Steven Wilson enjoys an enviable set of circumstances.

He has total artistic freedom; a circle of elite

musician and multimedia artist collaborators; a devoted, global fan base; and sophisticated, forward-
thinking management. Its an ecosystem cultivated over the course of a remarkably far-ranging and
prolific career that began in 1982 at age 14 and has since spanned dozens of albums.
The British singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist is best known as the founder and leader of
the progressive rock outfit Porcupine Tree, as well as for his work with No-Man, his long-standing
art-pop partnership with Tim Bowness. The cinematic rock of Storm Corrosion with Mikael kerfeldt
and the melancholic pop of Blackfield with Aviv Geffen are two other duos that have cemented and
cross-pollinated his appeal across multiple universes. For those interested in diving deeper, a 500-
page discography is available, chronicling a dizzying array of output across myriad genres and
collaborators.
Wilsons artistic triumphs have been many, but his new solo album The Raven that Refused to Sing
(And Other Stories) is his most ambitious and expansive to date. Its an unabashed audio love letter
to fans of the best of 70s progressive rock. It captures the organic energy and borderless, long-form
approach of the era and pairs it with Wilsons omnivorous musical psyche. Its an album of ever-
shifting moods and melodies, dramatic changes, breathtaking solos, and exhilarating rhythms.
Most importantly, The Raven is dominated by outstanding songwriting. Its a collection of ghost
stories that evoke writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens. The albums six tracks
explore concepts including the spiritual aftermath of murder, the reemergence of voices of the
departed, and the angst, regret and obsessions related to coming to terms with lives taken too soon.
The albums packaging features dark, evocative imagery by illustrator Hajo Mueller that adds a
surreal dimension to Wilsons words and music.
The Raven, Wilsons third album under his own name, is the first to feature his solo band lineup, first
established during 2012s tour in support of his last disc, Grace for Drowning. The group includes
bassist Nick Beggs, guitarist Guthrie Govan, keyboardist Adam Holzman, drummer Marco
Minnemann, and reedsman Theo Travis. Theyre all adventurous virtuosos that lead their own bands
and who possess incredibly diverse musical resumes. Wilson recorded the album with the entire
group in a single room, performing together in real time at EastWest Studios in Los Angeles.
The facility is the stuff of legends. During its 50-year-history, it has been home to classic recording
sessions by The Beach Boys, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Elvis Presley, and
Frank Sinatra, just to name a handful. To make the most of the environment, Wilson enlisted Alan
Parsons to engineer the sessions. Parsons now mostly works as a producer, singer-songwriter and
bandleader, but at Wilsons behest, agreed to bring his revered touch to the proceedings. Wilson
was convinced Parsons, the man behind the boards for The Beatles Abbey Road and Pink
Floyds Dark Side of the Moon, was the right choice to record The Ravens epic suites with
maximum warmth and definition.
In addition to his focus on the new album and its accompanying world tour, Wilson continues to
serve as an in-demand surround sound remixer. Recent years have seen him rework the majority of
the King Crimson back catalog, as well as landmark albums by Caravan; Emerson, Lake and
Palmer; Jethro Tull; and XTC. To say Wilson walks on hallowed ground when working on these
projects is an understatement. Its a testament to his sensitivity, comprehensive knowledge of their
catalogs, and his own musical achievements that the artists are willing to entrust their recorded
legacy to him.
Innerviews met with Wilson, clad in his signature black t-shirt, black pants and sneakers, in the
flamboyantly-decorated EastWest Studios lounge. Sitting on an oversized grey couch, surrounded
by wallpaper of Pre-Raphaelite women in various states of undress, we began our conversation by
exploring the very personal perspectives The Ravens ghost stories reflect.
During our last interview, we discused the fact that youre an atheist. Given that, what
appealed to you about exploring ghost stories and the supernatural on the new album?
For me, ghost stories are like metaphors. Theyre symbols of regret and signify a human soul
unprepared to depart because something is unfulfilled in the real world during ones lifetime. The
idea of regret has always been a very potent emotion or human impulse. Getting to the end of your
life without being with the one you were supposed to be with; without doing the job you were
supposed to do; or without being somehow fulfilled creatively or emotionally is a terribly sad thing to
consider. That especially holds true if youre an atheist, as I am, and you believe you only have one
shot to make some sort of sense of life. There are all sorts of incredible pathos connected with the
idea of regret.
The big thing about ghosts is how they relate to our obsession as human beings with our impending
demise. We are, to our knowledge, the only species on Earth that knows it has a limited period of
time. Our mortality is such a burden to carry around, especially if you arent happy or fulfilled. Ghost
stories are a representation of the Grim Reaper and of the day we will cease to exist. Theyre about
how mortality feels and how we come to terms with it.
The great ghost stories that inspired me and this record came mainly from the early 19th Century.
For some reason, it was a great period for classical ghost stories. If you look at them, theyre about
people first and the supernatural second. They tend to be stories about people in relationships or
personal situations and the supernatural element is almost secondary. Today, its completely the
other way around with the sort of Hollywood horror stories out there. The supernatural story comes
first, often with a bunch of blank teenage kids that became pawns within it. Classical ghost stories
possess a very human, emotional heart, with the supernatural element serving as a dramatic device
which amplifies the personal story. The same is true of the stories on this record.

