Music for the Head
Steven Wilsons work-in-progress mix of Porcupine Trees Stupid Dream
updated
Support the band: burningshed.com/porcupine-tree_the-delerium-years-1991-1997_boxset
This incredible rendition of Idiot Prayer was performed during the Coma Divine shows, but left off the album, unheard until this year's Bandcamp release of the Coma Divine b-sides on Coma: Coda.
On this recording, Porcupine Tree were:
Steven Wilson - guitars
Richard Barbieri - synthesizers and keyboards
Colin Edwin - fretless bass
Chris Maitland - drums and percussion
This is something fans have been waiting for for a very long time, so it's a fantastic treat to finally hear! Enjoy
Support the band, purchase it here: burningshed.com/store/porcupinetree/porcupine-tree_in-absentia-deluxe_boxset
burningshed.com/store/thepineapplethief/the-pineapple-thief_abducted-at-birth_cd
The track was inspired by post-rock acts such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mogwai, Ulver's "Perdition City", Nine Inch Nails' "Bad Witch" and the layered art-rock of Porcupine Tree's "Stupid Dream".
The album, titled "God Himself", was released July 5th, 2019 digitally on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play and other streaming services.
Bandcamp: atumatu.bandcamp.com
Streaming: ffm.to/godhimself
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Quinn Downton - drums, electric guitar, keyboards, percussion, programming
Evan Elfersy - guitar solo
Gage Love - vocals
Greg Maclean - keyboards, programming
Derick Penrod - acoustic guitar, bass
Keller Welton - saxophone
Raymond Xie - violin
Written by Quinn Downton and Greg Maclean
Mixed by Quinn Downton and Greg Maclean
Mastered by Greg Maclean
Visuals by Quinn Downton
Footage taken from the 1911 silent film "L'inferno", directed by Francesco Bertolini, Adolfo Padovan and Giuseppe de Liguoro. Public domain.
Follow Atumatu:
atumatumusic.com
facebook.com/atumatumusic
Check out Gage Love's music:
cabednaeramarth.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/naeramarthband
youtube.com/watch?v=54CZ5W16yZg
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October 30th 1999 - Roxy Bar, Parma, Italy
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/porcupine-tree/1999/roxy-bar-parma-italy-3bd1608c.html
Audio from taper "ldb (aka Metro Cubo)"
Thanks to WP for sending me the show
While the track was also inspired by songs such as David Bowie's "Subterraneans" and Swans' "Blood Promise", "Castilleja" is undeniably most influenced by the space rock of the early Porcupine Tree catalogue, so having Colin play a role in the song was only fitting! The same Wal bass guitar used to record classic songs such as "Stars Die", "Waiting", "Russia on Ice" and "Hatesong" was used for "Castilleja", which only makes his part that much more special.
The album, titled "God Himself", was released July 5th, 2019 digitally on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play and other streaming services.
Bandcamp: atumatu.bandcamp.com
Streaming: ffm.to/godhimself
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Dan Curhan - electric guitar, vocals
Quinn Downton - drums, keyboards, percussion, programming
Corey Duguid - acoustic guitar
Colin Edwin - fretless bass
Dylan Hyman - saxophone
Logan Tucker - piano
Raymond Xie - violin
Written by Quinn Downton
Mixed by Quinn Downton and Greg Maclean
Mastered by Greg Maclean
Visuals by Quinn Downton
Follow Atumatu:
atumatumusic.com
facebook.com/atumatumusic
From the original liner notes: “During all previous tours the band always included at least one Pink Floyd classic from the Ummagumma period in the live show. During the Autumn 1988 tour we played an original piece evoking the same sense of random wonder and energy. It differed greatly from night to night. This version was captured live on stage at Dingwalls, London.” - The Porcupine Tree with the aid of the Ghost of Henry Ducanbowel from Tarquin
This is from the latest remaster of Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape.
From the SW site: "The third IEM album mostly uses improvisations from 1999 as source material, heavily reconstructed and overdubbed in the studio in August 2001. The exception is track 6 which is a piece for hammered dulcimer and mellotron choir."
Tracklist:
0:00 - Untitled 1
35:38 - Untitled 2
43:30 - Untitled 3
50:40 - Untitled 4
1:02:42 - Untitled 5
1:08:10 - Piece for Hammered Dulcimer and Mellotron Choir
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Remastered audio and album art taken from the 2010 CD box set. Background photography also taken from the box set.
Originally released in September 2001 on Headphone Dust.
All credit goes to all musicians involved in I.E.M.
The 20-minute epic "The Shadow of a Twisted Hand Across my House" is absolutely incredible and recommended listening for any SW or PT fan.
