Steven Wilson

Tue 7th Apr, 2009 in Features

Steven Wilson’s own brand of psychedelic rock and industrial noise (of Porcupine Tree fame) has never been music for the faint at heart. In fact, it questions the very boundaries of what music really is.

Steven caught up with FasterLouder for a chat about his latest solo album Insurgentes – the most ambitious and challenging work in his critically acclaimed career. Insurgentes is now in full release and a recommended listen to those with an open mind.

So tell me, what was it like working with Yoko Ono?
I was given a track she produced in the seventies. I was a great admirer of Yoko and I thought she was underrated. She was a very innovative artist. She was lovely. It was a great honour to work with, arguably, one of the most famous women of the twentieth century. I get Christmas cards from her every year now; it’s great.

It’s interesting to note that you started Porcupine Tree by dubbing all the tracks yourself. How have you drawn the line between early Porcupine Tree and this solo album?
Early Porcupine Tree was focusing on my love of psychedelic music. This is an album that encapsulated all of the aspects of my musical character. We have everything from piano ballads to industrial noise. That is why I thought I could use my own name rather than an alias.

How do you justify producing industrial noise as a musician?
For me I never think of music. People often say, “How can you think of noise or ambience as music?” For me, it is very simple. When you go to the cinema and you are watching a film; say a horror film. Your sense of dread is being enhanced by a certain sound or texture; a drone or a noise. That for me tells me that anyone can respond to pure texture or noise as an emotional trigger. So I see no problem using noise as a musical devise. Pure texture and pure sound can be very emotional. I think of music in terms of certain sounds triggering emotion. At the end of the day, that is what music is. It’s not just pretty melodies.

Why does the music you write diverge over so many different genres?
It has come from my love and passion for different kinds of music. My taste in music is more diverse and eclectic than most people’s. For me the gift of making this music is a real honour. I think it is a gift that I can do this for a living. For me it’s just an extension of the passion and enjoyment of listening to music. I have never just wanted to stick to a certain style.

What has motivated you to pursue solo work after such success with Porcupine Tree?
The sense that there was still something that was not being expressed within that context. Porcupine Tree is a collaboration and there are certain things that I would never ask the band to play. Noise music, for example. I wanted to make a record less about musicianship and more about atmosphere. In a collaboration you tend to find a common ground. Making a solo record liberates you from those considerations. I made Insurgentes in a very selfish way. Making a solo record is a purist expression of that. That was quite liberating.

Insurgentes has been recorded in a variety of locations around the world. Do you think influences from those location crept into the tracks?
I think they did, but I couldn’t tell you how. When you’re a musician or a creative person of any kind, anything that happens to you always influences what you create. You should always be absorbing your experience and it should be influencing what you create. But they are more intangible. There is a more obvious influence from Mexico in the name. It is not a world music thing. That is a kitschy thing. It was a way to get fresh environments and fresh experience.

The album was written over two years. Was that because you require such a high standard of work from yourself. Or is solo work a side project?
Neither, really. Everything I do I aspire to make it as good as it can be. The origins of the music came from a pool of songs that I had written for other projects but were never used. Not for lack of quality, but they did not fit into a context. I wanted to finish them off and give them a life. Most songs were written in about three months in a fairly concentrated period of creativity and writing.

How do you write a track?
It’s almost impossible to answer. If I knew the answer to that question I would never have periods of writer’s block. And I have those periods. And then sometimes I have great bursts of inspiration. It can come from a title, a fragment of a melody, a movie I’ve just seen. If anyone could answer that question we would bottle it and sell it. Every time I write an album I think it’s the last I will ever write. Every time I prove myself wrong. Experience is my secret.

Insurgentes is out now through Shock Records.