The Watchmaker and The Pin Drop are akin to modern-day murder ballads. Was that
your intent?
Both of those songs feature quite violent murders. The Watchmaker is about an elderly couple that
have been in a kind of state of paralysis for their whole lives and relationship. It was a relationship of
convenience. One day, the watchmaker gets towards the end of his life and just snaps and murders
his wife. He then buries her under the floorboards and carries on doing his job, which is about
incredibly precise technical work. Then the ghost of the wife comes back. Its along the lines of
Edgar Allan PoesThe Tell-Tale Heart. The idea of the partner buried under the floorboards
continuing to haunt, persecute and nag is related to that. I suppose that does go back to the tradition
of the murder ballad in that its about a crime of passion and impulses that could not be suppressed
or buried forever.
Some people say EastWest Studios has the ghosts of people and projects past
influencing it. Did you have a sense of its history affecting the making of the new record?
Possibly, yeah. Thats a very romantic way of looking at it, but the record was written long before I
got here. I think the most important thing about the record is that the band was playing together in a
room, cutting the tracks live. You could say we walked among ghosts in this studio, but in a more
general sense, theres a spirituality that comes from having a group of musicians interacting in the
same space, which Ive never had before. Ive never done a record this way. You can talk about
ghosts and a spirit, but its really about a tangible electricity in the air that emerges from doing it this
way. We cut the record in seven days. We recorded seven tracks, one of which didnt make the
record. Each day, we would come in, run through the song a few times, start recording, and after five
or six takes, wed pick our favorite, and do a few overdubs. The next day, wed come in and do it
again for the next track. It was a revelation to make a record this way. Ive never done that. Im
meticulous and typically spend months doing this. But to have musicians of this caliber and be able
to work in this way was very exciting and a bit scary. It did mean letting go of things in a sense and
giving up a bit of control.
The Raven features the most complex music youve ever written. What inspired you to
expand your compositional palette?
The writing is at the highest level of complexity and difficulty I have ever attempted, but I still think
the music by complex music standards is still quite simple and accessible. But yes, I pushed myself
to write things that were more difficult to execute because I knew I had musicians that could do it. I
wrote things that I myself couldnt play, which Ive never done before. Ive always written within my
own abilities. Previously, if I couldnt play the guitar or keyboard part, I wouldnt write it. For this
record, I wrote music that I knew I needed these guys to play. It was a very positive challenge to
push myself to create music that is on a higher level.
How do you go about communicating such elaborate structures to the band?
I make demos that are at a very high level in terms of completeness of arrangement. As I said, I
couldnt play the parts, but what I could do with Logic was play things at half-speed to create very
specific demos that communicated what I wanted the band to do. Every day, when we walked into
the studio, everyone knew the arrangements and parts that were mapped out, in terms of who was
supposed to do what and where. Having said that, the whole point of having a group of musicians
like this is to not tie them to a particular approach or way of performing. So, things were kind of
loose. They had a lot of input, particularly into the solos. In fact, all the solos are their solos. In
general, Im telling them what to play, but theres a lot of improvisation too.
The Holy Drinker is full of wild changes. Give me some insight into the creative
process that drove it.
The interesting thing about that song is there are parts in which the band is speeding up. I mean that
in a positive way. Its something I specifically wanted. I think a lot of modern recording suffers from
people cutting songs to a click track which keeps the time absolutely rock solid all the way through.
Thats really boring. Go back and listen to Bill Bruford on an old King Crimson or Yes record. Hes
speeding up and slowing down the whole time. Its exciting. Listen to Billy Cobham on a Mahavishnu
Orchestra album. Its like a juggernaut heading towards a cliff edge. It has a feeling of momentum
and rushing towards something.
For The Holy Drinker, although I mapped it out, I wanted it to have a sense of momentum in terms
of speeding up and slowing down too. The order of the sections and the arrangement were the most
difficult things for me. I can go into a studio and write a bunch of bits, but the trick is organizing them.
The interesting thing about progressive rock is that you dont necessarily have an idea of the shape
of the song when you start writing it, because the music can go anywhere. It can be any length and
any structure. In a way thats fantastic, but its also a lot of hard work. When my buddy Aviv Geffen
from Blackfield writes a song, it always goes verse, chorus, verse, chorus, middle eight, chorus,
fade. Im not saying thats a bad thing. Its interesting to work in a discipline like that, but the one
thing he doesnt have to think about when he writes a song is the structure. Instead, he concentrates
on the melody and the hook. When you write a piece of art rock or progressive rock, or whatever you
want to call it, everything is up for grabs. You want to create the feeling of a musical journey that is
satisfying and logical. Its similar to a movie script in that youre trying to find the right order of the
scenes so the narrative will unfold and peak at the right time.

