00-porcupine_tree-fear_of_a_blank_planet-2007.nfo
Artist : Porcupine Tree
Album : Fear Of A Blank Planet
Label : Roadrunner Records
Genre : Progressive Rock
Bitrate : 185 kbps avg
Source : CD (LP)
Playtime : 00:50:49 (72.0MB)
Rls date : 2007-04-12
Store date : 2007-04-17
[Track List]
1. Fear Of A Blank Planet 7:28
2. My Ashes 5:07
3. Anesthetize 17:42
4. Sentimental 5:27
5. Way Out Of Here 7:37
6. Sleep Together 7:28
Porcupine Tree was born in 1987 as a psychedelic,
experimental, and progressive music outlet for the home
studio explorations of Steven Wilson. In fact, Wilson had
already been making music for several years, as a
musically precocious teenager who taught himself to play
guitar and keyboards, and whose early tape releases with
bands such as Altamont and Karma had already become known
in the London musical underground (these tapes, which
included early versions of later PT tracks like "Nine
Cats," "Small Fish," and "This Long Silence," would
eventually become highly-valued collectables, a
circumstance Wilson describes as "a bit like a painter
having his nursery school blots exhibited".
In 1987, Wilson started two projects that would take him
into the professional music world. The first was the
art-rock trio NO-MAN (www.no-man.co.uk), formed with
singer Tim Bowness and violinist Ben Coleman (NO-MAN still
exists today with a string of albums to their name). But
the second began life almost as a joke between two
friends: Steven and his friend Malcolm Stocks developed an
almost entirely fictional history of a legendary seventies
group, complete with non-existent band members and an
absurd discography - this was The Porcupine Tree. To back
up the story, Steven recorded several hours worth of music
supposedly by this imaginary band. This was all done as
pure self-indulgence, but by early 1989, Steven rated some
of the music highly enough to compile a cassette, entitled
"Tarquin's Seaweed Farm," and sent out copies to people
that he felt might be interested. One of them went to the
underground UK magazine Freakbeat, run by Richard Allen
and Ivor Trueman. Unknown to Steven at the time, they were
in the process of setting up their own record company.
Despite the fact that they gave the tape a rather lukewarm
review in the magazine, they invited Porcupine Tree to
contribute a track to their first release, a compilation
album of the best underground psychedelic groups.
This was ultimately to take another 18 months or so to
come to fruition, and in the meantime Steven began to
distribute Porcupine Tree's music in the form of
"Tarquin's Seaweed Farm" and it's follow up, "The
Nostalgia Factory," both complete with booklets containing
the imaginary history and other misleading information.
These tapes built up an underground interest in the name
which was added to by the eventual release of the newly
named Delerium record label's first compilation album, "A
Psychedelic Psauna," which featured the Porcupine Tree
track "Linton Samuel Dawson." Delerium also reissued the
first two Porcupine Tree tapes. Shortly afterwards, Steven
was invited by the new label to be one of the first
artists to sign to the Delerium label. The original
invitation was to reissue both the tapes as double albums,
but Steven decided instead to compile the best material
onto one double album which became "On the Sunday of
Life...", the third release on the new label (most of the
remainder of the music from the original eventually
emerged on another limited edition album entitled "Yellow
Hedgerow Dreamscape"). "On the Sunday of Life..." was
issued in early 1992 in a small run of 1000 copies in a
deluxe gatefold sleeve. Such was the interest from the
press and public that this small run sold out almost
immediately and was repressed along with a CD version.
Among other tracks the album contained a future Porcupine
Tree classic and frequent concert encore in "Radioactive
Toy." By 2000, "On the Sunday of Life..." had racked up
sales of over 20,000 copies.
While this was happening, Steven's other group NO-MAN had
signed a record deal with One Little Indian (home of Bjork
among others) and were beginning to release records to an
ecstatic press response. NO-MAN allowed Steven to become a
full-time professional musician, and enabled him to
dedicate even more time to his "side project." The first
Porcupine Tree album had been a self-indulgent and in some
ways nostalgic look back at Steven's favourite music from
the 60's and 70's, but he felt that in order to take the
project forward it was important to develop the sound into
new and more contemporary areas. The first fruits of these
new sessions was a 30 minute single that fused the ambient
trance of acts like The Orb and Future Sound of London,
with liquid rock guitar soloing, strung together with a
narrative taken from sixties LSD propaganda LPs. It was a
major underground hit, reaching the UK independent Top 20
and a perfect representation of how the dissolution of
boundaries between genres characterised the best music of
the nineties.
In fact "Voyage 34" was a track recorded for another
prospective Porcupine Tree double album "Up the
Downstair." However, when the album eventually emerged in
mid-1993 the decision not to include the single had
slimmed down the album to a single record. "Up the
Downstair" was greeted with rapture, Melody Maker
describing it as "a psychedelic masterpiece.... one of the
albums of the year." The album continued the fusion of
dance and rock and also featured guest appearances from
two future full-time Porcupine Tree members, Richard
Barbieri (ex-80?s art roclk band Japan) and Colin Edwin.
