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ArC · 04-18-2005, 02:32 PM

Porcupine Tree

http://www.porcupinetree.com

Sounds
One of the driving forces of progressive rock over the past decade, Porcupine Tree was founded in 1987 by multi instrumentalist Steven Wilson. PT was created by Wilson to explore his interests in psychedelic and progressive music. It started with just Wilson playing all the instruments and using computers. Eventually, Wilson replaced the drum machine with a real drummer, also adding a keyboard player so he could focus on guitar and vocals.
I would typically describe the sound as Progressive Space Rock. Their songs are haunting, with a dark tone about them. I believe that Steven Wilson is one of the most creative guitarists in the past decades, drawing heavily off David Gilmour, while adding his own style to the music. His guitar playing gives the band its dark tone, as his riffs are usually very sad, but fit perfectly with the music. His playing compliments certain parts of certain songs, and gives them an amazing feel. You have to really hear him to understand. While using influences in space rock, experimental rock, art rock, ambient pop, and progressive rock, Porcupine Tree have settled into their own sound, which is fantastic. Bass and drum lines are steady, catchy, and create a great background. The keyboards and synth instruments create many unusual sounds that help make Porcupine Tree's signature sound. A pychadelic jam session.

Brief History
Steven Wilson created PT as an outlet for his ideas for psychedelic and progressive music. He had already released tapes with some of his early bands, Altamont and Karma. In 1987, Wilson began breaking his way into the musical work with 2 of his projects. The first band, No-Man, was formed with singer Tim Bowness and Violinist Ben Coleman. The second, called The Porcupine Tree, was a joke between Wilson and his friend Malcolm Stocks. The pair developed a fictional story about a legendary seventies group, complete with discography and history. To back up the story, Wilson began recording music that was supposively by this imaginary band. Wilson eventually had enough material to record a cassette he called "Tarquin Seaweed Farm" and he began to distribute it amongst friends he thought would be interested. One of the tapes managed to get into the hands of Ivor Truman and Richard Allen, editors of an underground UK magazine. Ivor and Richard were also in the process of forming their own record company, Delirium, which they asked Wilson and Porcupine Tree to be a part of a compilation album of underground psychedelic groups.

While "Tarquin Seaweed Farm" was circulating, Wilson recorded a follow-up entitled "The Nostalgia Factory", continuing the story of "The Porcupine Tree". Delirium's compilation album "A Psychedelic Psauna" (featuring PT's Linton Samuel Dawson) was released and widely accepted by the UK underground scene. Delirium also reissued the first 2 Porcupine Tree tapes. Shortly afterwards, Wilson was invited to be one of the first artists to be on the Delirium label. Wilson decided to compile the best of the tapes on a single CD, which became "On The Sunday of Life...", Porcupine Tree's first album. "On the Sunday of Life..." was issued in 1992 in a small run of 1,000 copies. The recordings were well accepted however, and by 2000, "On the Sunday of Life" had sold 20,000 copies.

Steven Wilson's main band, No-Man, had been signed to a record deal with One Little Indian and started releasing records to an awaiting fan base. This new cash flow allowed Steven to become a full time musician and concentrate even more time on his "side project". Pushing his music forward to new, contemporary sounds, Wilson recorded a 30 minute single titled "Voyage 34" that incorporated liquid rock guitar soloing with a narrative of 60's LSD propaganda. It was a major underground hit.
Encouraged by the acceptance of his records, Wilson recorded "Up the Downstair". When the album finally emerged in 1993, it was well received. It was descried it as "a psychedelic masterpiece...one of the albums of the year". The album also included guest appearances for two future members of Porcupine Tree, Richard Barbieri (ex-Japan) and Colin Edwin.

Fans cried out for a live Porcupine Tree experience. In 1993, Porcupine Tree became a live unit, adding members Colin Edwin (bass), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), and Chris Maitland (drums) in addition to Steven. The quartet of musicians created the "Spiral Circus" album, which contained recordings from their first 3 performances. "Spiral Circus" is only available on vinyl.
In 1995, "The Sky Moves Sideways" was released, preceded by the classic single "Stars Die / Moonloop". Driven by the 35 minute title track, "The Sky Moves Sideways" hit the NME, Melody Maker and Music Week charts, heightening its popularity. Together with "Moonloop EP", this album because the first to be released in America in late 1995. The band supported the album with tour dates in UK, Italy, and Greece.

Driven by the success of "The Sky...", Porcupine Tree entered the studio to re-define their sound. In early 1996, the single "Waiting" was released, hitting the UK indie charts and attracting airplay on indie radio. The album that followed was "Signify", a powerful blend of progressive rock, as well as the haunting sounds that were PTs signature. It received good reviews and was well accepted. The band then went on to do a very successful European tour.
The next album, "Coma Divine", was a live recording in Rome, when PT played for over 5,000 fans over a three night period. Shortly after this record, Porcupine Tree decided to leave the Delirium record label, as they could no longer support the growing popularity of the band. In late 1997, the bands first 3 albums were re-mastered and released all over the world. "Signify" was also released in the US.

