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Porcupine Tree

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Porcupine Tree is an English progressive rock band formed in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England by Steven Wilson. Their music is a combination of rock, psychedelia, ambient and, more recently, metal. The main songwriter, Wilson, once commented: "I like so many different types of things, and they all go into the melting pot, if you like, that produces the music of Porcupine Tree." [1]

Porcupine Tree
File:Porcupine Tree promo.jpg
From left to right: Gavin Harrison, Richard Barbieri, Steven Wilson, Colin Edwin.
Background information
OriginHemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England
Years active1987–present
MembersSteven Wilson
Richard Barbieri
Colin Edwin
Gavin Harrison
John Wesley (concerts only)
Past membersChris Maitland

Members

History

Beginnings

Porcupine Tree's birth originated in 1987 as something of a collaborative hoax between Steven Wilson and Malcom Stocks. Inspired somewhat by the big bands, such as Pink Floyd, that dominated the music scene during their youths, the two decided to form a fictional legendary rock band, named The Porcupine Tree. Wilson obliged the creation with several hours of music to provide "evidence" of its existence. The two also fabricated details such as band members, album titles, and backstory. The backstory purportedly included events such as meeting at a 70s rock festival and several trips in and out of prison.

As Steven Wilson stated, "It was something that I started doing as soon as I had the money to buy my own studio equipment. When you've got a studio in your house you tend to do things you wouldn't do when you're paying to go into a professional studio, where you're watching the clock all the time. The one thing I wanted to do, because I had a great love of late 60's/early 70's psychedelic and progressive music, was to make my own slant on that."[1]

Although Porcupine Tree was largely started as a joke and Wilson was preoccupied with his other project, No-Man, by 1989 he began considering some of the music as potentially marketable. Wilson created an 80 minute long cassette titled Tarquin's Seaweed Farm, under the band name Porcupine Tree.[2] Still showing the spirit of his joke, Wilson included an 8-page inlay, containing information about obscure band members like Sir Tarquin Underspoon and Timothy Tadpole-Jones.[citation needed]

Wilson sent out copies of Tarquin's Seaweed Farm to several people that he felt would be interested in the recordings. The underground UK magazine Freakbeat was going through the process of starting their own record company when they received the cassette. Although the tape received mild reviews, Porcupine Tree was asked to contribute to a compilation of up and coming underground psychedelic bands. This process was slow, taking eighteen months before completion. During this period, Porcupine Tree began working on new material, releasing a second album, The Nostalgia Factory, which gave the group a larger underground fanbase, though the band still carried on the charade of being a 70s rock legend.

The newly formed record label, Delerium, agreed to reissue the cassettes Tarquin's Seaweed Farm and The Nostalgia Factory. A compilation album was also released, as planned, entitled A Psychedelic Psauna and featured the Porcupine Tree track, "Linton Samuel Dawson". Porcupine Tree was invited shortly afterwards to sign to Delerium as one of the record label's first artists. The band was originally invited to publish a double album of their two cassettes, but Wilson decided to instead put what he discerned as the best of both tapes onto a single album, which was released in early 1992 as On the Sunday of Life.... (The rest of the music from the two initial tapes was released on a limited edition album entitled Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape).

On the Sunday of Life... was issued as a fairly minuscule edition of only 1000 copies, complete with a deluxe gatefold sleeve. The album was sold out nearly right after it was shipped, and pressure from public and press alike that the album was reproduced, along with a CD version. The album featured future concert classic and frequent encore song "Radioactive Toy". By 2000, On the Sunday of Life... had racked up sales of over 20,000 copies. [citation needed]

In the midst of Porcupine Tree's rising success, Wilson's other band, No-Man (a long-term endeavor with Tim Bowness), had been signed to One Little Indian Records, Hit & Run publishing in the UK and Epic 440/Sony in the US. This good fortune gave Wilson the opportunity to leave his regular job and devote more time to music, namely Porcupine Tree.

