Porcupine Tree Reunion

[nicola]

PORCUPINE TREE REUNION






It was time ..... that they got back together, Steven Wilson had left
a window open for the meeting but by now it no longer seemed feasible .... perhaps he was convinced after his horrible last album with traces
of "pop and disco music"..... better this way ...
announced an album and a European tour

The reunion that all progressive rock fans have been waiting for.

After 12 years, PORCUPINE TREE are back on the scene with
new music. Now available on all platforms "HARRIDAN", the new single preceding the release of the album "CLOSURE / CONTINUATION"
scheduled for June 24, 2022 (Music For Nations / Sony).

The news does not end there: in the autumn of 2022 the European
our will start, the first since October 2010, which will see the English
band live in Italy for a single date on 24 October 2022 at the
Mediolanum Forum in Milan.

A unique opportunity to see Steven Wilson, Richard Barbieri
and Gavin Harrison together on stage live!



the album "CLOSURE / CONTINUATION"







Over a decade in the making, CLOSURE / CONTINUATION
It will be available as a seven track album on standard CD/double vinyl/coloured vinyl or limited cassette. The deluxe LP version comes on audiophile approved crystal clear vinyl as a 3xLP 45rpm boxset with
two bonus tracks; the deluxe CD & Blu-Ray boxset comes with three
bonus tracks, instrumental versions, and high resolution 96/24 stereo,
5.1 and Dolby Atmos versions of the album,
all housed in an exclusive art book.









From Porcupine Tree official website


Harridan and a few of the other new songs have been in play since shortly after the release of The Incident. They initially lived on a hard drive in a slowly growing computer file marked PT2012, later renamed PT2015, PT2018, and so on.

There were times when we even forgot they were there, and times when they nagged us to finish them to see where they would take us. Listening to the finished pieces, it was clear that this wasn’t like any of our work outside of the band - the combined DNA of the people behind the music meant these tracks were forming what was undeniably, unmistakably, obviously a Porcupine Tree record.

You’ll hear all of that DNA flowing right through Harridan.




for now, let's settle for a track from the album

Porcupine Tree - Harridan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW5v4Ohxk5k






...... and the first dates of the European tour

[Ramon Porta]

Hey Nicola, the pity its that Colin Edwind the bass player are missing in the band.

[nicola]

very prescient photo ....
Colin was already looking elsewhere



Hi ramon
..if they tell you that your group will remain on standby for a while
.... And after 12 years pass and they ask you to leave again…
.. maybe you don't want to be part of a band again….
Also because 12 years is such a long time that it allows you
to have many of those experiences that in the end make you
decide to continue staying on your new path .... And this could
be my possible hypothesis on Colin's non-adhesion to the
new PT project ... but Colin will surely clarify his position in his
first interview ... .. Meanwhile, the adhesion to the new PTs has
been greatly emphasized on social media by Steven and by
Gavin…. Richard hasn't published anything but he may just
be addicted to the fact that he loves social media less and in
any case his contribution is essential in the sound of PT.



In Italy in recent days a very long interview with Steven Wilson
has been published, dating back to the last concert in Italy when
he was in promotion for "Hand. Cannot. Erase. "
Very happy to be in Italy and to come back because it was
the first country that granted him success and where he wanted
his first live to be recorded…. He opened up giving a lot of information
.... It was enough to ask a very short question to get a very long
answer where for example he clarifies the break 12 years ago with
the other members of PT…. His technique to give new life to
albums of the past ... ..
and that for me is his worst album and that is "THE FUTURE BITES"
which I defined HORRIBLE for Steven has very important elements
stemming from his approach to the world of music and he does
not mind writing pop music pieces that could be played on the
radio commercial …… so The Future Bites doesn't consider it a
mistake but a part of its musical goals…. I respect the thought
of him…. But I don't move away from defining it ... Horrible.
I would have liked to translate the very long interview and
publish it…. But it will be on newsstands for the whole month
of November and you don't want to cause me problems ... ..
but when I have time to tell the most important elements
in my own words, I Can Do It.

