Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree in Madrid, 2008; Richard Barbieri (left), Steven Wilson, Gavin Harrison (on drums) and Colin Edwin.
Porcupine Tree in Madrid, 2008; Richard Barbieri (left), Steven Wilson, Gavin Harrison (on drums) and Colin Edwin.
Background information
OriginHemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England
Genres
Years active
  • 1987–2010[7]
  • 2021–present
Labels
Members
Past members
Websiteporcupinetree.com

Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became an influence for new artists.[8] The group carved out a career at a certain distance away from mainstream music, being described by publications such as Classic Rock and PopMatters as "the most important band you'd never heard of".[9][10][11]

The band began as a solo project for Wilson, who initially created all of the band's music himself. By late 1993, however, he wanted to work in a band environment, bringing on frequent collaborators Richard Barbieri as keyboardist, Colin Edwin as bassist, and Chris Maitland as drummer to form the first permanent lineup. With Wilson as lead vocalist and guitarist, this remained the lineup until February 2002, when Maitland left the band and Gavin Harrison was recruited to replace him. Porcupine Tree's early sound evoked various styles of psychedelic rock, space rock and experimental rock, later moving towards a more progressive/space rock direction comparable to that of Pink Floyd. Upon signing with Kscope record label in the late 1990s, the band began to approach a more mainstream alternative rock sound. By the early 2000s, the band had signed to a major record label and shifted their sound again, this time in a more progressive metal direction.

In 2010, after the tour in support of their 2009 studio album The Incident, the band became publicly inactive as Wilson committed himself to his solo work and other members began working on their own separate projects. However, Wilson, Barbieri and Harrison continued to intermittently work on material in secrecy over the course of the following decade, leading to the release of their album Closure/Continuation on 24 June 2022.

  1. ^ O'Brien, Jon. "Steven Wilson | Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  2. ^ Raggett, Ned (26 April 2001). "Porcupine Tree". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Porcupine Tree". Metal Storm. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  4. ^ Mettler, Mike (14 April 2015). "Stripped down and reimagined in brass, Porcupine Tree takes on a whole new life". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016.
  5. ^ Partridge, Christopher (2005). The Re-Enchantment of the West: Volume 1 Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture and Occulture. A&C Black. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-567-08269-5.
  6. ^ "Porcupine Tree return with new single 'Harridan' and 'CLOSURE/CONTINUATION' album announcement". NME. November 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  7. ^ Whitman, Howard (8 April 2013). "Branching Out: Entertainmenttell.com Interviews Colin Edwin of Porcupine Tree". TechnologyTell.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  8. ^ Ciminelli, Eddie. "Finding a Prickly Place in History". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017. [...] Through the years, they have amassed over a dozen albums in their discography, [...] while collecting critical adulation and a cultish following. Porcupine Tree's fans are some of modern music's most loyal but faceless; journeying with the band from one stepping stone to the next, no matter how distant their evolution finds them straying from their last effort.
  9. ^ Ling, Dave (9 February 2005). "Porcupine Tree: In For The Quill". Classic Rock. No. 77. TeamRock.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  10. ^ Humphries, Stephen (21 September 2010). "Outcast from the Mainstream: An Interview with Steven Wilson". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  11. ^ J Salmeron (26 October 2013). "Kill Your iPod: An Interview with Steven Wilson". Metalblast.net. Bremen, Germany (published 22 November 2013). Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2017.