Intriguingly, Adam Holzman wrote out some parts from your demos prior to the sessions.
Yes, he did that for things like the piano part in The Raven. I played all of that on a MIDI keyboard.
Hes a guy that reads and writes music, so he wrote it all out. It made me feel like my music is proper
music. [laughs] When you see your music written down by a musician that reads and writes, it
makes it more legitimate somehow. Theres something about seeing your music on a sheet of paper
with dots. I dont read and write music, but when someone else transcribes my stuff, it almost makes
me feel like a proper composer.
How has the bands chemistry evolved since last years Grace for Drowning tour?
We started touring last October and it has been amazing. The band is a real band. It seems like an
obvious thing to say, but it wasnt necessarily that way to start with. Basically, I brought together a
group of musicians who had never played together before, and not only that, but they came from two
very different traditions. I began with Adam Holzman and Theo Travis, who are basically jazz
musicians, and Nick Beggs and the original guitarist Aziz Ibrahim, who were rock musicians. Marco
Minnemann is somewhere in between. There was no guarantee the musicians would coalesce into
something satisfactory. It wasnt until I literally stood on stage at the first show, even though we
rehearsed for a week and worked very hard to put it together, that I thought it would work. There has
to be a certain amount of serendipity and luck involved. These seemingly disparate individuals came
together to play my music in a way that almost immediately transcended the studio versions. The
songs felt like living, breathing things. I was so excited and inspired by how the band sounded live. It
sounded like everything I always wanted to do with music, in a way. From that point, I decided
Okay, Im going to write an album for these guys to play. A year later, were sitting here where we
made that record.
Describe your bandleading philosophy.
In this group, I can be more of a musical director. I flatter myself by making a comparison with Frank
Zappa, but he is the role model here. Zappa always had musicians in his band that were better than
him, but he was the guy with the ideas. I dont mean to put great musicians down, but one of the
things that saddens me about fantastic musicians is that sometimes, when theyre left up to their
own devices, they end up making jazz-fusion that no-one wants to listen to except other musicians.
Im generalizing, but its largely true that great musicians left up to their own devices dont seem to
do anything very interesting. I feel arrogant enough, if you like, that I feel I have something I can
bring to the table. I wrote these songs. I couldnt play them in a particularly inspired way, but I felt if I
gave these great musicians strong material that we would have something very special. I have a role
in that and they do too. Zappa surrounded himself with guys who wouldnt necessarily make
particularly interesting music on their own, but were absolutely fantastic when they were given strong
raw material to work with. In a way, thats what I always wanted to be. I never wanted to be a
guitarist or a singer. I wanted to be someone that wrote and produced records. It has come full
circle. Im back to almost removing myself from the performing side, thought not completely. I still
play guitar and keyboards, and Im obviously the lead singer, but Ive removed myself from a lot of
the responsibility of performing the music like I do with Porcupine Tree.
Is it at all intimidating to know that one of Holzmans previous bandleaders was Miles
Davis?
I try not to dwell on those things, because theyd blow your mind. [laughs] Its not intimidating
though, because Adam doesnt make me feel intimidated. I see Adam as someone who has a
genuine passion and excitement for playing this music. I dont get any attitude from him or any of the
guys. Theyre all extraordinary musicians. But you know, Ive had this situation so many times in the
last few years, being in the studio with Robert Fripp working on the remixes of King Crimsons In the
Court of the Crimson Kingand collaborating with Ian Anderson on Jethro Tulls Aqualung. There
have been moments when I could have just said What the fuck am I doing? This is absurd. Im
working on a record I grew up listening to! Those moments have happened a lot in the last few
years and its incredible. Im not saying Ive become blas about them, because I think its incredibly
exciting and never becomes boring. But at the same time, Ive come to accept that those things are
happening to me now.
Why do you think those things are happening to you?
Because no-one else is doing what Im doing. Im not saying what I do is particularly good or bad.
People can make up their own minds about that. But if I objectively step out of the situation and say
Who else is doing what Im doing? there really isnt anyone else. In a way, I wish there was. What I
mean by that is someone who is bridging and engaging the original generation of progressive music
while still making records himself. There are still guys working on the old stuff and there are a lot of
new bands, but there arent a lot of people bridging the two. I think thats been a reason why Ive had
the opportunity to do what I do. The guys from the older generation come to me because it seems
like Im the only one doing it. Actually, thats not entirely true in that Jakko Jakszyk is also now doing
a lot more surround stuff. But Im very lucky to be a big fish in a small pond.