[nicola]

Composer, guitarist / keyboardist and more, singer, sound engineer,
producer and talent-scout . Today he is 54 years old, always an
excellent point of reference for those who love good music
The interview he gave was 7 years ago on the occasion of an Italian
Tour date to promote Hand. Cannot. Erase.
and it is therefore devoid of softer judgments given the Reunion towards the components of Porcupine Tree ... surely 7 years ago the fact of getting back together was not in Steven's mind and therefore it is easier to understand why that experience was interrupted.
As I said earlier, the interview is very long and there is a great desire to explain everything

After remembering that he is always very attached to Italy that gave him the first awards on his first compositions, he goes on to challenge the definition that his music can be caged in the definition of Progressive ... for him it is much more, it is electronic , ambient, classic style, jazz references, more elaborate tracks, pop in short, a character who does not like labels and who does not set any limits.
He also claims that he likes to compose songs that could be heard on the radio and this part of his compositions comes from the fact that he grew up listening to so much music loved by his parents Abba, Carpenters, Bee Gees that Steven equates with the influences received from the most famous bands of the 70's and 80's… so he admits that all these different styles are found in his compositions

and therefore I understand that even if for me someone like him should never compose pop music in the face of so much determination there will be little to say ... surely I will continue to appreciate his best part for my tastes .... I leave pop compositions to those who love this genre and I recommend to these people the latest album "THE FUTURE BITES" which I wouldn't even want to have as a gift.
Composing songs for me is the most difficult part ... says Steven ... often starts with a guitar chord or a text that inspires him in the composition ... but now the part begins where you understand much more about his personality and how he can also evolve the recent Porcupine Tree Reunion


Steven feels a great desire to express himself not as a simple artist of a group but has always wanted to think and implement an infinite number of projects that would lead him to collaborate with so many people who have increased his knowledge in short, his goal has always been to aiming at models like Frank Zappa, director Stanley Kubrick, David Bowie or Kate Bush characters who were able to change direction by changing the interpreters and always remaining at a high level and here the Porcupine Tree came in and for the first 3 albums he he considered not as a group but as mere performers of his compositions

then, they became a group, but as we went on there was still a strong desire to be freer to achieve what he dreamed of being the leader of a band but often changing the members according to the style to be composed which is what he did from the dissolution of the Porcupine Tree, in short, to be able to free his creativity without any conditioning from others.
And the concept of the cage reaffirms this when he talks about the Porcupine Tree in the sense that even if he was in fact the most important of the group he had to take into account the opinion of others

Steven wrote all the songs, produced, did the interviews but the problem was that he had to write music that was appreciated by everyone and followed the style that was approved by everyone but this led to writing songs with a cross between progressive and metal and therefore his creativity was stifled and the fact that he wanted to insert elements with references to jazz, electronic music or pop was immediately blocked and due to these discussions about the fact that the style of porcupine could not change…. Steven has decided to terminate the relationship and even today he cannot believe that his relationship has lasted so long for 15 years.

These were the things that Steven said 7 years ago ... .. today he announces together with the other 2 of the 3 members of the group the new experience with Porcupine Tree and he does it starting from tracks written for their latest album never released that have been adapted for the new album coming out next year…. But in light of the declarations of 7 years ago ... what happened .... Richard Barbieri and Gavin Harrison have agreed to change the PT style and certainly have accepted that the reconstitution of the group will not interfere with Steven's thousand activities, certainly many things have been clarified ... Colin Edwin is the only one who will not fit into the group and perhaps because he was one of the most critical of Steven or perhaps because he is now taken up by his new collaborations .... but as I said earlier, he himself will clarify why he preferred not to return.