Tracklist:
0:00 - Wreck
1:25 - Beth Krasky
1:51 - We Are Not Alone
9:53 - Cicadian Haze
16:17 - Politician
17:26 - Arcadia Son
25:23 - Shadow of a Twisted Hand Across my House
45:47 - Goldilocks Age 4
While Chris Maitland (as Jennis Clivack) plays on the majority of the album, the title track is actually an excerpt from the first song on "Have Come for Your Children", meaning that Mark Simnett (the credited drummer on that album) plays on that song.
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Remastered audio and album art taken from the 2010 CD box set. Background photography also taken from the box set.
Originally released in May 2001 on Gates of Dawn.
All credit goes to all musicians involved in I.E.M.
Tracklist:
0:00 - An Escalator to Christmas*
10:33 - Headphone Dust
16:45 - Interview
17:12 - An Escalator to Xmas (Extended)**
30:16 - I.E.M. Have Come For Your Children***
38:57 - Untitled****
* The original 1999 release had this song split into the following movements:
1. Telegraph (0.13)
2. Extract from “4 Ways” (0.03)
3. B.C. (0.34)
4. Sign Language (3.04)
5. Space Cadet (0.25)
6. Any Note You Want (0.31)
7. An Escalator to Xmas (3.22)
8. Mind (0.05)
9. In Place of a Requiem (2.07)
10. Telegraph (0.08)
** This is an extended version of the actual movement from the title track, hence the slight change in spelling of "Christmas" (the movement is Xmas not Christmas as seen in *)
*** This was originally included as a bonus track on the vinyl of "Have Come for Your Children" in 2001 (as the untitled opener on Side D), but later added here
**** This is a hidden track
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Remastered audio and album art taken from the 2010 CD box set. Background photography by Carl Glover is also taken from this box.
Originally released in April 1999 on Tonefloat (originally only with the first two tracks). The rest were added in subsequent reissues and as the audio is taken from the final box, these are included.
All credit goes to all musicians involved in I.E.M.
To support SW, buy the FLAC for all the IEM releases here: burningshed.com/iem_complete_flac
For those unfamiliar, this track was cut from Signify as Idiot Prayer filled a rather similar role already.
Enjoy!
Tracklist:
0:00 - The Gospel According to the I.E.M.
12:59 - The Last Will and Testament According to Emma Peel
21:09 - Fie Kesh
29:32 - Deafman
This album in particular was created during the creation of the Porcupine Tree albums "The Sky Moves Sideways" and "Signify", and features drum parts from Chris Maitland (credited under a pseudonym Jennis Clivack in the project). The first track's drums are lifted from the sessions for the TSMS b-side "Men of Wood", which can be heard on the "Stars Die 1991-1997" compilation.
Chris: “The history of it is that it’s one of my silly made-up names… When it got to Steven’s IEM albums, I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice, instead of always playing with the same old people–and this is different music–why don’t I go under a pseudonym?’ So I called myself Jennis Clivack on the first two IEM albums.”
Since "The Last Will and Testament of Emma Peel" and many other I.E.M. tracks are missing from Youtube (and those that are uploaded are usually of subpar quality), I will be uploading the discography in full in the coming days (4 vids - 1 per release).
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Remastered audio and album art taken from the 2010 CD box set. Background photography by Carl Glover is also taken from this box.
Originally released in January 1996 on Delerium Records.
All credit to Steven Wilson, Chris Maitland, Geoff Leigh, Mark Simnett and Colin Edwin
Learn more about the relationship of I.E.M. to Porcupine Tree here: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/signify
To support SW, buy the FLAC for all the IEM releases here: burningshed.com/iem_complete_flac
Learn more about the history of the classic The Sky Moves Sideways album here: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/the-sky-moves-sideways
SW (from the 2005 UTD liner notes): "In 1997 I was able to remaster the album for the first time. We attempted to add back some warmth and dynamics to the sound but the limitations of the source recording meant there was only so much we could do. Later, when I started to compile the [Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991–1997] compilation, I went one step further and remixed 2 of the tracks, transferring the original analogue tape recording to hard disk and using much better processing to clean up and broaden the overall sound. Better, but still not great. I realised that it could never be how I wanted it to be with those programmed drum parts as the basis for everything else, so with this definitive reissue serious I have finally taken the opportunity to go back to the master tapes to give the whole album a face lift."
