Steven Wilson Steven Wilson IAA Interview

[vegas]

WOW! Both interviews, with Bruce Soord and Steven Wilson were fantastic! Looks like there will be many new material released from both Masters in 2022-23. Thank you, Jonathan!

 

[sjcorne]

Wonderful interview, Jonathan, indeed. If I were to contact James Guthrie, I would try the following options:
1. Reach out to his work colleague Joel Plante at Das Boot recordings. His contact is in LinkedIn, you may want to try that (Check out Joel Plante’s profile on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-plante-2a807092)
2. Try AFG forum. User Luna69 (Julie Skaggs) was the last one who interviewed him when WYWH SACD was released (or was it Amused to Death?). It seems she's on good terms with James and may be the right door to knock on
3. PF management... good luck with this one... You may reach out to Paul Loasby at One Fifteen management (onefifteen.com).

I doubt he read out comments or remembers QQ forum, but don't mention it to James. He was sadly and unfairly bashed here because of the removal of Meddle and OBC mixes from TEY box. I think we still owe and apology to him

Thanks for the info! I will definitely pursue this.

 

[Sal1950]

Jonathan, Thanks for the great interview!
Steven's been my surround mixing hero for the last decade or more.
Think about where we'd be if he wasn't remastering all those classic album?
Thank you also Steven if you happen to be reading this thread!

 

[ssully]

Interesting (to me) that SW keeps endorsing Hand. Cannot Erase. over his other work -- I greatly prefer The Raven Who Refused to Sing which he doesn't mention at all. H.C.E has never clicked for me so far

 

[AYanguas]

Interesting (to me) that SW keeps endorsing Hand. Cannot Erase. over his other work -- I greatly prefer The Raven Who Refused to Sing which he doesn't mention at all. H.C.E has never clicked for me so far

I think SW did The Raven as a kind of tribute to the Symphonic/Prog rock from the 70's
Although he likes that era I think he is not comfortable when we identify him as, lets say, a new Pink Floyd, and he likes to be considred "other thing".

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

Interesting (to me) that SW keeps endorsing Hand. Cannot Erase. over his other work -- I greatly prefer The Raven Who Refused to Sing which he doesn't mention at all. H.C.E has never clicked for me so far

I personally can't stand the Raven. I find it tedious, pretentious and honestly boring. I find the mix to be bland as well. But, that seems to just be me, since I know everyone else seems to love it.

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

So... anyone manage to find the line in Harridan that was split across ten years?

 

[sjcorne]

I think SW did The Raven as a kind of tribute to the Symphonic/Prog rock from the 70's
Although he likes that era I think he is not comfortable when we identify him as, lets say, a new Pink Floyd, and he likes to be considred "other thing".

Yeah, that's pretty much what he said in the book - the impetus to go that route came from the remixing work he was doing at the time (Yes, Tull, Crimson, etc), but in retrospect he feels that it cemented him as a "progressive rock" artist in the eyes of fans.

 

[GuitarSuperstar]

Interesting (to me) that SW keeps endorsing Hand. Cannot Erase. over his other work -- I greatly prefer The Raven Who Refused to Sing which he doesn't mention at all. H.C.E has never clicked for me so far

In the interview, I think it is less about endorsing a particular album and more about which album he thinks has the most potential for a great Dolby Atmos mix. Hand. Cannot. Erase. is by far the best option.

 

[SHB]

Great job Jonathan! I especially appreciate hearing the update on GG's Interview and The Missing Piece.

 

[ar surround]

I personally can't stand the Raven. I find it tedious, pretentious and honestly boring. I find the mix to be bland as well. But, that seems to just be me, since I know everyone else seems to love it.

For me, the Raven was a one-and-done listen. Well, @minimumtumbleweed , I guess you and I will be the first QQ members to be defenestrated.

 

[sjcorne]

I still think "Drive Home" is one of his best songs as a solo artist.

 

[bookofsaturdays]

I still think "Drive Home" is one of his best songs as a solo artist.

I agree but I would also give a nod to the title track from Raven which is absolutely gorgeous in both stereo and 5.1!

 

[DuncanS]

For me, the Raven was a one-and-done listen. Well, @minimumtumbleweed , I guess you and I will be the first QQ members to be defenestrated.

I think I see a Window into your mind

 

[Sal1950]

I enjoy Raven and HCE both tremendously, much more than most of his later works. Maybe it's because I'm a Prog Rock fan that I feel that way. He admits he dosn't like his work being considered prog and I think he has written much of his current work to reflect this.

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

I still think "Drive Home" is one of his best songs as a solo artist.

It is definitely a good track, and I like Luminol as well, but as a whole the album doesn't hold up for me. It's especially bogged down by tracks like The Holy Drinker, or the latter half of The Watchmaker.

 

[sjcorne]

It is definitely a good track, and I like Luminol as well, but as a whole the album doesn't hold up for me. It's especially bogged down by tracks like The Holy Drinker, or the latter half of The Watchmaker.

Fear Of A Blank Planet is that record for me, I'll never understand why it's so highly regarded in the PT/SW fanbase. "My Ashes" and "Sentimental" are still the only songs I really like off it. That's the great thing about SW's body of work though, there's so much variety that it's easy to move on to another album/project that may better suit one's taste.

 

[artwwweb]

Great interview! Really impressed with Wilson's knowledge and even more so with his honesty and directness. Some great questions from you - and kudos to you for making a suggestion that he may actually take you up on.

 

[AYanguas]

..., there's so much variety that it's easy to move on to another album/project that may better suit one's taste.

And if you want much more variety of Steven Wilson without going into Blackfield or No-Man, you have krautrock IEM (Incredible Expanding Mindfuck), the delicious Storm Corrosion (with the Opeth Mikael Åkerfeldt).
Or much more rare things like Bass Communion.

Really great variety of some of less known Wilson works.

 

[ar surround]

Fear Of A Blank Planet is that record for me, I'll never understand why it's so highly regarded in the PT/SW fanbase. "My Ashes" and "Sentimental" are still the only songs I really like off it. That's the great thing about SW's body of work though, there's so much variety that it's easy to move on to another album/project that may better suit one's taste.

I "double love" this comment, SJC. It's spot on about Wilson's body of work...it's so versatile and he's not shy about showing it off. I wonder how many artists got frustrated by being pigeonholed into a certain genre / style for commercial reasons.