All of 1998 was spent in the studio for PT, recording their 5th studio release. The band signed to the international label Snapper/K-scope, and released "Stupid Dream". Following the album's release, the band did extensive touring all over Europe and in the US. "Stupid Dream" brought many new fans to Porcupine Tree and is the most widely accepted and best selling Porcupine Tree album to date. The three singles from the album, "Stranger by the Minute", "Piano Lessons", and "Pure Narcotic" received mainstream success in both Europe and America.
2000 brought us "Lightbulb Sun", a powerful mix of progressive rock, as well as a blend of the rock dynamics of "Stupid Dream", but with a more organic and new sound. A string arrangement was provided by Dave Gregory for the album. After the album's release, Porcupine Tree embarked on a successful European Tour, as well as several European festivals and a major tour supporting the progressive metal band Dream Theater.

The band toured through the end of 2000 and into 2001, including their first Israel tour. In May of 2001, "Recordings", a collection of out takes from the previous two recordings, was released. Soon after their US tour, PT announced they had joined the Lava/Atlantic label. After the release of "Stars Die : The Delirium Years" in 2002, and after the departure of longtime drummer Chris Maitland, Porcupine Tree started a US tour with new drummer Gavin Harrison and an additional "touring" guitarist/vocalist, John Wesley. Porcupine Tree began recording what would be their 8th studio release "In Absentia". The album has done very well despite the fact that it has had little or no mainstream play. The album draws off a pool of songs written by Wilson, and incorporates some of the heaviest PT tracks, as well as some of the softest, into a beautiful mix of progressive rock perfection.

In 2004 Porcupine Tree went into to the studio to record their next record, Deadwing. Guest artists include Michael from Opeth, and members of King Crimson. Deadwing is to be released March 28th in Europe.

Discography
A complete discography is hard to find, since they seem to eventually re-master and re-release all their earlier works. As best I can compile, the discography looks something like this. This doesn't include a couple of session records, live albums, and early cassettes, since I can't find them anywhere.

1989 - Tarquin's Seaweed Farm
1991 - On the Sunday of Life...
1992 - Voyage 34
1993 - Up the Downstair
1994 - Starcase Infinities
1994 - Moonloop E. P.
1995 - The Sky Moves Sideways
1996 - Signify
1997 - Coma Divine : Live in Rome
1997 - Insignificance
1999 - Stupid Dream
2000 - Lightbulb Sun
2001 - Recordings
2001 - Metanoia
2002 - Stars Die : The Delirium Years 1991 - 1997
2002 - In Absentia
2003 - Fultile
2005 - Warszawa
2005 - Deadwing

