Steven Wilson

] . From now on, the band would follow this path. Just after the release of the live album "Coma Divine", they finished deal with Delerium in 1997, they moved to Snapper and issued two poppier albums, "Stupid Dream" in 1999 and "Lightbulb Sun" in 2000, both achieved very impressive success.

Two years would pass until their sixth studio album, and in the meantime the band switched label again, this time signing to Lava, and drummer Chris Maitland quit to be replaced by Gavin Harrison. Now with the support of a major label, "In Absentia" saw the light in 2002, featuring a heavier sound than all its previous works. It charted in many European countries and remains one of the top-selling Porcupine Tree albums by now, it was also their first record to be released in 5.1 Surround Sound, in a special edition of 2004 that shortly after won the "Best Made-For-Surround Title" award for the Surround Music Awards 2004. Another two years elapsed before its follow-up, "Deadwing", an ambitious and very cohesive record, inspired on a film script by Steven Wilson and his friend Mike Bennion, which came to be the first Porcupine Tree album to chart the Billboard 200, entering at #132. The album was prizewinning for the "Album Of The Year" award on the "Classic Rock" magazine awards] . The project released 2 more albums "Arcadia Son", and "IEM Have Come For Your Children", both in 2001. Since then the project appears to be dormant.

Bass Communion

In 1998 Wilson launched another solo project Bass Communion, dedicated to recordings in an ambient, drone, and/or electronic vein. The atmosphere of the music has tended towards the dark and melancholic, but expressed with an almost Zen-like beauty. More recently Wilson has also started working with a guitar and laptop configuration to create fuzzy power drones. So far there have been several full length Bass Communion CDs, vinyl LPs, and singles, many of them issued in handmade or limited editions (which sell out very quickly) in elaborate packaging. Bass Communion has collaborated with many leading experimental musicians such as Muslimgauze, Robert Fripp, VidnaObmana (on the ongoing Continuum project), Jonathan Coleclough, Colin Potter, Andrew Liles, and several others.

Blackfield

In 2001 Wilson met and began to collaborate with Israeli rock star Aviv Geffen, with whom he created the band Blackfield. Since then the duo have released two highly acclaimed albums of what they refer to as "melodic and melancholic rock". The albums spawned several hits, notably "Blackfield", "Pain" and "Once". The band has toured several times, and a live DVD of their show in New York was released in 2007. Wilson splits his living time between Tel Aviv, Israel and London, UK. [cite web|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3246992,00.html|title=Porcupine Tree frontman enjoys life in Israel - Israel Culture, Ynetnews|date=2006-05-04|accessdate=2008-04-14]

olo works

In 2003 Wilson started to release a series of two track CD singles under his own name, each one featuring a cover version and an original SW song. The choice of cover versions was unpredictable, with the first 5 featuring songs by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, Swedish pop group Abba, UK rock band The Cure, Scottish songwriter Momus and Prince. He has also released some of his experiments in electronic music as a CD and 2LP set called "Unreleased Electronic Music". These are released on his own Headphone Dust label.

Wilson is now working on his first official solo album, "Insurgentes", recorded all over the world between January-August, and due for release in November as a double CD plus a DVD-A (limited to 3,000 copies) and a 4 x 10 inch vinyl version (limited to 1,000 copies), both with hardback book. Both editions will only be available to order from www.insurgentes.org. A standard retail CD version will be issued early in 2009.

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quote ="Sometimes you have to confront your own patterns and expectations of yourself and do away with things that you enjoy doing in order to move forward and keep evolving as a musician. That's exactly the definition of the word progressive of course."
source =Steven Wilsoncite web | url = http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=37160&FID=47 | title = "Interview with Steven Wilson at ProgArchives Forum" | date = 2007-04 | accessdate= 2007-05-08]
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Current works

Steven has also signed on to produce the next album of Israeli progressive metal band, Orphaned Land. During the Porcupine Tree tour, in the fall of 2007, with Anathema as the support band, it was announced that Steven will mix their new album. Work on this album will start "late spring/early winter 2008".

Collaborations

*Currently, he is planning to record a collaborative album with Swedish band Opeth's singer, guitarist and composer Mikael Åkerfeldt, which will also involve Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. According to his MySpace page this is "not looking very likely for a long time".