The most important thing is that we will surely
have some great new music thanks to
Steven Wilson,Richard Barbieri and Gavin Harrison

[nicola]

PORCUPINE TREE REUNION



The Return of Porcupine Tree is approaching, there are now
3 months left ... for the release of the album that will sanction
the recomposition of a group that has given a lot to progressive
music and that will still be able to give a lot thanks to the
inexhaustible creativity of Steven Wilson ... to speed up the
wait after releasing the first track "Harridan" of the Album "CLOSURE / CONTINUATION" now they have also released the second track
"Of The New Day" which Steven Wilson wanted to describe also
n the playing technique. ...
The Album which consists of 7 tracks in a deluxe version should
include another 3 bonus tracks


"Of the New Day is a song of rebirth, emerging from darkness.
It sounds deceptively simple, a recognisably atypical Porcupine Tree ballad. That is until you realise that the length of the bars is constantly
changing, flipping between bars of regular 4/4 time to 3/4, to 5/4 to 6/4, 11/4, so that the track never settles into any steady time. It’s what PT
can sometimes do really well, come up with a basic idea that’s almost intellectual or mathematical, but carry it off in a way that sounds
completely natural and accessible" -
Steven Wilson



here the second track of "CLOSURE / CONTINUATION"

Porcupine Tree - Of The New Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY148yblJdg


GOOD LISTENING

[podakayne]

well that's good news...enjoy

[nicola]

PORCUPINE TREE REUNION NEW DATES









NEW DATES

[nicola]

PORCUPINE TREE REUNION




May 25th, there is now less than a month before the release of the Porcupine Tree Reunion Album and very generously they release a third track for listening even if in a reduced version of an album that contains seven tracks but a deluxe version should be provided album with three bonus tracks.


STEVE WILSON : "New Porcupine Tree single ‘Herd Culling’ out today! It was the final song written for the album. When the rest of the songs were assembled, we felt there was still musically a “hole” for something dramatic in the middle of the album, so it became the only song written as a three way collaboration between Richard Barbieri, Gavin Harrison and I. Beginning with Gavin coming up with an unusual rhythm in 11 (he’ll never give you something easy!), it was then a case of myself and Richard finding the music, and both of us working with sequenced electronics and sound design, alongside the quiet/loud guitar dynamics. The full 7 minute version is a musical storytelling which features several other sections, but I think the edit works quite well as a more conventionally structured piece too – a smaller bite of music.”



here the third track of "CLOSURE / CONTINUATION"

Porcupine Tree - Herd Culling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niQ7fwkzBYA&t=2s


GOOD LISTENING

[nicola]

PORCUPINE TREE REUNION





2 other contributions
Steve Wilson talks
and a live studio version




Steven not only Top Songwriter but able to reveal all the secrets of his tone, songwriting and playing. and also a wicked trick for tuning the strings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPjWbgxModI





and a version Of The New Day taken from a recent studio session
at AIR Studios.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaD5zbI2oyQ





GOOD LISTENING

[nicola]

PORCUPINE TREE REUNION



French Porcupine Tree press conference for Closure : Continuation


Press Conference on the last album and on the years spent with porcupine on stand by .....
it comes out a Steve Wilson very different from the year the band broke up ...
first father master of the band but who had to undergo the imposition of not being able to change the sound ....
now thanks to his solo career that made him do so many things that were denied him even though he made all the songs ... he feels much more serene and available to be part of a band with equal responsibility and the songs are made together even if the other two know very well that Steven Wilson's creativity is an important value that must be widely used .... among the questions that the journalists have asked him, the question that I would have asked is missing and certainly the most natural .... because Colin Edwin is not part of the porcupine tree reunion ... it would have been interesting to know their truth ...

**** the video allows subtitles and the choice of any language so those like me who have difficulty in following English spoken quickly have the opportunity to follow the entire press conference in their own language





French Porcupine Tree press conference for Closure : Continuation


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ9Ej3vHPjk

[nicola]

.... now less than a week before the release of the new album of the Porcupine Tree reunion to which some had suggested to change
the name to Porcupine Three precisely to underline the formation
of the group reduced to three components .....
the album as I anticipated some time ago has a version that contains 3 bonus tracks and it is therefore advisable to buy this version which includes the 7 tracks of the standard version plus these 3 bonus which are usually always very interesting tracks




from June 24th they have scheduled meetings with entrances reserved for those who buy the ticket with fans with limited seats at the structure where the event will take place and where they will present the album and answer any questions and on these occasions you can buy the cd versions or vinyl at affordable prices

Dates and Places and Encounters with Fans

[nicola]

PORCUPINE TREE REUNION



... finally clarified the mystery of Colin Edwin's exclusion


......finally the new Porcupine Tree album is out and now it's been almost 2 months .... Certainly not at the level of their best albums but it contains some excellent tracks that perhaps discount the fact that they have been created occasionally over many years especially without help from live performances which instead from next autumn will help them find a renewed creativity. '….