Looking forward from the original Porcupine Tree music, Wilson took steps to move his project towards newer, more contemporary kinds of music. This new goal scored the band with their thirty minute long music, Voyage 34. Released in 1992, the song mixed together the ambient trance music of earlier groups like The Orb and Future Sound of London. The single featured what is described as "liquid rock" guitar solos coupled with a narrative from a sixties LSD propaganda LP. The track was too long to make it a radio hit, but it got good response from the underground music scene of the nineties, reaching the UK indepent Top 20 singles list.

"Voyage 34" was actually a track recorded for another prospective Porcupine Tree double album Up the Downstair. However, when the album eventually emerged in mid-1993 the decision not to include the single had slimmed down the album to a single record. Up the Downstair was greeted with rapture, Melody Maker describing it as "a psychedelic masterpiece... one of the albums of the year."[3] 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-80's 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.

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 on lead vocals/guitar, Colin Edwin on bass guitar, Chris Maitland 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 an 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.

New music was already underway. The next album would not emerge until early 1995, but was preceded by the classic single Stars Die/Moonloop, the last 2 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 big success among prog fans, and Porcupine Tree was hailed as the Pink Floyd of the nineties, something Wilson would later regret, "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."[1] Regret it or not, the CD did attract a lot of new fans.

The Sky Moves Sideways was as 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 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 gigs throughout the year at major venues in the UK, The Netherlands, Italy, and Greece.

Growth (Phase One)

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 and worked sporadically over the next year on developing a tighter and more ambitious rock sound.

Wilson: "Obviously the practical concern of being able to play the music live was the instigating factor. But I think subconsciously I also felt that I'd taken the solo years as far as I'd wanted to because I never really enjoyed working with drum machines. On The Sky Moves Sideways I had a couple of tracks where I did actually bring Chris and Colin in for the first time: 'Stars Die' and 'Moonloop'. And they were a turning point for me because I realized that those two tracks for me were the best from the whole sessions. And I realized from that point on I never wanted to go back to having to use drum machines. But also, I think I've always kind of been in love with the idea of, y'know, 'the rock band'. Because bands have a kind of glamour, and appeal, and a romance about them the solo projects just don't have." [4]

And so Porcupine Tree started working on their next album, Signify, as a band. The musicians even got some writing credits, most notably on the track "Intermediate Jesus", which evolved from a jam session (parts of which would be released on the limited edition double LP Metanoia in the end of 1998).

Wilson: "Signify was slightly odd in the way it was recorded in the sense that although it is a band album, because we were never able to actually all be in the same room at the same time, because of physical limitations, with the exception of one track, "Intermediate Jesus", which was done outside, I tended to demo the tracks to a fairly high level and they would just replace the parts that I'd played on synthesizers with the real thing. So there wasn't a great deal of input from the other guys."[5]

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 hit the shops in September 1996. More than ever the album was a mixture of instrumental tracks and more song-oriented tunes, blending together numerous rock and avant-garde styles, while absorbing many diverse influences but relying on none and still providing that wonderful mixture of dreamy melodies and raw power or dark moods.

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. Signify is regarded by the band (and many fans) as one of their finest works.

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 90's form of music, but which still has its root in progressive music."[6]


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 prog rock oriented listeners elsewhere.

Porcupine Tree continued to increase in popularity abroad during 1997 and in March played to an audience of over 5,000 in Rome over three nights - all of which were recorded for the 1997 live album Coma Divine. This album 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 1997 Wilson was asked by ex-Marillion singer Fish if he would be interested in collaborating on his new album. Wilson would end up co-writing, playing on and producing Fish' Sunsets on Empire, regarded as the best album the Scotsman had released in years. Interestingly enough, two years later Marillion would ask Wilson to mix part of their new album marillion.com. Working with both camps of one of his favourite teenage bands was a dream come true for Wilson.

Also, in late 1997 the band's first three albums were remastered and reissued. Signify also saw a release in the US on Miles Copeland's Ark 21 label.

Growth (Phase Two)

Steven, Richard, Colin, and Chris spent all of 1998 recording their fifth studio album, a release that reflected the band's move towards a more song oriented sound.