*He will be producing the next album of Israeli band Orphaned Land, titled "The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOr".

*He produced and contributed backing vocals, guitar and keyboards for Opeth on the albums "Blackwater Park", "Deliverance", and "Damnation".

*Has collaborated on many projects with Belgian experimental musician Dirk Serries of VidnaObmana and Fear Falls Burning, most notably on their collaboration project Continuum which has so far released 2 albums.

*Has also worked with OSI, Marillion, Paatos, Theo Travis, Yoko Ono, Fish, Cipher and Anja Garbarek.

*He is featured on the latest Fovea Hex EP "Allure" (Part 3 of the "Neither Speak Nor Remain Silent" trilogy of EP's) on bass guitar. The EP was released in April, 2007 through Die-Stadt Musik.

*He made a guest appearance on Dream Theater's newest album, "Systematic Chaos" on the song "Repentance", as one of several musical guests recorded apologizing to important people in their lives for wrongdoings in the past.

*Wilson did and interview with one of the resposibles of the Krautrock movement, German musician and composer Klaus Schulze, featured as bonus material in his first Live DVD, "Rheingold" [ [http://www.myspace.com/klausschulzerheingold MySpace.com - Klaus Schulze Rheingold DVD] . Rheingold DVD's MySpace (2008-09-11). Retrieved on 2008-10-07.] .

Equipment

Recording studio

*PowerMac G5 running Logic 7

*Digidesign Mix TDM system

*Apple EXS24 virtual sampler
* [http://www.apogeedigital.com/ Apogee] Trak2 Mic Pre Amp/A-D converter

*Neumann U87 microphone

* Line 6 Pod + DL4 Delay

* Paul Reed Smith guitars

* Fender Telecaster

On stage

*Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 guitars, Singlecut and Modern Eagle

*Babicz Acoustic Guitars and Octane Acoustic/Electric

*Gibson Les Paul

*Wah-wah and volume pedals

*Bad Cat two tone distortion

*BOSS distortion

*Carl Martin compressor
* [http://www.tcelectronic.com/ TC] G-System effects processor

*Bad Cat Lynx Head amplifier with 4x12 matching Cabinet

*Bad Cat Hot Cat amplifier with 4x12 matching Cabinet

* ESP Stratocaster (used onstage up until the "In Absentia" tour, where he switched to Paul Reed Smith guitars.)

* BOSS DD-20 delay and RT-20 rotary twin pedal effects

Barefooted

For live shows Wilson plays with bare feet. This particular custom goes back to his early childhood, where he remembers: "I always had a problem wearing shoes and I've always gone around with bare feet"cite web | url = http://www.rockeyez.com/interviews/int-porcupine-tree.html | title = "Interview: Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) | publisher = Rock Eyez | date = 2005-05-12 | accessdate = 2008-03-10] . He also adds that another factor on performing barefoot is the advantage it gives in operating his diverse guitar pedals [cite web | url = http://www.dprp.net/specials/porcupinetree/index.html | title = "Specials - Steve Wilson Interview" | publisher = The Dutch Progressive Rock Page | accessdate = 2008-03-10] .

Wilson:

"I’ve stepped on nails, screws, drawing pins, stubbed my toe, I’ve come off stage with blood just coming out… I mean, I’ve had it all mate, but to be honest, nothing’s going to stop me."

He uses a carpet on stage to keep his feet protected.

Discography

References

ee also

*List of hammered dulcimer players

External links

* [http://www.swhq.co.uk Steven Wilson Headquarters]
* [http://www.porcupinetree.com Porcupine Tree Official Website]
* [http://www.no-man.co.uk No-Man Official Website]
* [http://www.blackfield.org Blackfield Official Website]
* [http://www.voyage-pt.de/swdisco.html Steven Wilson's Complete Discography]
* [http://www.last.fm/music/Steven+Wilson Steven Wilson at last.fm]
* [http://www.myspace.com/therealstevenwilson Steven Wilson's MySpace account]
* [http://www.theseaweedfarm.com/ The Seaweed Farm] - Steven Wilson related news
* [http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue7/ptree03.html Aural Innovations Review/Interview]
* [http://www.digitalburn.org/the-guitar-gear-of-steven-wilson-from-porcupine-tree/ Details and images of Steven Wilson's guitar gear]