here's another new, extensive Interview with Steven Wilson, although not a vast amount of news regarding The Tree, but he does mention perhaps getting together next year.
But there's more from where the original Used Bin Radio (and other interviews from earlier this year) came from.
Speaking of Gavin Harrison, we can now move on to Porcupine Tree! It’s now been almost three years since you guys released The Incident, so is there anything in the works right now?
No, not really. We haven’t split up and with no intentions of splitting up, but it seems like each one of us is working on different things at the moment; Richard (Barbieri) has just released an album with Steve Hogarth, Gavin is touring with 05Ric and Colin (Edwin) has also released a couple of records, so nothing is going to happen this year, maybe next year. I think it’s a matter of when we all feel it’s right and I think we are all very much in agreement that it’s time to reinvent the sound at this point. I felt with The Incident for the first time, even though it’s a good record, that we are starting to get stuck in a certain sound and for me the peak was really Fear of the Blank Planet and In Absentia. The Incident didn’t strike me as having anything new so it felt like it’s time for a change.
That’s exactly what I was going to ask next, because Porcupine Tree started off as a spacey, kinda old school prog band which ended with Signify then transitioned to a more song structured approach with Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun and the latest incarnation was he more Metal inclined sound of your last four albums, so can we consider the next album as the start of Porcupine Tree Mark IV?
I think it has to be, otherwise there’s no point carrying on. I think it needs to be reinvented, I don’t know how yet, but there’s no point of us making another record of that style and we all agree on that. So the time taking off to do other things is important. Not that I want to give an impression of my solo work being a side project, because it’s not, I think it’s the most important one, but Porcupine Tree is still very special for me, of course it’s been the most successful of all the things I’ve done, not by design but it just seemed to connect with the most people, but I never want to get in the situation of making records just to please the fan base, which a lot of bands do, in fact it’s what most bands do, making records just to please the fans, I think I’m more selfish than that. I think you’ve got to take the Scott Walker approach, when have to say something say it, whether it takes five years or ten years and I think our fans are the kind of fans that will still be there, like Kate Bush fans or Peter Gabriel fans they’ll still be there, or even Tool fans, I mean how many years have you been waiting for a tool album?
Six!
And when the Tool album does come out everyone will listen to it, so I hope that our fans will be there when we release on ourselves.
Yeah, they definitely will. So do you think the next Porcupine Tree album will take from the improv jazzy elements of Grace for Drowning?
I don’t think so, because there’s one band member who hates jazz, so I don’t think that element will be likely to appear on the record but I’m sure that when we do sit down to make the record you will probably hear the influence of the stuff each one of us has been doing, because that’s part of the plan, each one goes does his own thing pick up some new influences and come back and we put those together again. I am curious, I don’t know what kind of music we are going to make, but there will definitely be no metal aspect, I think the metal thing is done. Just that metal guitar sound is boring.
Good interview anyway, as always it's interesting to read Steven's take on the music industry especially.
Perfect! Final question, of course you know that there are millions of bands coming through in almost every genre, what would you recommend for startup bands to make it in music?
...[edited for space] To summarize: do it for yourself, do it because you love it and if, by accident, your music connects with an audience, great but there’s no career route in music anymore. Record companies aren’t signing artists anymore, unless it’s shit like American Idol, because it’s easier for labels that way; sign an artist, sell a million records, then dump the artist and sign another one.
July?..last noted time 4/25/12 5:57AM
New live CD/DVD
that's great and everything, however, bands on hiatus, put out dvds and live releases all-the-time.
I will say, I noticed someone on twitter ask Steven Wilson (or whoever runs his twitter) about PT and he said having to mention the band being on a break right now has been a bit tiresome (or something close to that, I'm just paraphrasing). Sort of like, he wish he hadn't, and maybe more so, wishes I and some other sites hadn't.
Edit: nor remembering, someone asked about the site that posted the April Fool's joke.