Wilson: "Basically, I wanted to make an album full of good songs. I'm much more interested now than I was in songwriting as an art form, as opposed to soundscape development. When I started making Porcupine Tree albums, it was as much about how the albums flowed and fitted together. It still is to an extent, but it's a tighter sound now, in the sense that the song is paramount. What I was listening to at the time when I was writing this album was a lot more vocally oriented. I would say the major influence on that would be my interest in Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. I was listening a lot to stuff like Pet Sounds and all that kind of harmony singing. Also stuff like Todd Rundgren, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, anything with really good ensemble singing. I was particularly into that stuff when I was writing this album. And I kind of got interested in the idea of the pop song as a kind of experimental symphony if you like."[1]

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 of 1999, the album Stupid Dream was issued, supported by a lengthy tour of the UK, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France, Poland, and the USA. 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 initially the album was such a departure that some older fans were unsure, it brought the band many new fans and went on to become the band's best selling and most acclaimed release up to that time.

File:Porcupinetree2000.jpg
Porcupine Tree in 2000

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 work on a follow up, recorded during the transition into the new millennium and completed in February 2000. With string arrangements provided by Dave Gregory of XTC, Lightbulb Sun built on the mix of songwriting, soundscaping, and rock dynamics of Stupid Dream, but developed it into something altogether more intense and organic, a band confidently in control of their sound. The album 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 to tour through the end of 2000 and the 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 June 2001 the band played a short US tour, culminating 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.

Growth (Phase Three)

In February 2002 Porcupine Tree's first ever line-up change occurred when drummer Chris Maitland departed after eight years with the band. The band welcomed extraordinary drummer and longtime acquaintance Gavin Harrison to the line-up.

In March, as a major retrospective box set of the band's early work, Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997 was released, 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. Sessions took place in New York and London, with veteran 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 L.A. in May with Tim Palmer.

The eagerly awaited new album, In Absentia, was released by Lava Records in September 2002 (European release Jan 2003). It was the band's most accomplished and complete work to date, featuring a much heavier sound on some tracks, but also some of the band's most beautiful and fragile works. 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 legendary Grammy Award winning producer Elliot Scheiner, which went on to win the award for best 5.1 mix at the 2004 Surround Sound Music awards in L.A.

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 created a dark and surreal visual counterpoint to Porcupine Tree's music. The long promotional campaign for In Absentia ended on November 30th as the band played a homecoming show to a sold out London Astoria.

During 2003, Porcupine Tree also set up their own label and online store. The first release on the Transmission label was a studio session recorded for XM Radio, Washington, 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 a rerecorded/remixed version of the Up the Downstair album, and the reissue of Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun on Lava/Atlantic.

In early 2004 the band embarked on the recording sessions for an ambitious new Porcupine Tree album, Deadwing, their second for Lava/Atlantic. The album takes its inspiration from a film script written by Steven 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 on a massive scale throughout the world.

File:Porcupinetree2005.jpg
2005 promotional photo

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 2 singles, Shallow in the US, and Lazarus in Europe. The album was a commercial success, due in part to Shallow receiving airplay.[7] The tour to promote the album commenced in the UK at the end of March, and continued throughout the year.

Porcupine Tree released Deadwing in Japan on March 22 of 2006, making it the first album by the band to be released in that country.

The band's website also recently announced that new material will be played during the first half of their upcoming tours of Europe and the United States. Their new material is much heavier and layered than anything they have done before, indicating that Porcupine Tree may be heading towards an even more metal oriented sound.

On August 8, 2006, it was announced that Porcupine Tree had signed with Roadrunner Records UK. Said Wilson, "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."[8]

The first ever Porcupine Tree live DVD "Arriving Somewhere" was released on October 10 of 2006.

Porcupine Tree is currently working on their next studio album. Fear of a Blank Planet, officially announced on January 6th, 2007 and due out April 16th, 2007, features two special guests - Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and King Crimson's Robert Fripp. It will feature six "mostly lengthy" songs.[9][10] They have also announced the first tourdates to promote the new record on their website, starting in the UK in April. It will be the band's largest UK tour in several years.

