New Steven Wilson Album Details

[Dodie]

Just pre-ordered it from Amazon. I don't go weak at the knees at the mere mention of Steven Wilson, but I liked 'Grace for Drowning' quite a lot (and more than anything Porcupine Tree have done for a while).
So I'm reasonably confident I'm not wasting my money on it, regardless of how earth-shattering or not it turns out to be.

[davis]

^ sounds to me like you have a good attitude toward this topic

[Wisdomview]

I pre-ordered the CD/DVD set from Burning Shed last night. I'm very much looking forward to it!

[eporter66]

I liked Grace for Drowning but was not blown away. I am looking forward to this, but also hoping PT will be back.

[ScottAM]

So, aside from rehearsing for his upcoming solo tour, what do you all think that Steven's been doing from November '12 - February '13? Writing for a new PT album? Even sending material to the other PT guys? No-Man? Storm Corrosion II? Finishing touches on Blackfield's next album (he's still involved in that to some extent)? Or merely remastering other classic prog albums in 5.1? The possibilities are endless!

Personally, I hope he's not waiting until the end of his tour to even start contemplating writing for PT again...that would be a long wait.

[polmico]

I'd like to see Storm Corrosion II next. I really dig that album, which put me in opposition to the other half of the people who really hate this album. Haters gonna hate.

[jkelman]

Posted this on facebook, twitter, myspace and google plus in varying forms (because of varying length restrictions):

Thanks to Andy Leff, I am listening to Steven Wilson's The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Storiies) for the first time now, and all I can say is: Wow. Ok, ok, I can say more. If Insurgentes was the first salvo to suggest he had more in him than any one of his many projects, and Grace for Drowning reflected the time spent remixing the King Crimson catalog (especially Lizard), then The Raven - with the benefit of a band for whom he can write *anything* (and Guthrie Govan? At last - the missing piece!) - is the culmination. Beautifully written, stunningly arranged and outrageously performed (congrats Theo Travis, Nick Becks, Adam Holzman and Marco Minnemann, along with Guthrie!!), I cannot wait for April 25 and the chance to catch the band again in Montreal. Review most certainly to follow Oh yeah...and congrats Steven!!

[Scott Bails]

Personally, I hope he's not waiting until the end of his tour to even start contemplating writing for PT again...that would be a long wait.

I had the impression that he had no interest at all in doing anything for PT for a while. It's just not where his mind is these days.

[davis]

I understand the desire for something new, but there's plenty of PT already. Have a look and listen to something you haven't heard in a while or maybe something you haven't heard at all. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcupine_Tree_discography

[davis]

[progman1975]

Is the new Prog in stands yet w/Wilson on the cover. Very Dark. Kinda get the feeling alot of this record deals with his father's death.

[jkelman]

I had the impression that he had no interest at all in doing anything for PT for a while. It's just not where his mind is these days.

From my September, 2012 interview:

"For me, right now, the things that are really enjoyable are the solo project and continuing to work on remixing classic records," Wilson says. "Those things have become the most enjoyable over the last three or four years. I never wanted to feel like that my career was becoming a machine, and the problem with the rock music world is that happens a lot—a lot of my friends are stuck in this tour-album, tour-album rut. That's not why I became a musician. I became a musician because I love making music, I love making different kinds of music, and I love making different kinds of music with different people and traveling and meeting people. That's what I love the most. Doing the remixing work has enabled me not only to work with a lot of people but also to meet and get to know a lot of the people who inspired me to make music in the first place. And doing the solo thing, for me, has been so inspiring, has made me confront a lot of my own habits and break patterns that I could easily have fallen into.

"I think one of the worst things I could've done would have been to go straight off the back of the last Porcupine Tree record into another album, another tour," Wilson continues. "It was just beginning to feel like it was becoming repetitive, like a sausage machine. I'm probably about halfway through my career; I've been doing it for 20 years, and let's say I've got another 20 years. Time to get into some different things, you know? And it's funny, again, how much resistance there is from the fan base. You know, I've done this for 20 years, I've made plenty of albums with this band, and I want to do some different things now, and really, there have been some quite hateful and offensive responses, though fortunately in the minority.

