Every band will claim they’re really quite different and unique sounding, but then there are those who really are. UK act Porcupine Tree is definitely one of those that fall into the latter category. Combining elements of rock, psychedelic tendencies, progressive rock influences, pop sensibilities, and at times delving completely into heavy metallic moments, Porcupine Tree’s music transcends the standard genre tags, to emerge as something that seems to encompass all of the above mentioned ingredients, yet remains something unquestionably hard to define by the one name.
Two decades after vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Steven Wilson originally founded the band (Which initially began as a one man band), Porcupine Tree have emerged from the underground through word of mouth to find themselves being embraced by both the progressive and metal scenes with a string of critically acclaimed albums such as Lightbulb Sun (2000), In Absentia (2002) and Deadwing (2005).
Never ones to repeat themselves, Porcupine Tree (who also comprise of bassist Colin Edwin, keyboardist Richard Barbieri and drummer and percussionist Gavin Harrison) once again delivered the unexpected on their ninth full-length effort Fear Of A Blank Planet. Although remaining true to their past sound, the conceptually Fear Of A Blank Planet was anything but easy to digest, yet nevertheless was unanimously praised as the band’s most ambitious and rewarding masterpiece to date.
With the overwhelming success of Fear Of A Blank Planet, Porcupine Tree have been able to tour extensively throughout most of Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. for the better part of 2007, with the band’s first live dates for 2008 marking their debut visit to Australian shores in April.
Prior to the band’s long overdue visit to Australia, I dragged frontman Steven Wilson out of bed at his home in England to explain the band’s continual and growing success with every new release, Grammy Award nominations, his reluctance to listen back to Fear Of A Blank Planet and their latest effort ‘Nil Recurring’.
“Fear Of A Blank Planetwas a big step up for us in many respects. It’s been one of those albums where when we went into the studio to make it, we really weren’t thinking about pleasing anyone but ourselves. That’s always been true to an extent with all of our previous albums, but with this album, we tried something different. In many respects, Fear Of A Blank Planet is the least accessible and commercial album that we’ve made in a long time. In a sense, there isn’t really anything on the album that could be taken out and played on the radio as a single. It’s a very large piece of conceptual art rock music. It’s ironic that in many respects, it’s been the breakthrough record for us and the one that’s taken us to the next level in terms of sales and critical acclaim. I’m not quite sure why, but I’m certainly happy about it! (laughs)”
After years of building a loyal underground following, Fear Of A Blank Planet has finally brought Porcupine Tree the commercial success to match their critical acclaim, which in some ways has validated the band’s way of making albums for themselves rather than purely for others.
“You’re right, it has. We’ve always kind of done things that way. We’ve never really tried to pander too much to what we thought were external forces. This album was definitely a decision to make something that was much more conceptual and more about a continuous album orientated piece of music. I suppose in a way, that does indicate not just that the band are validated, but also that the band find themselves very much more in touch with what’s happening right now in the music industry.
”We find ourselves very much in the forefront of what is a return to a more album orientated music scene. As the major record labels are struggling to maintain their relevance and slowly begin to die out, we’re finding out now that it’s the bands that have been adopting the model of touring a lot and continuing to make quality records that are keeping the faith of their fan base. That’s the way bands used to do it in the ‘70’s, in the years before MTV and all that kind of stuff. It’s only now that we’re really starting to see a return to that model. I guess we’re lucky in a sense because that’s what we’ve always been about, but it’s only now that we’re benefiting from a kind of shift in the musical climate.”
Remaining true to your original ideals is not an easy path to follow when you’re a struggling musician. But in the case of Porcupine Tree, it’s paid off throughout the years with every new album outselling its last, and Fear Of A Blank Planet is the band’s most commercially successful release to date. But it does make you wonder whether or not Wilson actually considers Porcupine Tree as having made it in within the music scene yet or not.
“Well firstly, you’re right about the first part of your statement. It has been a very organic sense of growing. Fear Of A Blank Planet is the band’s ninth album since 1992, so we’ve been doing this for fifteen years now. Throughout that time, it’s been what you would call a war of attrition. We’ve built this thing piece by piece, and have been clawing out a fan base the whole time to make a living out of what we do. Being able to make a living from what we do has really only happened to us a few albums ago. We’re quite comfortable now, and we have a good fan base. We know that in terms or record sales and touring that we can sustain ourselves as professional musicians now. You could say that’s really one big landmark, and that’s the point where we’ve obviously made it. We’re professional musicians, and we don’t have to worry about money. Well, I’ll admit that we still worry about money! (laughs) But I will also add that we don’t have to worry about the money to the point where it starts to affect the music. That’s a very important landmark to get to. I’m certainly happy with the way things are going so far.”
But as Wilson is quick to add, as successful as Fear Of A Blank Planet is, there’s a lot of music yet to be unearthed within Porcupine Tree, and a lot of potential fans unaware of the band’s vast output.
“I still feel that there are a lot of people out there that would like what we do, but who have yet to hear the band. And then there are those who have only heard of Porcupine Tree without having actually heard our music before. So in that sense, I still think there’s a lot of people to reach out to, and a lot of work for us to do. On an artistic level, I feel there’s still a lot of work to do. There’s still a lot of development and evolution to go through. And commercially, I certainly feel that too. Commercial is a really horrible word to use, but you know what I mean. In terms of reaching people and sharing the music with as many people as possible, I still think there are a lot of people out there that would probably like what we do. We’re still trying to get out to those people.”