Name

By declining to provide an answer, Steven Wilson has started controversy over questions about the origin of the band's name. A number of theories exist, including the following:

  • There is an American Indian legend about a porcupine who tricks the other animals by planting a tree which grows under him so he can shoot his spines down to kill them.
  • The name might simply refer to cannabis, a plant known for its distinguished "spiky" leaves and mind-altering effects when smoked or ingested.
  • John Wesley offers the explanation that there is a pub in London called the "Porcupine" and there is a tree outside the pub that is known as the "Porcupine Tree;" however, even though other band members have been to the pub, Steven Wilson has never been there.
  • English progressive rock band Genesis had a song called "Back in NYC". One of the lines from that song is "As I cuddled the porcupine, he said I had none to blame but me." Band member Peter Gabriel has explained that "cuddling the porcupine" was meant as a metaphor for masturbation. Given that Porcupine Tree had started out as a kind of joke, there is some speculation that the band's name has a more juvenile origin, i.e., that it is merely a veiled reference to male genitalia.

Genre

Porcupine Tree is often categorised as a "progressive rock" band. Many listeners familiar with the group label them as such. However, Steven Wilson has been noted in the past to express a certain dislike for this tendency.

Wilson: "Porcupine Tree music is very very simple. There's nothing complex about it at all. The complexity is in the production. The complexity is in the way the albums are constructed. All of the work goes into creating the texture and the sound, and making it sound right. There's nothing complicated about the music at all. And that's really why I have to take issue when people describe us as progressive rock. I don't think we are a progressive rock band. I think we're just a rock band. I think what leads people to give it that kind of progressive tag is the way the songs are produced."[4]

It's currently unknown whether he has changed, or remained in this posture regarding the fact.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

Limited editions

Videos

Singles and EPs

  • Voyage 34 (1992)
  • Staircase Infinities (1994)
  • Moonloop EP (1994)
  • Waiting (1996)
  • Piano Lessons (1999)
  • Stranger by the Minute (1999)
  • Pure Narcotic (1999)
  • Four Chords That Made a Million (2000)
  • Shesmovedon (2000)
  • Lazarus (German release, 2005)

Limited editions

  • Tarquin's Seaweed Farm (1989)
  • Love, Death & Mussolini (1990)
  • The Nostalgia Factory (1990)
  • Spiral Circus - Live (1993)
  • Insignificance (1997)
  • Coma Divine II (1999)
  • Stars Die - Rare and Unreleased (1999)
  • Tonefloating : The Use of Ashes vs Steven Wilson (2000)
  • Transmission IV (2001)
  • Porcupine Tree Sampler 2005 (Transmission 3.1) (2005)

Promotional

  • Radio Active E.P. (1992)
  • Waiting (1996)
  • The Porcupine Tree Delerium EP (2001)
  • Porcupine Tree Sampler (2002)
  • Porcupine Tree Sampler 2002.1 (2002)
  • Porcupine Tree Sampler 2002.2 (2002)
  • Porcupine Tree Sampler 2002.3 (2002)
  • Blackest Eyes (2003)
  • Trains (2003)
  • The Sound of Muzak (2003)
  • Lava Records Pre-Cleared Songs for Film Vol. 1 (2003)
  • Futile (2003)
  • Shallow (2005)

There is a huge problem with counterfeit Porcupine Tree CDs, as many of their albums were released as limited 20,000 copy runs. The net has become overrun with these fakes and they are hard to tell from the real thing. They are factory-pressed, but usually in Russia or China, and are identical to the originals with two key exceptions: 1) the artwork is slightly different (the right-hand side is slightly cut off and sometimes there is "PORCUPINE TREE- STUPID DREAM" printed at the top in neon green) and 2) on the bottom of the discs, between the clear and silver parts, there will be a small number line on the white strip, as opposed to the authentic large numberline AND barcode. Also, the counterfeits tend to be in jewel cases as opposed to digipaks that most of the remasters have been released in.

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d "The Dutch Progressive Rock Page". Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ "Porcupine Tree Bibliography". Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ "delerium.co.uk". Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Aural Innovations Issue #7". Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ "Deranged Hermit". Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  6. ^ "Record Collector November 1996, issue 207". Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  7. ^ "Billboard Peak Position of 'Shallow'". Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  8. ^ "Rockdetector". Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  9. ^ "Porcupine Tree Recent News". Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  10. ^ "Mania Music, December 21, 2006". Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

See also

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