04-18-2005, 02:32 PM	#1
ArC comin raw style, hardcore Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 903	Featured Artist #14 : Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree http://www.porcupinetree.com Sounds One of the driving forces of progressive rock over the past decade, Porcupine Tree was founded in 1987 by multi instrumentalist Steven Wilson. PT was created by Wilson to explore his interests in psychedelic and progressive music. It started with just Wilson playing all the instruments and using computers. Eventually, Wilson replaced the drum machine with a real drummer, also adding a keyboard player so he could focus on guitar and vocals. I would typically describe the sound as Progressive Space Rock. Their songs are haunting, with a dark tone about them. I believe that Steven Wilson is one of the most creative guitarists in the past decades, drawing heavily off David Gilmour, while adding his own style to the music. His guitar playing gives the band its dark tone, as his riffs are usually very sad, but fit perfectly with the music. His playing compliments certain parts of certain songs, and gives them an amazing feel. You have to really hear him to understand. While using influences in space rock, experimental rock, art rock, ambient pop, and progressive rock, Porcupine Tree have settled into their own sound, which is fantastic. Bass and drum lines are steady, catchy, and create a great background. The keyboards and synth instruments create many unusual sounds that help make Porcupine Tree's signature sound. A pychadelic jam session. Brief History Steven Wilson created PT as an outlet for his ideas for psychedelic and progressive music. He had already released tapes with some of his early bands, Altamont and Karma. In 1987, Wilson began breaking his way into the musical work with 2 of his projects. The first band, No-Man, was formed with singer Tim Bowness and Violinist Ben Coleman. The second, called The Porcupine Tree, was a joke between Wilson and his friend Malcolm Stocks. The pair developed a fictional story about a legendary seventies group, complete with discography and history. To back up the story, Wilson began recording music that was supposively by this imaginary band. Wilson eventually had enough material to record a cassette he called "Tarquin Seaweed Farm" and he began to distribute it amongst friends he thought would be interested. One of the tapes managed to get into the hands of Ivor Truman and Richard Allen, editors of an underground UK magazine. Ivor and Richard were also in the process of forming their own record company, Delirium, which they asked Wilson and Porcupine Tree to be a part of a compilation album of underground psychedelic groups. While "Tarquin Seaweed Farm" was circulating, Wilson recorded a follow-up entitled "The Nostalgia Factory", continuing the story of "The Porcupine Tree". Delirium's compilation album "A Psychedelic Psauna" (featuring PT's Linton Samuel Dawson) was released and widely accepted by the UK underground scene. Delirium also reissued the first 2 Porcupine Tree tapes. Shortly afterwards, Wilson was invited to be one of the first artists to be on the Delirium label. Wilson decided to compile the best of the tapes on a single CD, which became "On The Sunday of Life...", Porcupine Tree's first album. "On the Sunday of Life..." was issued in 1992 in a small run of 1,000 copies. The recordings were well accepted however, and by 2000, "On the Sunday of Life" had sold 20,000 copies. Steven Wilson's main band, No-Man, had been signed to a record deal with One Little Indian and started releasing records to an awaiting fan base. This new cash flow allowed Steven to become a full time musician and concentrate even more time on his "side project". Pushing his music forward to new, contemporary sounds, Wilson recorded a 30 minute single titled "Voyage 34" that incorporated liquid rock guitar soloing with a narrative of 60's LSD propaganda. It was a major underground hit. Encouraged by the acceptance of his records, Wilson recorded "Up the Downstair". When the album finally emerged in 1993, it was well received. It was descried it as "a psychedelic masterpiece...one of the albums of the year". The album also included guest appearances for two future members of Porcupine Tree, Richard Barbieri (ex-Japan) and Colin Edwin. Fans cried out for a live Porcupine Tree experience. In 1993, Porcupine Tree became a live unit, adding members Colin Edwin (bass), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), and Chris Maitland (drums) in addition to Steven. The quartet of musicians created the "Spiral Circus" album, which contained recordings from their first 3 performances. "Spiral Circus" is only available on vinyl. In 1995, "The Sky Moves Sideways" was released, preceded by the classic single "Stars Die / Moonloop". Driven by the 35 minute title track, "The Sky Moves Sideways" hit the NME, Melody Maker and Music Week charts, heightening its popularity. Together with "Moonloop EP", this album because the first to be released in America in late 1995. The band supported the album with tour dates in UK, Italy, and Greece. Driven by the success of "The Sky...", Porcupine Tree entered the studio to re-define their sound. In early 1996, the single "Waiting" was released, hitting the UK indie charts and attracting airplay on indie radio. The album that followed was "Signify", a powerful blend of progressive rock, as well as the haunting sounds that were PTs signature. It received good reviews and was well accepted. The band then went on to do a very successful European tour. The next album, "Coma Divine", was a live recording in Rome, when PT played for over 5,000 fans over a three night period. Shortly after this record, Porcupine Tree decided to leave the Delirium record label, as they could no longer support the growing popularity of the band. In late 1997, the bands first 3 albums were re-mastered and released all over the world. "Signify" was also released in the US. All of 1998 was spent in the studio for PT, recording their 5th studio release. The band signed to the international label Snapper/K-scope, and released "Stupid Dream". Following the album's release, the band did extensive touring all over Europe and in the US. "Stupid Dream" brought many new fans to Porcupine Tree and is the most widely accepted and best selling Porcupine Tree album to date. The three singles from the album, "Stranger by the Minute", "Piano Lessons", and "Pure Narcotic" received mainstream success in both Europe and America. 2000 brought us "Lightbulb Sun", a powerful mix of progressive rock, as well as a blend of the rock dynamics of "Stupid Dream", but with a more organic and new sound. A string arrangement was provided by Dave Gregory for the album. After the album's release, Porcupine Tree embarked on a successful European Tour, as well as several European festivals and a major tour supporting the progressive metal band Dream Theater. The band toured through the end of 2000 and into 2001, including their first Israel tour. In May of 2001, "Recordings", a collection of out takes from the previous two recordings, was released. Soon after their US tour, PT announced they had joined the Lava/Atlantic label. After the release of "Stars Die : The Delirium Years" in 2002, and after the departure of longtime drummer Chris Maitland, Porcupine Tree started a US tour with new drummer Gavin Harrison and an additional "touring" guitarist/vocalist, John Wesley. Porcupine Tree began recording what would be their 8th studio release "In Absentia". The album has done very well despite the fact that it has had little or no mainstream play. The album draws off a pool of songs written by Wilson, and incorporates some of the heaviest PT tracks, as well as some of the softest, into a beautiful mix of progressive rock perfection. In 2004 Porcupine Tree went into to the studio to record their next record, Deadwing. Guest artists include Michael from Opeth, and members of King Crimson. Deadwing is to be released March 28th in Europe. Discography A complete discography is hard to find, since they seem to eventually re-master and re-release all their earlier works. As best I can compile, the discography looks something like this. This doesn't include a couple of session records, live albums, and early cassettes, since I can't find them anywhere. 1989 - Tarquin's Seaweed Farm 1991 - On the Sunday of Life... 1992 - Voyage 34 1993 - Up the Downstair 1994 - Starcase Infinities 1994 - Moonloop E. P. 1995 - The Sky Moves Sideways 1996 - Signify 1997 - Coma Divine : Live in Rome 1997 - Insignificance 1999 - Stupid Dream 2000 - Lightbulb Sun 2001 - Recordings 2001 - Metanoia 2002 - Stars Die : The Delirium Years 1991 - 1997 2002 - In Absentia 2003 - Fultile 2005 - Warszawa 2005 - Deadwing