In November 1993, "Voyage 34" was reissued alongside an
additional 12 inch remix by Astralasia. With non-existent
radio play it still managed to enter the NME indie chart
for six weeks and became an underground chill-out classic.
The profile of Porcupine Tree had now grown to the extent
that the question of live performances could no longer be
ignored. Thus, in December 1993, Porcupine Tree became a
live unit featuring Steven, Colin Edwin (bass), Chris
Maitland (drums), and Richard Barbieri (keyboards). All
three new members of the group had worked with Steven on
various projects over the preceding years and all were
excellent musicians sympathetic to the sound and direction
of Porcupine Tree. The new line up had an immediate
chemistry as illustrated by the "Spiral Circus" album
(issued on vinyl in 1996) which contained recordings from
their first ever 3 performances, including a BBC Radio One
session for Mark Radcliffe, an early champion of the
group.
New music was already underway. The next album would not
emerge until early 1995, but was preceded by the classic
single "Stars Die / Moonloop," the last 2 tracks to be
recorded during the album sessions and the first to
feature the new band. The subsequent album, "The Sky Moves
Sideways," was as expansive soundscape of melody and
ambient rock experimentation, but would prove to be a
transitional work with half recorded before the formation
of the band and half recorded after. Most of the album was
taken up with the 35 minute title track, which at one
point Steven intended to be long enough to occupy the
whole album (an alternate version of the track, containing
some of the excised music, was included on the 2004
remastered version of the album). It also entered the NME,
Melody Maker, and Music Week charts. Together with the
"Moonloop" EP, this album became the first Porcupine Tree
music to be issued in America in the autumn of 1995, and
attracted favourable press on both sides of the Atlantic.
The band supported the album with numerous gigs throughout
the year at major venues in the UK, The Netherlands,
Italy, and Greece.
Partly unsatisfied with the half band/half solo nature of
"The Sky Moves Sideways," Porcupine Tree promptly got down
to the task of recording the first proper band record and
worked sporadically over the next year on developing a
tighter and more ambitious rock sound.
May 1996 saw the release of the first fruits of these
sessions, the single "Waiting," which entered all UK indie
charts and the UK National chart attracting airplay all
over Europe. It was followed by "Signify," the first album
to fully reflect the powerful live sound of the band,
blending together numerous rock and avant-garde styles,
while absorbing many diverse influences but relying on
none. A large amount of major European media interest
accompanied the album's release, as Porcupine Tree has now
become a highly respected force in the musical
underground. "Signify" is regarded by the band (and many
fans) as one of their finest works. The band went on to
complete a highly successful European tour.
Porcupine Tree continued to increase in popularity abroad
during 1997 and in March played to an audience of over
5,000 in Rome over three nights - all of which were
recorded for the 1997 live album "Coma Divine.? This album
was released as a goodbye to Delerium Records, which felt
it could no longer offer the kind of resources the band
needed in order to continue to build its profile
worldwide. In late 1997, the band's first three albums
were remastered and reissued. "Signify" also saw a release
in the US on Miles Copeland's ARK 21 label.
Steven, Richard, Colin, and Chris spent all of 1998
recording their fifth studio album, a release that
reflected the band's move towards a more song orientated
sound. At the time of recording, the band had no record
deal, but later that year they signed to the
Snapper/K-Scope label and in March of 1999, the album
"Stupid Dream" was issued, supported by a lengthy tour of
the UK, Italy, Greece, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland,
Germany, France, Poland, and the USA. The three singles
taken from the album - "Piano Lessons," "Stranger By the
Minute," and "Pure Narcotic" - all achieved mainstream
exposure in the US and in Europe and appeared well placed
in the UK independent charts and on radio station
playlists. Although initially the album was such a
departure that some older fans were unsure, it brought the
band many new fans and went on to become the band's best
selling and most acclaimed release to date.
The time spent looking for a record deal had not been
wasted and only a few months after the release of "Stupid
Dream," the band were ready to begin work on a follow up,
recorded during the transition into the new millennium and
completed in February 2000. With string arrangements
provided by Dave Gregory of XTC, "Lightbulb Sun" built on
the mix of songwriting, soundscaping, and rock dynamics of
"Stupid Dream," but developed it into something altogether
more intense and organic, a band confidently in control of
their sound. The album was released in May, 2000, preceded
by the single "Four Chords That Made a Million." A sold
out show at the Scala in London began a short run of UK
shows, to be followed later in the year by European
festival dates and a major tour supporting Dream Theater.