How did Alan Parsons presence inform the sessions?
Alan was hired to be the engineer. The thought process was that I wanted to make a record that had
a quality associated with a lot of the records I was remixing. I began to understand more about what
I love about those records when I experienced the electricity you get from a group of musicians
playing together in a room. Beyond that, theres a tonal qualityalmost a golden warmththat
people talk about when they discuss classic albums from the 70s. A lot of that has to do with the
expertise of the people recording the albums back then, which I think is largely a lost art. I think there
are still some guys working that were making records back in those days. I looked at some
engineers and some werent available. Some had retired.
In the back of my mind, the one I really wanted was Alan, but it never occurred to me that we could
really get him. I thought Theres no point trying, because hes not an engineer anymore. Hes a
performer and producer now. We got to a point where I said Why dont we try? You never know.
Luckily, he knew who I was and was already familiar with some of my surround work. He wanted to
do it and he was wonderful. The one concern we had was Is someone now known as a producer
going to be able to go back to just being an engineer? And he did. He was fabulous. He deferred to
me because Im a control freak. Im not good at giving away. He had excellent ideas and was quite
prepared to have me poo-poo them if I didnt like them. There were no ego issues. I totally trusted
him. We were there for a week with the musicians and I had to make sure everything was going
correctly in the live room. I was supervising as a musical director in that respect. I just left it to Alan
to record everything. If I heard anything I didnt like when I came back to the control room, I would
say so. To be honest, I hardly had to. It sounded good. It had the quality I wanted. I didnt want the
record to sound pointlessly nostalgic, but I wanted to have more of the vintage tones I associated
with the early 70s and Alan was getting them. He made the record sound great. It was exactly what I
needed out of the experience.
Gentle Giants Derek Shulman attended the New York playback session for the album
and jokingly said Wheres the single? Wheres the radio hit? Do you feel youve
completely transcended the notion of commercial pressure in your career?
They dont call it a single anymore, rather its a focus track. You can still generate a whole career
based on one song as Lana Del Rey proves. But Ive been doing this for 20 years and Ive never had
a breakthrough song. Ive never had a song become a key track. I can look back at some of the
Porcupine Tree songs and say They should have been radio hits. Im talking about things like
Lazarus, Trains and Shallow. If they had been done by another group, they might have been
hits, but I dont lose sleep over that anymore. It has been about gradually building and building
through continuing to make hopefully quality albums. I gave up even thinking about singles. I dont
even know what a single is anyway. I guess subconsciously I understand that a single is something
short with a verse and a catchy chorus that can get played on the radio and that your mum can sing.
Those arent the kinds of records I listen to. It sounds like a pompous thing to say Ive transcended
that, but rather Ive kind of moved sideways in that it doesnt even for a second concern me when Im
doing a record. After weve finished a record, Im quite happy to sit down with a record label and say
What can we do to promote this record? Is there a song we should do a video for? Is there a song
we should service to radio? But that wont enter the creative period.
Do you feel anything is possible for you going forward?
Pretty much. Ive felt that for awhile now. I dont have a particular master plan or career plan. I never
really have. Whats important is that everything I do be interesting to me. I think a lot of musicians
say that, but dont actually do it, and I really do. It would have been so easy for me to have done
another Porcupine Tree album after The Incident. We were told that the next record was going to be
the big one and that the next tour would gross $5 million. We had just sold out Radio City Music
Hall. But I was bored. I didnt want to do it. I wanted to do something different. I went back to playing
smaller clubs, performing with a new band and losing money every show. But it was so fulfilling
creatively. It all comes back to what we were discussing at the beginningthe idea of not wanting to
regret that you didnt do what you should have done when you could.
During your solo tours, youre a completely different performer onstage than you were
with Porcupine Tree. Youre animated, smiling and clearly having a lot more fun. What
accounts for the difference?
One of the reasons is that Im not so tied into the instrumental performance side anymore. I can be
free for the first time ever. I can be a real frontman. I think Ive always been limited in being someone
who can be a frontman in Porcupine Tree because I had to tap dance on my guitar pedals and play
lead guitar and all that stuff. The other thing is the band is so fucking good and I know it. To have a
band like that behind you makes you feel so confident. I feel like Im top of the world. Im not saying
Porcupine Tree isnt a great band too. It is. But when Im standing in front of the guys in my band, I
know I have the best fucking group on the planet right now. That gives me a feeling of invincibility
and I think that comes across. Also, I think with every tour Ive done, Ive felt a little more confident
about myself onstage. I never wanted to be a frontman, particularly. It was very uncomfortable to
start with, but Ive learned to enjoy it more and more with every tour. Another element is my own
tours have been more of a show. Im not saying what I do onstage is choreographed, but I feel more
like an actor. Take Index for example. Were behind a screen during it and its almost like a set
piece. Im kind of a part of that visual experience.
In general, theres a sense of newness. One thing I think fans sometimes have difficulty
understanding is that one of the exciting things about being a musician is you have the opportunity to
work in many different configurations with many different musicians from many different
backgrounds and countries. I realize its unusual to do that. Many rock musicians have a career
consisting of being with the same group for a whole career. If you look at the jazz world, thats not
the case. In jazz, youll play with many different configurations over time. Youll be constantly
changing the people you work with. It wont be a monogamous musical situation. In the rock world,
people expect you to be monogamous and be dedicated to the same band. Thats actually not a very
healthy musical approachat least to me. Ive got to the point where Im at least halfway through my
musical career. I dont want to be doing album after album, tour after tour with the same people. The
gift of being a professional musician has more to offer than that.