Read more about the history of Up The Downstair here: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/up-the-downstair
SW (from the 2005 UTD liner notes): "In 1997 I was able to remaster the album for the first time. We attempted to add back some warmth and dynamics to the sound but the limitations of the source recording meant there was only so much we could do. Later, when I started to compile the [Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991–1997] compilation, I went one step further and remixed 2 of the tracks, transferring the original analogue tape recording to hard disk and using much better processing to clean up and broaden the overall sound. Better, but still not great. I realised that it could never be how I wanted it to be with those programmed drum parts as the basis for everything else, so with this definitive reissue serious I have finally taken the opportunity to go back to the master tapes to give the whole album a face lift."
Read more about the history of Up The Downstair here: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/up-the-downstair
Picture by Alexander Tsalikhin
Learn more about the spread of songs played and the various setlist changes on the Signify tours here: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/signify
Audience recording / November 10th 1996
Audience recording / November 10th 1996
It was recorded in 1987 on 8-track.
discogs.com/Various-Pick-Mix/release/673232
Tracklist:
0:00 - Synesthesia (edit)
4:10 - Radioactive Toy (short version / alternate solo)
8:20 - The Joke's on You
12:20 - Cloud Zero (alternate intro)
discogs.com/Porcupine-Tree-Radio-Active/release/684562
At this time Porcupine Tree was:
Steven Wilson - all instruments
To learn more about the Up The Downstair era be sure to check out my write up on its history here: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/up-the-downstair
The problem is that since the official 16 minute release was better quality (CD rip vs cassette), fans began substituting the audio from the bootleg with the 16 minute version, not realizing that they're actually slightly different. As a result, it is almost impossible to track down this original cassette version since it has been replaced in almost all copies of Ambulance Chasers you can find on the internet. This was the very first version of Even Less ever released.
The differences:
* Four Chords That Made a Million CD Single – extended 16 minute demo, has additional samples in Part 2 (similar to I.E.M.’s “Deafman” and the multiple “Disappear” demos)
* 1997 Demo Cassette (this version) – 14:32 minute demo, same lyrics as the lyrics on the Four Chords That Made a Million CD Single version, but with shorter instrumental sections; additional movie sample; percussion begins sooner and adds an extra additional ambient overlap between part 1 and 2
This means there are 7 studio versions of Even Less:
1997
15:45 demo - 4ctmam single (released afterwards obviously)
14:32 demo - December 1997 cassette
1998
Work in progress band mix of Part 1
Work in progress band mix of Part 2 (these were separated on the tracklist unlike the 1997 early sequencing)
1999
Final Stupid Dream version
Part 2 - Stranger by the Minute single
2001
Full length final - released on Recordings compiling the 1999 versions together with the old 14 minute arrangement, with a different transition in the middle
You can read more about the transformation of Even Less and Stupid Dream over the years here: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/stupid-dream
Photography by Mark Newman
It's a pretty well done edit, it doesn't feel like too much is lost. Would definitely give it a listen. It's also of course the original mix - most fans now are acquainted with the 2008 remix, which is the one that you'll find on any available CDs or on streaming services.
discogs.com/Porcupine-Tree-Shesmovedon/release/1304655?ev=rr
neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/lightbulb-sun
Also, note that SW says that "Ambulance Chasing" was definitely going to be on the album and that it could end up being the title track (he also said this on other shows on the tour). A shame it didn't end up on the album.
If you're short on time definitely check out the performances of "Even Less", "This is no Rehearsal", "Moonloop (Coda)" (they rarely ever did this by itself), "Ambulance Chasing" and "Voyage 34" (the band was on fire).
Even Less (full length, early) - 0:00
Signify - 16:28
Waiting (Phase One) - 23:04
Waiting (Phase Two) - 27:42
Sleep of No Dreaming - 33:15
Up the Downstair - 38:42
This is no Rehearsal (early) - 46:16
The Moon Touches Your Shoulder - 51:05
Ambulance Chasing (early) - 57:00
Moonloop (Coda) - 1:04:00
Voyage 34 (Phase One) - 1:08:02
Encore:
Dislocated Day - 1:20:34
Radioactive Toy (short) - 1:29:05
In 1997, Porcupine Tree was:
Steven Wilson - vocals, guitars
Richard Barberi - synthesizers
Colin Edwin - fretless bass
Chris Maitland - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Audience recording - November 1st, 1997
To learn more about Stupid Dream and its tours, visit: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/stupid-dream as well as neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/signify
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Thanks to the Porcupine Tree Archive Project for sending me the audio!
Expect more content in the near future - I apologize for the long gap! I have a lot of new shows to sort through now, so expect some cherry picking for rare versions of tracks.
Q
The band announced their new record contract shortly after the show. The show is also notable for being one of the last Porcupine Tree concerts to feature drummer Chris Maitland (4 more shows after this one) before his departure in early 2002.