The band continued to tour through the end of 2000 and the
start of 2001, including their first major tour of
Germany. A special double CD edition of the Lightbulb Sun
album was issued in Israel and Germany, and in May,
"Recordings," a limited edition collection of EP tracks
and out-takes from the previous two albums, was released
as the band's final release under their Snapper/KScope
contract. In June 2001 the band played a short US tour,
culminating in a sold out show at the Bottom Line in New
York City. Shortly afterwards Porcupine Tree announced
that they had signed a new international record deal with
Lava/Atlantic Records.
In February 2002 Porcupine Tree's first ever line-up
change occurred when drummer Chris Maitland departed after
eight years with the band. The band welcomed extraordinary
drummer and long term acquaintance Gavin Harrison to the
line-up.
In March, as a major retrospective box set of the band's
early work, "Stars Die - the Delerium Years 1991-97" was
released, the band commenced recording their first major
label album, drawing from a pool of 30 new songs written
by Steven in the previous two years. Sessions took place
in New York and London, with veteran engineer Paul
Northfield (Rush, Ozzy Osbourne, Hole) and string arranger
Dave Gregory also playing major roles in the making of the
record. Mixing of the new album was completed in LA in May
with Tim Palmer.
The eagerly awaited new album, "In Absentia," was released
by Lava Records in September 2002 (European release Jan
2003). It was the band's most accomplished and complete
work to date, featuring a much heavier sound on some
tracks, but also some of the band's most beautiful and
fragile works. The album received great praise worldwide
and went on to become the band's best selling album
shifting over 100,000 copies in it's first year of
release, and charting in several European countries. The
band also released a 5.1 surround sound version of the
album, mixed by legendary Grammy award winning producer
Elliot Scheiner, which went on to win the award for best
5.1 mix at the 2004 Surround Sound Music awards in LA. To
promote the album the band undertook four tours of Europe
and North America, including one with acclaimed Swedish
metal band Opeth. On tour the new line up of the band was
further augmented by additional touring vocalist/guitarist
John Wesley.
During these tours the visual element of the band's
performance was taken to new heights with the involvement
of filmmaker and photographer Lasse Hoile, who created a
dark and surreal visual counterpoint to the PT's music.
The long promotional campaign for In Absentia ended on
November 30th as the band played a homecoming show to a
sold out London Astoria.
During 2003, Porcupine Tree also set up their own label
and on-line store. The first release on the Transmission
label was a studio session recorded for XM Radio,
Washington, followed in 2004 by a recording from Polish
radio in 2001. The band plan to use the label to issue a
series of well recorded and packaged live and exclusive
studio recordings.
2003 also saw the start of a lengthy reissue / remaster
campaign, with many of the early albums expanded to double
CDs. These reissues included a rerecorded / remixed
version of the "Up the Downstair" album, and the reissue
of "Stupid Dream" and "Lightbulb Sun" on Lava/Atlantic.
In early 2004 the band embarked on the recording sessions
for an ambitious new Porcupine Tree album, "Deadwing",
their second for Lava/Atlantic. The album takes it's
inspiration from a film script (and hopefully later a
film) written by Steven with his filmmaker friend Mike
Bennion. With the album sessions completed in November
2004, and the band's total worldwide sales now approaching
half a million units, demand for new music from the band
was at an all time high, and increasing media coverage,
word of mouth and fan-power continued to create interest
in Porcupine Tree on a massive scale throughout the world.
"Deadwing" is scheduled for release in Europe and the US
during the spring of 2005 as both a stereo and 5.1
surround sound album, preceded by the release of 2
singles, "Shallow" in the US, and "Lazarus" in Europe. The
tour to promote the album commences in the UK at the end
of March, and will continue throughout the year.
There is a special microsite decicated to the new album
here (www.deadwing.com).
+------------ -- -
Fear of a Blank Planet is an upcoming studio album by
British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It is their
ninth studio album. All of the tracks (except "Way Out Of
Here") were debuted live during Porcupine Tree's
promotional tour for the Arriving Somewhere DVD from
September to November 2006. The album will be released on
the 16th April 2007 in the UK and Europe, and the 24th
April in the USA. The album tracks flow into each other,
forming one 50-minute piece. On the 12th January 2007 page
of his journal, Robert Fripp mentions that one of the
songs recorded is called "Nil Recurring", which is not
included on the album but will likely be released as a
bonus track in a special edition, as Porcupine Tree
outtakes generally are.
On February 21st, a preview was posted on the band's
MySpace page, which contains samples of each track. The
title track of the album was released on March 6th in the
US iTunes Store as a bonus track with the album Blackfield
II.
Also, a dedicated mini-site is being developed. Currently,
it contains a stream of the album preview and various
downloads including wallpapers, banners and icons.
Since 31st March, all the tracks have been available on
the internet but only as radio rips.
Though receiving no public mention, the album's title
bears a striking similarity to the Public Enemy album,
Fear of a Black Planet and the Third Eye Foundation single
Fear of a Whack Planet.
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