But regardless, based on where he's at and the work on his next solo record, which is coming early in 2013 I recall reading, PT is still not amongst the work he or the other members are doing right now, save for this live CD/DVD.
I still think the very earliest an all-new original-music album will come out (save for maybe a b-sides or something) will be in 2014.
announcement
Kscope have just announced on the twenty ninth edition of their post-progressive podcast that Porcupine Tree will be releasing ‘Octane Twisted’ a 2CD/DVD set on November 5th. The audio and video will be taken from the band’s show on 2nd May 2010 at the Riviera Theater, Chicago, which was one of the many shows on tour in which ‘The Incident’ was performed in it’s entirety. More details are coming soon!
For those unaware, on Used Bin Radio last week, they aired an interview with Steven Wilson, which hopefully will be stream/download/podcasted soon. But he basically said what also was said about
Porcupine Tree here, that they are on HIATUS. He also said PT WILL LIKELY COMEBACK at some point, when he feels they are ready to "reinvent" themselves. In the mean time, Steven Wilson is busy with his solo records and Storm Corrosion among other things that are not Porcupine Tree.
more to add/edit...
edit: some of the comments on the forums are claiming that link is from an April Fools joke. That may be true, but I know for a fact, hearing it from the horse's mouth himself live face-to-face, it is in fact true.
He didn't actually use the word "hiatus" I don't think, nor did he say Porcupine Tree are broken up, done, over, etc. But he more or less said his muse is making the music for his solo records, and making music THAT THE MEMBERS OF HIS CURRENT TOURING BAND CAN/WILL/ENJOY PLAYING.
Grace For Drowning has a lot of JAZZ influence to it, at least in parts, and he said how with Porcupine Tree, there is at least 1 member who isn't interested in incorporating JAZZ into their music. Whereas the band he has on tour and is currently writing music for (or with?), he can. And he stressed at more than 1 point, how he has been listening to older JAZZ and "experimental classical" music. The Used Bin guys asked about what he has been listening to, and he said Rock music isn't really where his interest is as in exploring/discovering.
But just to humor the folks who are convinced this story is a joke and the next Porcupine Tree album is right around the corner, I'd just like to bring up how likely that really is.
Right now Steven Wilson is writing music for his next solo album, some of which his band has even played live. But presumably, the music for it will be written the rest of 2012, and soon after recorded. Either towards the end of 2012, or more likely early 2013. Then the record will be released, and in all likelihood, another tour supporting that record will happen in 2013.
another earlier (late February I recall) source
What’s the timeline for the next solo album?
It’s not going to be until next year. I’m in no rush because there’s a lot of promotion still to be done for Grace for Drowning in terms of getting the record to people who haven’t discovered it. We’ll be touring it for the next six months at least. We’re also going to film a Blu-Ray DVD on the next tour to document the current repertoire and lineup. I’m writing with recording in mind for late summer or autumn, with a view to releasing the album in Spring 2013. So, it’s still a long way off. I’m a great believer that when you feel inspired, you should take advantage of the opportunity. I know some people think I’m an endless supply of music, but I’m not. I go through periods when I have nothing coming out and nothing to say. Right now, I feel inspired, so I’m striking while the iron is hot.
So, the very EARLIEST any music could even be written by Steven Wilson and/or the other members of PT would be in the Summer or Fall of 2013. And assuming that actually did happen, the album wouldn't actually get released until sometime in 2014, thus 5 years after the last PT album The Incident.
But based on the interview with Used Bin Radio, the odds of even that happening aren't likely. The biggest reason is, making music for PT right now isn't where Steven Wilson is at right now. Where his muse is, is making music for his solo albums, Storm Corrosion and other things like doing the 5.1 and remixes for bands like King Crimson and Jethro Tull.
And so it sounds like, the point PT can "reinvent" themselves, music will be made by them. But that very easily will be a number of years after his next solo album even.
He's kind of modeling himself and PT's career after King Crimson and Robert Fripp. King Crimson's career is filled with breaks, hiatuses and reinventing their sound.
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