"It's a cliché for an artist to say that the new album they're working on is the best thing they've ever done," Wilson continues, "but in a way it's logical because whatever you're doing at the moment is the thing that reflects most closely where you are in your life and your emotional state in that moment. I feel very remote from things I made five years ago, let alone fifteen years ago. I don't recognize the person that made them, and the reason I don't recognize that person is because I'm not that person anymore, so it makes sense that whatever you're working on now is closest to your heart.

"But the fans' relationship to the music is very different from your own relationship," continues Wilson. "Some people take it very personally and are taking the Porcupine Tree thing very personally. I'm not particularly inspired to make a record with Porcupine Tree right now; therefore, the worst thing I could do would be to make a Porcupine Tree record. Who wants to hear a Porcupine Tree record made by people who are not really inspired to be making a Porcupine Tree record? The answer: a lot of people; there are a lot of people who would rather I made an album with Porcupine Tree that I'm not really into than an album under my own name, which I'm really inspired to make. I can't change that fact.

"Thankfully, this is a minority," Wilson concludes. "And I think most people do get it. I think I've engendered a career in which people expect the unexpected; certainly, with Porcupine Tree, we've reinvented the band several times, and so people have come to expect that. But, again, it's amazing how much the brand name is in some ways more important to people than even the sound changing. If you do something with a different name, it's more upsetting than if you completely change your sound. It's very strange to me—all the politics that go on. Anyway, I'm working hard; I'm almost trying to overachieve, I think, even with the tour. I'm going out with a production that's even bigger than Porcupine Tree. I'm overachieving to try and convince people to take it seriously. And I think I'm winning the battle."

I think that makes it pretty clear.

[Sean]

[kenpierce]

Hey friends, my colleague Skeleton Pete and I had the honor of attending a preview listen to the new "Raven That Refused To Sing" the other day and Pete wrote up a little something about it. Check it out.

http://skeletonpete.com/?p=5638

[Dan Marsh]

Is the new Prog in stands yet w/Wilson on the cover. Very Dark. Kinda get the feeling alot of this record deals with his father's death.

According to an email I got, it is out on the 23rd.

[progman1975]

Thank You!

[Sean]

Don't expect this in the US for over a month. The previous issue hasn't even hit the shelves yet but probably will this week. Check it out, something groovy is in it.

[No Pride]

Don't hate me for it, but I'm not a PT fan. I've listened to In Absentia and Deadwing and a compilation of other PT stuff that a PE friend made for me and it's just not my thing. However, I've been fascinated with the vids I've seen of SW's new band and I expect I'll be getting this album when it comes out. I'm generally more of a jazz and fusion fan than a psych and metal fan and I think this album will be very satisfying for me. And kudos to SW for pushing and expanding his own boundaries!

[wideopenears]

I like "Signify," it's got a mix of atmospheric, trippy, psychedelic stuff and grooves, textures, etc. And it sounds like a band, not a solo album. I'm interested in some of the earlier PTree stuff, the more psychedelic stuff, which I haven't heard...I have Fear of A Blank Planet...and I seem to have inherited Deadwing, and don't enjoy those as much--they seem crunchier and less varied--though I like the narrative feel on Deadwing....that's the extent of my experience.

I'm also more of a fusion fan, and the line-up on the new Wilson album bodes well.....looking forward to hearing it soon.

[Scott Bails]

wideopenears - have you heard/do you have Lightbulb Sun and In Absentia?

LS is my fave, and seems to carry on in the direction of Signify, while IA seems to be a bridge between Signify/LA and what came after - the psychedelic/songwriter stuff to the more metal stuff.

[wideopenears]

Haven't heard either one of those, Scott.....will check samples when I get some time.

[wideopenears]

Or...camples. Yeah, that's it...

[Spiral]

Let's not forget Stupid Dream. It and Lightbulb Sun just go together sooooooo well.

[NogbadTheBad]

In Absentia is probably my favorite. I'm really looking forward to the new one.

[Oreb]

Confessions of an Old Fart, Vol. 49

I don't get the appeal of listening to leaked versions on crappy computer files. When a new album comes out by an artist I respect I like to hear it for the first time on my good stereo system with the box/book/lyrics/whatever near by and a glass of good red to keep me company.

It's a ritual that I enjoy.