Returning to Reunion
…. Steven Wilson has never been a great communicator, he has always preferred to let his compositions speak ... by his admission not interested in being part of a group and has lived the first experience of porcupine trees with almost tolerance ... he certainly loves not having any bond conscious of his abilities ... .. and this was Steven Wilson until before the reunion ... now after the reunion he appears completely transformed
before he was the only one who composed the music for the interviews and the whole organization now demands that a group work be done and accepts much more willingly the fact of being part of a group that also frees him from many tasks that he held in the first experience all for himself and also had to suffer criticism from the other components
in recent times he is giving many interviews and just ask him a question to receive very long answers ... maybe it would be better if he explained less in the sense that when for example he says that Porcupine Tree have never separated and that the tracks of the last album were written during the 12 years of their absence you have to be very believers almost at a religious level to be able to think that this is really so ... one thing is certain .. Steven Wilson in his egocentrism has a weakness called Gavin Harrison considers him the best musician of the group and from the very close collaboration of the two years ago that the reunion started which then limited itself to reincluding Richard Barbieri leaving out the bassist Colin Edwin who in an interview a few years ago asking him if he would like if the Porcupine Tree were back together he responded enthusiastically and so there were no problems or aversions towards Steven even though he had had more than a few discussions about the direction of the musical style. .... For some time the exclusion of him remained a mystery, no declaration by steven nor by colin…. and even in the first press conference of the reunion steven had warned that no questions should be asked about Colin's exclusion ... but finally steven has decided to clarify the mystery ... colin's bass was too slow we needed a way to play the bass in a more aggressive way and who better than him can do such a thing…. So the parts of the bass in the new record were played by steven ... of course now live you will need someone who plays the bass and a guitarist and to the research he thought as he defines steven "the managing director of the group" Gavin who chose the guitarist Randy McStine (MCSTINE & MINNEMANN, LO-FI RESISTANCE) and bassist Nate Navarro (DEVIN TOWNSEND).



... ..I had finished writing and by chance I saw an interview on Under The Radar Mag by Colin Edwin that I thought he had not commented on the exclusion and instead declares that for him it was a surprise the announcement of the porcupine tree reunion of which he was a member from 1993 until their hiatus in 2010 and which was reforming without him.
Edwin reveals that he was left in the dark about the meeting until just six months before it was announced to the public, having been told that the bass for the album had already been mapped and that there was no role "left for him in the band.
.
… Colin: "We hadn't had a fight or anything, and [we were] in contact occasionally about various things - mostly reprints or weird deals, but there had been no indication or hint of any new band activities, writing sessions or any possibility of reactivation ",

and then the saddest part ... after playing for 17 years together
in 2019 Colin's group ORK was on tour with Pineapple Thief where Gavin Harrison played and did not mention anything about the recomposition

COLIN: “So it was a surprise for me in March 2021, in isolation, to get an email from Steve telling me that there is a new album and since he has already played all the bass parts there is not. 'no role for me'. Soon after, Steve's attorney gets in touch [and] I haven't had any real contact from anyone since then. "

The story seems to be over here ... but if Colin agreed to take a course in "aggressive bass" by music teacher Steve maybe there could be some possibility of a complete reunion ... at the moment the lawyers have entered the field and I see the complete reunion very difficult.

[artw(Admin)]

Must be some sort of animosity there ... leaving Colin totally out (and not telling him about it at all) is pretty harsh if they were still "friends". I agree that the new album is very good but not their best.

[Mike413]

Shades of Bill Ward and Martin Barre (kind of) going on here imo.