Youve pretty much defined the special edition physical package concept for the
progressive rock genre, to the point where its practically expected that every major
album will have a deluxe edition with additional bonus content on it. Is it a healthy thing
to be conscious of demos and outtakesthings that would have been tossed aside in
previous erasas marketable fodder during the creative process?
I think these days the demos, which would never have been heard in the past, have now become
part of the release strategy. You release the demos, the instrumentals and the masters all at once. I
think you can look at the world of cinema as the precedent for that. You have DVDs come out with
the behind-the-scenes documentary, the directors commentary, the outtakes, and the deleted
scenes. Those guys have been doing that for 15 years.
If you took the majority of those directors aside, they would tell you I wish we didnt
have to do any of that and could just release the film on its own.
I guess I feel that way a little bit too. Theres something very appealing and romantic about simply
releasing the musical statement and not having to flesh it out with a lot peripheral extra tracks. But
the world that we live in demands context and background, as well as extra value added to the
package. I dont hate it. Im quite proud of some of my demos in their own right. In a way, the
difference is now those things become available the same day the album becomes available,
whereas with these special editions of classic albums, those demos come out 40 years after the
album originally came out. I think King Crimson was one of the first bands to create a deluxe
anthology box set. The 1991 Frame by Frame and 1992 Great Deceiver box sets are really the
precedents. Robert Fripp and Declan Colgan at Panegyric have always been into creating these
archival collections. I rise to the challenge of making interesting special edition packages. Also, the
Blu-ray disc is interactive. So, you can be listening to the album and then flip over to a demo version,
an instrumental, watch a video, read the lyrics, or see pictures of the band cutting the track in the
studio.
What does it take beyond money to get you interested in a remix project?
Ive got to love the album and people involved. Its as simple as that. I get invited to do a lot of stuff,
believe me. I did two Emerson, Lake and Palmer albums, but Ive chosen not to do any more of their
records because I cant honestly say I love them. I didnt feel as connected to them as the King
Crimson or Jethro Tull albums. So, Jakko Jakszyk will be doing the next two for ELP and hell do a
great job. Going forward, Im only going to do things I genuinely really, really love. The main thing
about doing them for me is what I learn from the process. I really have learned a lot from working on
these records. I absolutely love the King Crimson, Jethro Tull and XTC records Im doing now. I grew
up with them. I know those records better than the bands do. Thats an obvious thing to say because
those guys havent listened to most of those records since they made them. No-one listens to their
own records.
What are the general philosophies you bring to the table when you take on a remix
project?
Im trying to remove myself from the process by making the mix as faithful as possible to the original
stereo mixassuming the original stereo mix was a good mix. Im trying to make it sound clearer,
with more sonic definition. Those things tend to happen by default anyway, just by having the
masters and not having to go through the analog stages. The bottom line is when you mix albums
through analog boards onto analog desks, there are lots of compromises. Lots of details are lost in
the sound picture. What Im doing is going back to the master tapes without going through any of
those analog processes. Thats why the King Crimson Larks' Tongues in Aspic remix sounds so
much more vibrant, exciting and dynamic, while remaining quite faithful to the original. If you analyze
the stereo picture, the new stereo mix is very close. The EQ, balance of instruments and effects are
very close, but somehow it sounds more upfront, powerful and detailed. The surround mix is where I
get to put more of my stamp on things. I have a way of doing surround which is very much intuitive. I
just think about how I would want to hear things and people seem to like it.
What are the bigger challenges you face when working on an album remix?
Not letting down people that know the records intimately. The bottom line is that there are always
going to be people who are disappointed. There will always be someone who will hear the remix as
alien because it doesnt sound the same. The challenge is to somehow capture the essence of what
people loved about the original mixes and not make the album sound modern for the sake of it. My
goal is to provide a different perspective on things, and I realize all of this sounds very contradictory.
Therein lies the rub. Somehow, I have to marry these completely contradictory things when were
recreating the mix to make it sound better, yet not change it. Im trying to strike a balance between
all of these things.
If you could remix any albums by any artists, no matter how improbable they might
seem, what would they be?
Electric Light Orchestras Out of the Blue, which is the first album I ever fell in love with as a kid. Its
still one of the greatest pop records of all time. There are the really obvious things like The Beatles
catalog. Apparently, those remixes have been done, but they havent come out because no-one can
agree on them. Id love to approach the Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd catalogs. Talk Talks Spirit of
Eden andLaughing Stock would be fantastic. We were close to doing them until Mark Hollis decided
he didnt like the idea of them being remixed. Those records would lend themselves to surround so
well. Also, there are more obscure things like Arvo Prts Tabula Rasa and Steve Reichs Music for
18 Musicians. Imagine how amazing Reich would be in surround with all of those polyrhythms. I
dont know how much of a market there would be for those things, but theyre of interest from a
personal point of view.

What reissue projects do you have on the go for 2013?
Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape, some of the earliest Porcupine Tree recordings, is being reissued on
my own mail order label this year. I dont know when, but possibly towards the end of the year.
Porcupine Trees In Absentia turned 10 years old last year. Its 11 years old this year. Well reissue
that as a special edition with a Blu-ray disc featuring the video material we have. There were a lot of
other tracks recorded during those sessions that didnt make the album, like Meantime, Drown
with Me, Chloroform, Futile, and Orchidia. Were going to bring all of those together, perhaps
along with some instrumental versions and demo versions. Itll be an all-singing, all-
dancing experience. [laughs]
Last year, you stepped away from Blackfield as a full participant, preferring to let Aviv
Geffen lead the project. Whats your involvement in the groups forthcoming album?
Ive ended up singing a couple of songs on the album, which is a lot less than before. Avivs got a
bunch of great singers to contribute to the record, some of whom are quite well known. Ive played
some guitar and mixed it. Ive also done a surround mix for Blackfield for the first time. Aviv never
liked surround before, but he relented this time for some reason. The last thing I would ever want is
for a Blackfield album to come out that didnt continue in the quality and tradition of the previous
albums. I think this upcoming one does.
Do you feel the fan base will accept Blackfield as a touring entity without your
involvement?
I dont know. I hate to give Aviv this problem and let him down. He wants Blackfield to be the kind of
band that makes a record every couple of years and goes out and tours hard. I felt guilty for so long
that we werent able to do that. I think he needs to find someone who can commit more to it,
because hes got a lot of ambitions for the group. The new songs are great. I think a lot depends on
who Aviv finds to fill my role onstage as a singer and guitar player.
How do you look back at your days in Karma, the progressive rock band you started
when you were a teenager?
Karma was what you would now call a neo-progressive rock band. When I was a 14-year-old kid, I
discovered Marillion. They were local lads. I could go see them play in local venues and loved it. A
few of us 14-year-olds started this band which sounded a bit like the bands we liked from our big
brothers record collections. It was a step in the learning process. I think today, the music I make is
related to an earlier era of progressive music, especially when you look at the importance of jazz in
the equation. Jazz is something very specific to the first generation of progressive rock. It almost
completely disappeared in the generation that came after. Marillion, who I love, and bands that came
after it, completely removed the element of jazz and replaced it with more of a pop sensibility. I think
Marillion did that better than almost anyone else has within the universe of progressive rock. Jazz
wasnt a part of Karma either.
I love that first explosion of creativity that came to be known as progressive rock. No-one ever
referred to it that way back then. That first generation of musicians grew up as classical and jazz
musicians and suddenly discovered the possibilities of pop music. It was a one-time situation that
could never be repeated, because now, everyone listens to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd The Beatles,
The Beach Boys, and The Doors. Everyone knows that stuff, including classical and jazz musicians.
But during the emergence of this genre, for one brief moment, we had musicians who started playing
pop music that grew up entirely outside of that genre, existing almost exclusively within classical and
jazz. Suddenly, they were working on music with no map. They didnt really know where they were
going. They were just doing what came naturally, which was bringing their chops and love of Mahler
and John Coltrane to pop music. I loved that whole collision of influences and cultures at that time.
And thats where Ive arrived with my own music. Im trying to recapture that feeling in what I do
today.

