coming show will be at, The Fillmore in SF.  Went home after that show and watched Arriving Somewhere straight through twice, with headphones.  I was destroyed for work the next day, but happy!

 

Good luck "working" on Hellboy.  He's just as opinionated about music as I am, but with much worst taste.  *Cough*Grindcore*Cough*
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Post by petemasterpete »

hellboy wants you to work him a little too much I imagine...

 

anywho, I'm inbetween Kittaan and HB as far as taste is concerned... love PT (deadwing probably saved me waiting for 10K)... older stuff, newer stuff... it's all quality save for a few tracks here and there... like his solo stuff too, but still like insurgents the best by far... not so much because the new stuff isn't good, but he tends to wear his influences on his sleeve and more and more his solo stuff sounds like stuff I've heard already somewhere along the line.

 

perfect example being the "spoiler" on the latest, which reminds me of "spoiler" way too much, coincidentally enough this "spoiler" is one of those ever-recognizable "spoilers" whom I'm sure he's done some mastering work for/with... you'll fill in the blanks soon enough.
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Post by hellboy »

You mean the stuff that sounds like Nickelback?
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Post by The Boss »

petemasterpete said
hellboy wants you to work him a little too much I imagine...

 

anywho, I'm inbetween Kittaan and HB as far as taste is concerned... love PT (deadwing probably saved me waiting for 10K)... older stuff, newer stuff... it's all quality save for a few tracks here and there... like his solo stuff too, but still like insurgents the best by far... not so much because the new stuff isn't good, but he tends to wear his influences on his sleeve and more and more his solo stuff sounds like stuff I've heard already somewhere along the line.

 

perfect example being the "spoiler" on the latest, which reminds me of "spoiler" way too much, coincidentally enough this "spoiler" is one of those ever-recognizable "spoilers" whom I'm sure he's done some mastering work for/with... you'll fill in the blanks soon enough.


"FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET" was stuck on my audio player for weeks straight when I first got it. Really, really great stuff.

Unfortunately, Wilson treads the fine line of being either an over-hyped wanker or quiet genius. I still don't know where I stand with him, but I'll always give him a chance.

He took several steps backwards with that bloody awful STORM CORROSION bullshit though. What a disappointment.

 
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Post by petemasterpete »

FEAR is a great album... the nil recurring EP that followed is brilliant also
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Post by hellboy »

crow011 said 
He took several steps backwards with that bloody awful STORM CORROSION bullshit though. What a disappointment.


 Yeah, Storm Corrosion almost bored me to death.
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Post by petemasterpete »

hellboy1975 said

crow011 said 
He took several steps backwards with that bloody awful STORM CORROSION bullshit though. What a disappointment.


 Yeah, Storm Corrosion almost bored me to death.


^ I concur with these sentiments... tried listening again after checking out Raven and I just don't like it at all
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Post by UndKeineZwEier »

I really liked it the first 2 times I listened to it, but now I end up changing it after the first song.
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Post by Kittaan »

I still dig SC.  Listen, it's not a masterpiece, but it's not shite either.  It's just very vibey.  Listen on headphones.

 

EDIT: Fuck you peons.  Listening again now after a couple of months.  This is beautiful.  I wish I could make the SW/Opeth show with a potential Storm Corrosion opening set.  That will be an EPIC show.
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Post by Ravenpig »

What I've heard from PT I've absolutely loved, but I don't think I could ever consider them a "great" band because they remind me WAY too much of other bands (yes I know some of it is on purpose but come on).

A perfect example is "Time Flies". Bad ass, fun song, great to run to. Even if you put aside the obvious Pink Floydness of it (I think I read somewhere that it was a tribute to them, is that true?), they absolutely ripped off Justin's bass line on Lateralus (song), only difference is they mostly play it on the guitar.

Anyone else notice that?
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Post by edin »

The only Storm Corrosion track I'll really ever listen to anymore is the title track, Storm Corrosion. The rest of the album really comes alive in 5.1. At any rate, it was my favorite release this year. The mellotron work is always amazing.

 

Not to be the harbinger of bad tidings, but there was a thread once posted about an interview where Steven said in it something about Tool albums sounding "samey" but the original link to it is busted. He apparently said he'd like to work with them or produce or something along those lines.

 

He has always had positive things to say about them in interviews and the Insurg dvd though.
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Post by edin »

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Post by edin »

I won't start posting every interview Steven does, but this recent one should be intriquing to any Porcupine Tree fan.

 

http://www.examiner.com/article/steven- ... ble-career

 

There is a lot of interesting pieces to this article, a lot of inferences that can be made from it so I suggest reading it but I'll post the part that I found most significant:

 

So the inevitable question, which I hope a thousand other people aren’t also asking you these days, is what is the current state of Porcupine Tree? You guys just released the live set ‘Octane Twisted,’ so it seems to still be an active undertaking.

