Posts tagged stereoboard
Steven Wilson’s Interview with Stereoboard.com – Part 2
0The 2nd part of Steven Wilson’s long interview with Stereoboard.com has been posted online, and I’ve included some extracts from it below. The interview was conducted last week, and Steven has confirmed that he has no current plans for Porcupine Tree, which means that we may have to wait even longer for the band’s eleventh album. At least we’ll still have Storm Corrosion to look forward to in April, and the continuation of Steven’s solo tour, the dates for which should be announced very soon.
Steven, talking about Porcupine Tree, the band has been dormant since the Royal Albert Hall show last year. What are your future plans with the band looking into next year?
Well, I have none to be honest. That is not to say that we will not get together at some point and do something but at the moment we are all doing our own things. I am having a great time doing what I am doing. I also have a record coming out next year with my friend Mikael (Åkerfeldt) from Opeth, the Storm Corrosion record. They are doing other things as well. We will get back together and we will make another record, I am fairly sure of that. At the moment, however, there really are no particular plans for Porcupine Tree – Steven Wilson
I was actually going to ask about Storm Corrosion next. What can you tell us about the forthcoming collaboration between you and Mikael?
Yes the album is coming out in April. If you had asked me what I could say about it six months ago I would have told you to expect the unexpected but…well, I think now that both “Grace for Drowning” and the new Opeth record, “Heritage”, have come out…I think you get more of a sense of where we are both at. In a way, you can think of Storm Corrosion as the third part of a trilogy of records. It has a lot of the same musical qualities except that I think it is even more melancholic, orchestral and twisted, in a way. It is a very dark record. There are hardly any drums on it. We have tried to use different musical forces, like woodwind instrumentation for example. There are lots of percussion parts rather than drum parts. It is not an easy listen. It is really dark and twisted. I am very curious as to what people will think about it. I suppose perhaps the best comparative points would be some of the darker moments on, well, both “Grace for Drowning” and “Heritage”.
I noticed that you recently did a show with No-Man after a while of inactivity with that project. I was just wondering if you and Tim (Bowness, Steven’s collaborator in No-Man) have thought about doing another No-Man record at all.
Again, there are not really any plans. Tim and I get together at very irregular intervals to make records…I think it seems to be something like every five years or so. I guess that maybe in a couple of years we will actually be due for the next one! There are no plans but what I will say is that none of my musical projects are finished or over. For me it is nice to say that I have a number of creative outlets and collaborations that I can go back to at any time if I feel the muse is in that place. I have no plans to make records with any of these projects at the moment. That goes for No-Man, Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, etcetera. That is not to say that it will not happen though, not at all.
The interview on Stereoboard.com has been divided up into two parts, due to it’s length. Use the links below to read the full interview!
The first full review for Steven Wilson’s ‘Grace for Drowning’ is in!
50Stereoboard.com have posted their review of Steven Wilson’s new album, ‘Grace for Drowning’, due for release next Monday. It’s the first full in depth review that I’ve found on the Internet, that is in English. Below, I’ve included some extracts from their review, if you haven’t got enough time to read the entire thing over on their website.
The album has always been the ultimate art form in the eyes of many and ‘Grace for Drowning’ is certainly a work of art. The gentle, lullaby-esque title track begins the first disc, ‘Deform to Form a Star’, in a disarmingly tranquil fashion before the riffs of instrumental ‘Sectarian’ twist and turn in a style that would make Robert Fripp proud. The piano led ‘Deform to Form a Star’ is genuinely beautiful and the metallic trip-hop of ‘No Part of Me’ makes for a bewildering detour. By the time the first disc closes with the double header of ‘Raider Prelude’ and ‘Remainder the Black Dog’, the album is veering into progressive jazz territory with delightful results.
The reviewer then discusses the album’s 2nd disc, titled ‘Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eye’:
The second disc, ‘Like Dust I Have Cleared from My Eye’, again starts off gently but progresses into disturbing territory on the creepy ‘Index’ and into full on avant-garde jazz land on the mammoth twenty-three minute ‘Raider II’. By the time ‘Like Dust I Have Cleared from My Eye’ closes the album completely Wilson has managed to lure the listener in not just with incredibly atmospheric soundscapes but also the odd genuine hook or two, and of course some incredible musicianship.
Finally, the reviewer gives the album a very positive summary:
This is not an album that will appeal to everyone. It is hard work at times and it takes a good few listens to fully appreciate, but the reward of perseverance is astonishing. Don’t expect Wilson to break into the mainstream with this record but if this doesn’t gain him praise from even the most hardened of critics then it is a travesty. Without doubt this is one of the best records produced in many, many years and in years to come it should, with any justice, be remembered as a landmark release by one of the world’s few true ground-breaking artists.
So, the review period for ‘Grace for Drowning’ has started extremely well! Let’s hope that positive reviews keep streaming on in!
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