To point out the superhuman scale Steven Wilson operates on is like pondering whether Donald Trump’s hair is for real. Wilson, whose name you may not know, nevertheless recorded a new album in the time it took me to type this sentence. Actually, that’s impossible; not because he couldn’t do it (I certainly wouldn’t put it past him) but because he is probably in the studio producing another of the myriad bands he is associated with. Steven Wilson, in short, has been one of the better kept secrets in the industry for some time, and with any luck (for him, for us) that is about to change.
He has recently issued his first solo album, and reviews have generally been positive. Many fans are probably pinching themselves at the prospect of another great product so soon after Porcupine Tree, the band Wilson fronts, dropped the acclaimed album Fear of a Blank Planet (2007). The new album is quite appropriately entitled Insurgentes. Wilson very refreshingly marches to his own beat, and his audiophile obsessions are likely to antagonize some of the folks who might otherwise become ardent fans. Their loss. Part of his promotional efforts for the new album included his systematic destruction of several iPods, an attempt to illustrate his contempt for the woeful sound quality of MP3s, and how the current generation has already grown accustomed to dodgy fidelity. He is not a fanatic, however. As with virtually every topic he addresses, he acquits himself as a reasonable, erudite, sensitive individual:
Technology isn’t the enemy of the album. If anything, the opposite is true. Widespread broadband, cheaper hard drives and better compression formats allow listeners to access files that sound as good as CDs. The top two online stores—iTunes and Amazon—have found success selling high-quality files, proving that sound quality matters.
That is quoted from a recent editorial Wilson penned, here.
For an outstanding introduction to Wilson’s voracious appetite for construction, check out Stephen Humphries’ superlative feature from today’s PopMatters, here.
Some highlights include Wilson’s thoughts on the topics currently occupying his mind.
On iPods:
I’m not trying to say that the iPod is inherently bad. There are some great things about iPods and download culture. The fact that people are arguably listening to more music than ever now, and probably more wide ranging in terms of what they’re listening to than before. And the convenience aspect is wonderful.
On his much-discussed work ethic:
It really doesn’t seem like work to me. I think, in a sense, it’s such an honor and a privilege to be able to do this and make a kind of a living from it. To be able to say, “this is my job”, seems like a dream. So, because it doesn’t seem like work to me, the idea of “time off”, doesn’t really come into it. I love so many different kinds of music that it’s always been important to me to be able to explore those different kinds of music if I wanted to. Some days I wake up and want to make drone music. Some days I wake up and want to make pop music. Some days I wake up and want to make progressive music or heavy metal. Maybe that’s the reason I’ve had to be so prolific. Because, unlike many musicians who are quite content to mine one particular seam in style terms, I’ve never been happy to do that. I’ve had to be prolific to express the different sides of my character.
On how he engages with the world and vice versa:
Noise is not something relates to. Pure noise is something that some people don’t even think of as music. I’ve always loved pure sound. I never made a distinction, really, between music and sound. Let me explain what I mean by that. I grew up near to a train station and the sound of the trains became a very important part of my world. It was a very musical sound to me. And when I hear that kind of a sound, the sound of a train, it sets off all kinds of feelings in me. Nostalgic feelings. Is that not what music does?
On the possibility that the next Porcupine Tree album might be one long continuous tune:
It’s kind of a brave or a stupid thing to do. But, you know what? I think the climate is better now than ever to make those kind of gestures because singles, radio, video are more and more irrelevant as every month goes by. If bands are going to make ridiculous/ambitious/pretentious pomp—whatever you want to call it—we’re in an era when you can do that now again. It’s not just about radio and creating these pop songs anymore. That, in a way, is a return to the ’70s and I’m very happy about that.
Insurgent, indeed. The music scene desperately needs Steven Wilson right now, and fortunately for everyone, he seems more than equal to the task. Aside from a few more iPods that may need dealing with, it’s difficult to imagine many outside distractions interfering with his mission. There’s nothing more to be said, except: Rock on.