Alan Parsons on Engineering The Raven

What attracted you to working on The Raven?
Stevens reputation. I had also heard his work with Porcupine Tree, previously. I was interested in
the fact that he told me he was looking for a retro sound, perhaps something reminiscent of the early
70s. Above all, he said that the band was going to play live, together. Thats really what clinched it
for me. I thought Oh wow, this is definitely for me. I want to be involved in this, because thats how I
work too. Ive always maintained that a band playing together and bouncing ideas off each other is
the way it should be.
Describe your role on the album.
Im too modest to say I had any huge creative input, other than the way the sound was constructed.
It was a very nice relationship. The band looked to me for advice on sound and balance matters. The
drums were the most critical thing to achieve the right balance and textures for. The dynamics of
Marco Minnemanns playing were very challenging. I was constantly in awe of his playing. I think we
also got some unusual bass sounds happeningbass sounds I would never have gone for, had they
not coaxed me into it. They said Make it sound like Chris Squire. [laughs] So, thats what I did. I
think thats fairly obvious on the first rack Luminol. To make that happen meant I used a Marshall
guitar amp to record the bass. I havent recorded a bass through an amp for a very long time.
Normally, I record it directly straight out of the instrument. It ended up being a great bass sound and
Im very proud of it. The whole band is just incredible and mutually respectful of each others
abilities. I was in heaven. I said My God, how could I ask for a better band of musicians to record?
What were some of the challenges you faced when working on the album?
They made it really easy for me, but there were a couple of challenges. Theo Travis was standing in
a little box in the corner of the studio. It wasnt hugely well-isolated, so I was picking up quite a lot of
the guitars and drums, especially given that Marco is no quiet player. [laughs] Hes really hitting
those drums. So, there were some issues with leakage into the sax and flute I had to work on. Also,
when Adam Holzman was isolated in the room on the far end of the studio, he was playing piano, as
well as electric piano. The electric piano was being played very loud through an amp. My job was to
make sure one set of mics was muted against the other.
What were your impressions of working on the album at EastWest studios?
Working on Stevens album was the first time Ive been there. When I walked in there a few weeks
before the sessions and saw the Neve board I said Oh yes, I can work with this. Its a 70s classic
Neve console thats been brought up to date with flying fadersautomated faders that move up and
down on their own, according to what you tell the computer you want them to do. That wouldnt have
existed on the original version. It could be argued that automated consoles arent necessary
anymore if you mix, as we say, in the box. These days, all of the volume and EQ changes are done
inside the computer, so you dont have to physically move anything at all. But for me, its still nice to
have the touchy-feely thing and be able to push things up and down manually. Its much better than
clicking a mouse and doing things one track at a time.
The album is available in Blu-ray format. Whats your perspective on its value as a high-
resolution sound carrier?
Blu-ray audio is great. I think Steven did a great job mixing it in surround. I wish I could have been
involved with that, but you cant have it all. [laughs] Im so pleased that Steven has the reputation he
does for surround. As much as I like Blu-ray, Ive never been that unhappy with CD. It has become
better over time and with that improvement has come a higher ability for the average person to
discern sounds. When CD first emerged, everyone said Oh wow, this sounds incredible. There are
no scratches or crackles. Its the best thing Ive heard. But when we got tuned in a little bit more, we
started realizing Theres something not quite right in the mid-range and this and that. I do believe
with the technology improving, our ears are too. Blu-ray and modern digital conversion technologies
are making a lot of difference. Having said that, here we are in the MP3 and earbud world, where so
many people dont care about audio quality. Its nice to know that there are some people that do still
care.
Do you consider the Wilson album within the same canon of the other classic album
projects youve worked on?
I think so. If there is any justice, this album should do incredibly well. Its a beautifully composed and
constructed record. I think the quality of the songs, the lyrics, and Stevens performances as a singer
are really super. The musicianship and solos are just second to none.