Also, this might be the best performances of Shesmovedon and Last Chance I've heard, so check those two out in particular if you're short on time.
Tracklist:
Even Less - 0:00
Slave Called Shiver - 6:54
Shesmovedon - 12:25
Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled - 19:15
Lightbulb Sun - 24:35
Where We Would Be - 30:50
Hatesong - 35:50
Waiting (Phase One) - 44:50
Sleep Of No Dreaming - 49:40
Tinto Brass - 55:10
Stop Swimming - 1:03:45
Pure Narcotic - 1:10:30
Up The Downstair - 1:16:00
Russia On Ice - 1:23:40
Signify - 1:36:15
Radioactive Toy - 1:42:00
Porcupine Tree is:
Steven Wilson - vocals, guitars
Richard Barberi - synthesizers
Colin Edwin - bass
Chris Maitland - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Audience recording.
To learn more about Lightbulb Sun and its tours, visit: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/lightbulb-sun
The ending is very unique, I was taken aback when I first heard it. It's in the original mix, but Steven edited it out in the 2006 remix.
June 13, 2001
TOMORROW A BETTER DAY
June 13, 2001
As each clip appears the name of each song is shown. Photography by Javier Jones.
The tracklist:
1. Old Continent I 09.47
2. Picahielo 05.05
3. Magnetic Mountain 06.05
4. Paean of Praise 04.50
5. Second Red Scare 05.57
6. Old Continent II 10.25
The album, titled "Duma", was released April 27th, 2018 digitally on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play and other streaming services.
High-res download at name your price: atumatu.bandcamp.com/releases
Spotify / Apple Music: distrokid.com/hyperfollow/atumatu/dgmX
Full YouTube stream: youtu.be/5BkvFPTK3sE
Hope you enjoy!
The recording quality is frankly quite poor but it's such an important part of their history that I think the upload is absolutely needed. The 1993 show was the second show ever performed by the band (just 2 days after their first show at the Nag's Head).
Here's the tracklist:
Mark Radcliffe Show, BBC Radio One, Manchester, UK: December 6th, 1993
Intro - 0:00
Radioactive Toy - 0:35
Burning Sky - 5:22
Band Introduction and Discussion - 11:10
Burning Sky (continued) - 14:52
Discussion - 18:58
Always Never - 19:40
Mark Radcliffe Show, BBC Radio One, Manchester, UK: January 30th, 1995
Intro - 26:05
The Moon Touches Your Shoulder - 27:00
The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One) - 31:40
Band Introduction and Discussion - 39:20
The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One) (continued) - 42:50
Is...Not - 47:55
BBC Radio One, Newcastle, UK: May 14th, 1996
Intro - 53:05
Waiting (Phase One) - 53:50
Radioactive Toy - 58:10
Porcupine Tree is:
Steven Wilson - vocals, guitars
Richard Barbieri - synthesizers, keyboards
Colin Edwin - bass
Chris Maitland - drums, percussion, backing vocals
You can find the show mentioned in the 1996 broadcast here: youtu.be/Fw-OU95PlGE
For more information about The Sky Moves Sideways, Signify and Porcupine Tree's history, check out my website Neural Rust: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/the-sky-moves-sideways, neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/signify
Enjoy!
The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One) - 7:16
Waiting (Phase One) - 20:20
The Nostalgia Factory - 25:05
Moonloop - 30:45
The Moon Touches Your Shoulder / Always Never - 42:37
Signify - 53:33
Up The Downstair - 59:20
Radioactive Toy - 1:07:24
Porcupine Tree is:
Steven Wilson - vocals, guitars
Richard Barberi - synthesizers
Colin Edwin - bass
Chris Maitland - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Audience recording.
The day after their 1996 appearance on BBC Radio, Porcupine Tree played this show in a pub to a handful of people in South Shields. Although not as finalized as the versions we'd come to know on Coma Divine (of course with Porcupine Tree many parts mutate over the years), this gig is fairly unique in the sense that it is a good audio source of both Idiot Prayer and The Nostalgia Factory!
To learn about the history of Signify and its tours, read more at: neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/signify
Keep an eye out for more Porcupine Tree concerts and gems in the future!
* Bass [Fretless Bass], Saxophone, Suona [Dida] – Mick Karn
* Keyboards, Programmed By [Programming] – Richard Barbieri
* Keyboards, Sampler – Steven Wilson
* Percussion, Drum Programming – Steve Jansen
* Violin – Ben Coleman
Written By Steven Wilson
Enjoy!