 

No plans, no plans particularly. Yeah, the live album came out, although I didn’t really want it to, but I was outvoted. That’s okay, but it’s not our best performance. There’s no plans, which doesn’t mean that it’s not going to happen again, but—you know, the thing is, if I said to anyone when they were twenty years old, “You’re going to have the same job with the same people in the same office for your whole life,” they’d be horrified. It’s amazing how many music fans expect—I guess because it is quite normal—you to do the same thing your whole life. That’s not why I got into music, you know? I love doing different things and—well, you know—starting new projects. I don’t mean to put it down, because I love it, but Porcupine Tree was just another project that got more successful than the other ones and for whatever reason, it took off and I put a band together and we toured for fifteen years. It kept going and getting bigger and bigger, and it was great and I enjoyed the ride but I felt that on the last record [‘The Incident’], we were starting to get stuck in a rut and I thought, “Okay, it’s time to do something different.” And it’s amazing the kind of horror, gnashing of teeth reaction that it got. But the band hasn’t broken up necessarily, so I’m not interested in making any sort of melodramatic big break-up thing. There are no plans, and I have lots of plans now for this record. I’ve got to say that part of the fun of being a musician is working with different people, obviously. I love the guys, but the other thing about being in a band is that you have this very small area where you all agree about the kind of music that you want to make. The good thing about this solo band is that because the guys are basically hired, that is not an issue. I don’t necessarily have to care if Theo [Travis] doesn’t like one of the tunes I’ve written, but in Porcupine Tree, it’s a band and I have to care. Everyone has to like everything we record, and that became quite restricting, actually. With ‘The Incident,’ I think it’s a good record, but I don’t think it was our best, and it was the first time I felt like maybe things are starting to repeat. It was always important to me that Porcupine Tree reinvented itself a lot, and we did.
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Post by Kittaan »

^ Yep, it's becoming quite clear that PT is on the back burner for Steven, and that bums me out.  Still, at least he's putting out quality music and touring on it.  And he consistently works with the best musicians no matter the project.  I have little doubt he'll get tired of the smaller paycheck with his apparently more satisfying solo project(s) and the Tree will come out of hiatus again.  Most likely, the time and experience of all members on other projects will only benefit the next PT release.
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Post by Kittaan »

Just a bump for my pal Moggie, who was likely looking for this thread.

 

Just saw The Aristocrats last Friday in SF.  Phenomenal show! 2/3 of this band is on SW's new solo disc, and is touring with him in Europe (Marco Minneman and Guthrie Govan).  Just found out from Bobage that Marco will be replaced on the North America leg by Chad Wackerman, most notably from Zappa's touring band, but also a long time collaborator of Holdsworth, and mother fucker of a drummer in his own right.  While I'll miss Marco, really looking forward to hearing how Chad changes the dynamic.

 

@ Mog - I hope you got your tix.  You will be blown clear away.  Make sure to post your review...  I was supposed to be heading up to see some relatives in Seattle that weekend, but got the OK to postpone it one day so I could make the SF show.  Whew.  I would have been heartbroken to miss it.
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Post by edin »

Just heard about the drummer replacement. I hear Chad is amazing. I'm sure Steven got him in there for a good reason. I'll always be a little confused how Steven figured the songs on Recordings "aren't good enough to be on the actual albums" when some of the songs are my favorites but I trust his judgement on this one.

 

BTW finally scored the Unreleased Electronic Music CDr/Polaroid/Signed Card off ebay. I was too broke when it first came out and then it was gone, so I'm glad to have this finally. Any of the physical releases steven puts out for PT or his solo I've been slowly collecting for a while. The next on my list is the clear Moonloop vinyl.
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Post by edin »

Some old news there's been more talk about is a reissue of Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape which is suppose to be pretty cool.

 

Also, there's word of them playing an way older Porcupine Tree song on the up-coming tour. I think Stars Die would be awesome with all the accompanied instruments that weren't there originally.
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Post by Kittaan »

I've mentioned Anil's amazing site, Innerviews, on Fourtheye a bunch of times.  

 

Here's yet another interesting Steven Wilson interview to check out.  And explore the site for a ton of other great interviews.  Unless you're Tyson.  In which case, they would be wasted on you.

 

Note from Anil:

 

Hi Everyone,

 

Innerviews has a brand new, extensive interview with Steven Wilson discussing the making of his forthcoming album "The Raven that Refused to Sing (And Other Stories). The feature also includes conversations with engineer Alan Parsons, and bandmembers Theo Travis, Adam Holzman and Nick Beggs. You'll also find exclusive photography in it.

 

In this wide-ranging conversation, Wilson discusses:

 

-- The very personal meaning behind the album's songs

-- The creative process behind The Raven

-- Working with Alan Parsons

-- His new band's chemistry

-- His remix and surround sound philosophies

-- Responding to feedback from Gentle Giant's Derek Shulman

-- Upcoming remix work and reissues

-- The future of Blackfield

-- Reflections on his first band Karma

 

And much more....

 

You can read it here:

http://www.innerviews.org/inner/wilson2.html

 

or on the free Innerviews iPad/iPhone app here:

http://www.innerviews.org/mobile.html

 

Hope you enjoy it.

 

Cheers,

Anil
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Post by MOG »

^

Thanks mang.  Any news on whether or not he plans on releasing Raven digitally?  I have finally made the transition to all digital.  Fuck did it take a long time burning all my CD's.  Fucking project that was.  I only kept a few CD's, and of course my signed copy of Catalogue / Preserve / Amass is one of them 
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Post by edin »

mogeffingmog said
^

Thanks mang.  Any news on whether or not he plans on releasing Raven digitally?  I have finally made the transition to all digital.  Fuck did it take a long time burning all my CD's.  Fucking project that was.  I y kept a few CD's, and of course my signed copy of Catalogue / Preserve / Amass is one of them 


I told a webmaster I'd be in touch around the week of the release about the high quality downloads after he emailed back about getting Steven to authorize them through Burning Shed, it sounded iffy though unless you're talkin itunes then probably. (All my music is FLAC).   
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