Adam Holzman on Collaborating with Steven Wilson

What was your initial reaction when you heard Wilsons demos for The Raven?
My initial reaction was I wanted to play this stuff right away! Actually, I was a little surprised at how
overtly proggy it was. The demos for Luminol came first and it was clear Steven was drawing
from a larger canvas than previously.Grace for Drowning had a really powerful vibe, and at first I was
concerned that, though we gained a lot in energy and complexity, maybe we had less of the ambient
mood thing happening, which can make the whole thing more heavy. Im glad to say I've been
proven wrong. The Raven, I feel now, is a more direct and powerful statement than Grace for
Drowning. Although the demos contain many of the elements that made it to the final versions, the
music really came alive when the whole band played it live in the studio.
Describe how the keyboard parts Wilson included in the demo mapped to your personal
leanings.
Luminol had several sections that feature things I gravitate towards. The Rhodes/ring-mod bit near
the top, for example, was something I first did on the live version of a song from Insurgentes titled
No Twilight Within the Courts of the Sun. Steven incorporated a similar idea into Luminol. The
distorted Rhodes solo is home turf for me, of course, and I loved the opportunity to contrast that with
a quieter acoustic piano solo in the same song. Also, the Minimoog solo in The Holy Drinker was
something I'm glad he worked in. I think he knew I was chomping at the bit to do something like that.
You chose to write out some of the music in advance of playing it. Describe the impetus
to do that.
For me, it's part of learning the music and mapping out the general scheme of things. I was planning
out parts and trying to remember everything. One thing I should mention is all of the solos are
completely improvised, with the exception of the Rhodes solo on Luminol. That was something I
had to break down and figure out what to do, more so than usual. It has an alternating 4/4 - 15/8
pattern, and the bass line was tricky to match harmonically.
How do you feel the bands chemistry has evolved since you joined it?
When we first started rehearsals for the Grace for Drowning tour, the sound of the band came
together very quickly. Playing all of this new material was a buzz for everyone involved. I had worked
with Marco on another project previously, so he and I already had good communication going in. I
think Steven also dug the fact that Marco, Theo and I don't play the same thing every night. We're
always going for variations on a theme, within reason, of course. So, that added another spark. Ive
done a lot of touring over the years, and I must say, I haven't been in a band that hits the mark so
strongly every night. So, the transition from something like that to the studio is actually fairly easy.
Once a band has a life of its own, when you walk into a good studio, the music literally explodes out
of the studio monitors.
Wilson has said one of his key interests in his solo career is infusing the technicality of
progressive rock with the spirituality of jazz. Talk about the bridge you hear being
explored on The Raven.
That's a heavy statement, and I am with him 100 percent on that front. The thing about jazz is this:
its always in search of a moment of magic, in which something special and unexpected happens.
The best is when something clicks and no one person can take credit for it. Obviously, there are
sections in jazz where things are purposely left up in the airanything from a solo over a few
choruses to playing completely freeso something that is not rehearsed is still allowed to happen. I
think the spiritual element comes in when you are always reaching for that something beyond, in
the heat of the moment.
I love prog too, but a lot of prog is just about making the notes, and the forms are completely locked.
The musical elements are very dense, as well. There is less room, harmonically and structurally, for
the magic to happen. With prog, in many ways, the moment happens when you write the music, or
first record it. On the other side of the spectrum is Miles Davis, who used minimal musical motifs
sometimes just a key center, a bass line and a fragmentary melodyand what happens is one big
chance to create. For better or for worse, that's the risk.
I can understand and get behind both approaches, which Steven's gig requires one to do. Steven
has left gaps in the music in which something different can happen from night to night, but we still
have to deal with a lot of specific parts as well. Also, Steven's music is more dependent on vibe and
mood than most other progressive bands, and that also strengthens the connection to jazz and
improvised music.
How would you compare Wilsons bandleading approach to Miles Davis, who you played
more than 200 gigs with?
Probably the biggest similarity is their determination to grow and change as artists over the years, no
matter what the critics or the public say. Both Steven and Miles trust the musicians in their band and
give them a lot of latitude. Also, both of them have very eclectic tastes. As for differences, Steven
will come in with a song and a complete picture of what he wants to do, and we all embellish it and
make suggestions, but it's all still basically Steven and it doesn't change radically. Miles would bring
in an idea and, using his band members as a big paint brush, shape the music in rehearsal and on
stage over time. The end result might not sound at all like the initial idea.
Tell me how Alan Parsons contributed to the sessions.
Not many engineers or producers know how to record a band live in the studio anymore. Its
becoming a lost art. Most engineers record one instrument at a time. That's how most records are
made these days. So, to have someone that knows how to fire up a whole band in the studio all at
once, and have great sounds happening on all of the instruments, is inspiring. Also, his experience
and influence in connection with records like Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon made him the
perfect guy for this project.
Alan used classic micing techniques on the drums, using fewer mics than you might think for a full,
rich sound. We miced the piano several different ways in the course of the project, again using fewer
mics than usual and not very close, letting the space itself play a role in the sound. We sometimes
ran the Rhodes and Hammond B3 through a distorted guitar amp, to add an extra edge.
What do you envision as the future possibilities for this lineup? Is the sky the limit?
I hope so. Personally, this band is right where I want to be, musically. I look forward to seeing where
Steven might take it from here. It would be great to do another studio album fairly soon and really
establish the band's identity. In the end it is Steven's vision, so I can't really guess what might
happen. That's part of the fun, I suppose.

Theo Travis on the Creative Process behind The Raven

What were your thoughts when you first heard Wilsons demos for The Raven?
I thought they sounded fantastic. I particularly liked The Holy Drinker and The Watchmaker, but
all the songs are great. Having worked on so many of Stevens albums, including all three of his solo
albums, I am used to the incredibly high standard of his work, so the fact that the songs were strong
was no surprise to me.
Wilson wrote the album specifically with the musicians in mind. Describe the sections
and parts he envisioned for you and how you ran with them, using your own voice.
I played solos over various sections of various songs, some of which were used and some of which
were not. Some of the tracks were works in progress when I originally played on them or on the
demos. Steven would say Try something over this section and see how he liked it. He knows very
well what I do and sometimes I would try solos on different instruments to see how they sounded
and fit on the track. Steven would often give direction like Play wilder, Play sparsely or Try some
long notes. It was quite an organic process and pretty relaxed. There were some clear sections for
me in which Steven had a definite plan for which instrument he wanted me to playfor instance, the
flute solos on Luminol. I would play a few solos and then we would have a cup of tea. He would
then go away and choose his favorite.
Much of this bands success has to do with its chemistry. What are your thoughts on
what makes it work?
The chemistry was established very early on at the first U.K. rehearsals. It was very exciting meeting
everyone in a rehearsal room and playing the music together for the first time. All the musicians are
absolutely fantastic and very professional, including all four guitarists who have been in the band.
So, they were and are easy to work with. Adam Holzman is the other jazz musician in the band, so
we have a certain way of working and approach to playing and improvising in common. The good
chemistry was the same during the recording sessions, too.
Whats your perspective on Wilsons approach as a bandleader?
Steven has very clear and strong ideas about his music. There was quite a bit of pre-production
before the sessions and his demos were as good as many peoples finished tracks. He knows what
he is after and can decide quickly if hes not liking what hes hearing or if hes looking for something
else. However, he would often be open to ideas and willing to try things out to see how they
sounded. Steven was always open to input from the musicians as to which takes people liked and
which solos they felt best about. Steven is an excellent bandleader as he knows what he wants, but
is down to earth and does not have a huge ego.
What was Alan Parsons' influence on the sessions?
I think Alans input was largely in the placing and use of mics and the getting sounds from the room
to tape. He started at Abbey Road in London and is very skilled in recording techniques with bands
playing live in the studio, which is what Steven was after. There were some specific things he
suggested, like the seagull effect from plugging a guitar into a wah-wah pedal the wrong way
around. That was something he did with David Gilmour on Pink Floyds Echoes and Steven used it
somewhere on Holy Drinker. He also had his own way of using two mics to record the flutes and
saxes, which worked well.
How do you feel the album turned out?
I think its great, but then I thought Grace for Drowning was great too. I also love Stevens Bass
Communion project, as well as much of what he has done with Porcupine Tree and No- Man. I think
Steven is constantly refining and honing his skills as a writer, singer, producer, and artist. He just
gets better and better.

Nick Beggs on Something or Other

How did you react to the initial demos for The Raven?
I like to prepare for all projects by investing in new stage clothes. When I have the right outfit, I'm
ready to record. So, it was off to my local J.C. Penney where I found some suitable slacks and a
golfing hat. That established, I turned my hand to more pressing matters. What fabrics are in this
year? I discovered that brocade is a hot favorite with the prog-noscenti and elected to invest in a
pair of black riding breeches. Once back in the studio, listening to the demos and wearing my new
pants, I shat myself.
What sort of direction did Wilson gave you in the studio?
In the studio, Mr. Wilson was most emphatic that I change my attire as the aroma was affecting the
occupants of the other studios by way of the air conditioning system. Naturally, I was most
accomodating and relaxed in a mid-priced trouser suit from Macys. He didn't like that either.
Describe Wilson's approach to rhythm.
Mr. Wilson is a very good ballroom dancer and tutors the ensemble personally. Presently, we are
preparing something for the upcoming tour, but I'm not allowed to discuss it as it could result in me
being branded with hot coals.
Tell me how you and Marco Minnemann collaborated to create the underpinnings for the
pieces.
Marco usually constructs a rhythmical hypothesis from which it is my duty to extrude a bass
motivation. Once the bass motivation is extruded, the underpinning can be undertaken. But I must
stress no presumption is derived from this process at any point.
Whats your perspective on Alan Parsons contributions to the sessions?
Mr. Parsons has an unusual approach to studio work. However, I am in no doubt his peculiar
process is the thing which has set him apart from all other engineers to date and what has made him
the great success he is today. Unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten what it is.
How did working at EastWest Studios influence your output?
While at EastWest Studios, I did a lot of coloring. I completed at least six large books of clown faces
and ice cream. I like ice cream. Do you?
I prefer frozen yogurt. So, whats your take on how the band has gelled since it debuted
in 2012?
Mr. Wilson has created a very secure environment for us all to work and play in. He has also
developed a machine which he refers to as The Sanitizer. It is compulsory for each member of the
band to spend 15 minutes in it each day for the well-being of the group. Once, Adam Holzman hid
and pretended he'd been in, but later we caught him listening to country music, which made Mr.
Wilson very angry. I don't like it when he gets angry. Have I said too much?