‘We can’t wait to come to India’

Steven Wilson, frontman of Porcupine Tree, on his music, lyrics, concerts and all things Indian.

Steven Wilson, frontman of Porcupine Tree, on his music, lyrics, concerts and all things Indian.

Your music has evolved from psychedelic to progressive with metal leanings. What feedback have you received from fans?
It’s one of those things, where you decide if you are an artiste who does things to please himself, or an entertainer, who works towards winning appreciation from his fans. I would like to consider myself an artiste, because my music tends to change according to my mood, emotions and experiences.

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My fans have to get used to the idea that Porcupine Tree (PT) is constantly evolving and they should expect the unexpected. Fans would like our music to be psychedelic or metal and I understand that, because there are always people who do not agree with your sound. (Smiles) Fortunately, we also have fans, who have liked our sound right from the beginning.

So what kind of sound do you personally identify most with?
I identify with any kind of music I like, and that could be anything from jazz to indie to death metal. I don’t analyse what appeals to me. There are fantastic bands from genres that I love, but there are also bands in the same genre that I don’t like. (Chuckles) People think I love metal but truth is, I like four metal bands including Opeth and Meshuggah. That’s it! I hate the rest of them!

Since your albums are usually concept oriented, do they represent the frame of mind you are in at the time?
I like the idea of albums having unity — songs in groups of five to six, about the same thing. I explore ideas as a whole, in the sense of a musical journey. I don’t look out for concepts, they present themselves to me. So my music could be about a particular thing, time or an observation.

You mostly write issue-based lyrics. Will we ever hear some happy stuff from you?
Not everything is issue-based, some are quite personal too. But your question is relevant because my music does tend to be melancholic. (Chuckles) I don’t feel inspired to write music when I’m happy, because then I’d rather go out in the sunshine, hang out with friends or have fun.

I write music when I need to exorcise negativity out of my mind or body, when I feel angry or sad, and that’s why it’s melancholic. But I think when other people listen to sad music, they find it uplifting. The reason we’re all drawn to dark music is that it’s a part of a shared human consciousness. No matter how hard we fail, there’s someone who’s going through the same. We are not alone.

In Absentia is generally considered as one of your best works. Which one do you personally consider your best?
It would have to be my solo record, from earlier this year. It is the first time you’ll get to listen to every aspect of my music — from metal to psychedelic to indie — it’s all in there for the first time. I’m quite proud of the record.

In Absentia is possibly our strongest album, but unfortunately it didn’t sell much. It came at the wrong time, in 2002, when that kind of music didn’t work. But it’s been discovered since then and I do feel it has some of our best material.

So how difficult is it for you to keep your music for Porcupine Tree separate from your other projects?
When I write for PT, I write with four musicians in mind. I’m into noise or indie music too but they are not. I wouldn’t ask them to play something I know they might not be into. When I write for myself, I can bring all my favourite genres into the mixture.

You guys missed out on the Grammy once with Fear of a Blank Planet. Do you think The Incident’s going to strike gold?
Actually, I was quite surprised that the album was nominated. I don’t know how these things work. It has more to do with whom you know and get along with, than how good your music is.

(Stresses) Jay Z and Coldplay have won Grammies. They are mainstream and successful but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the best musicians. I mean, 50-60 years down the line, people will still listen to our records, I hope, but I’m sure no one’s going to listen to Jay Z! If we do get a Grammy, it would make my mum happy, but that’s that. I have a few awards on my shelves but I don’t know if they mean much.

The Incident, in theme, has one long song and four separate tracks. Why did you feel the need to add four tracks that were removed from the concept-album?
We knew that the pieces didn’t quite fit in with the concept, but they were very strong records on their own. We wanted to give people two very different kinds of listening experiences in the same package. We could have released them as an EP, but they would have been lost then.

The title track of the Incident is 55 minutes long. Do you play it at one go in concerts?
We have been playing it at one go in Europe and America. But since this is the first time we are playing in India, we will be playing a cross section of our material. We’ll definitely be playing some parts of The Incident, but you can expect tracks like ‘Blackest eyes’ and ‘Trains’, which we don’t play any more.

Have you finalised your playlist for Mumbai? Would you be taking crowd requests?
(Chuckles) We don’t want to spoil the surprise! We always like to play in a way that the crowd has no idea what we’ll play next. So if you are a fan of a song, and it comes as a surprise, you’d love it even more. But yeah, we’d mostly be playing stuff from our last four albums, and maybe further back.

How do you choose the songs you will play for a concert in a particular country?
We believe in this saying, that a band is only a part of the reason why a concert is special. It’s the audience and their impact on the band, and their response to the performance, that make a concert work.

We’ve noticed a massive difference in the crowd from city to city in the same country. When we played in Cologne in Germany, the crowd went absolutely crazy cheering for us, but when we went to Munich, they were incredibly quiet, and you felt as if you were dying slowly.
(Excitedly) So we have a feeling that the atmosphere in India is going to be great, similar to what we experienced in Mexico and Israel, where rock isn’t the predominant music community, but people are appreciative and passionate about it. We don’t decide on the final set list until an hour before the concert, and it totally depends on the atmosphere.

What sort of visuals will you use for your playlist in India?
We usually have set visuals for a full show, from beginning to end. Around 70 per cent of our songs have visuals associated with them. In fact, the album Fear of a Blank Planet had a film for every song from beginning to end, exploring it further, and explaining the lyrics. (Chuckles) Of course, you don’t have to watch the visuals; you can watch the band instead.

So why haven’t you guys ever toured India before to promote your albums? You must have many Indian fans in the UK?
Often, the best reference of how you are doing in a country used to be the number of CDs sold in the country. So if many CDs were sold in Canada, we’d go there to play.

But of course, all that’s changed now. You can’t gauge your fanbase from the CD sales because they don’t buy them! The only good thing about people sharing music with one another is that we have a huge fanbase in different countries.
(Exclaims) And I must say, I can’t wait to come to India! All of us are looking excitedly forward to this trip. Unfortunately, since it’s so close to Christmas, we won’t be able to stay for more than three days. Ideally, we would have liked to spend at least two weeks in India. It’s such a fascinating country. I hope this is the first of many trips!

On Indian musical instruments
I love the sitar, and I intend to buy it when I get to India. I love the way it’s been associated with psychedelic rock, like that of the late ’60s when the world embraced Indian culture. There’s definitely space for something exciting musically in PT, and I’d love to use the sitar in our music one day.

On Indian music
I’m interested in good music, and anything that sounds unique. In UK, you don’t get to hear the classical stuff much, it’s usually the Bollywood, pop kind of music. I love to hear that, but I hope people in India give me some CDs to listen so I can discover newer stuff too. But yes, I love Ravi Shankar’s recordings. I have his vinyl records from the ’60s and I really enjoy them.

On Slumdog Millionaire
Oh I absolutely loved the movie! The music was stunning as well - I really enjoyed the sound that’s somewhere in between pop and classical. I would love to hear more of A R Rahman.

On Indian actresses
I know all the famous ones like Shilpa Shetty. I’ve got to tell you one thing though – when an Indian woman is beautiful, she is the most beautiful woman in the world! When I saw Freida Pinto in Slumdog Millionaire, my jaw dropped to the floor. She is so stunning! And that girl in Brick Lane, Tanishtha Chatterjee is breathtaking! I am looking forward to seeing the beautiful women in India.

On Indian food
Indian curry is the national dish of UK. No one even eats British food anymore. I couldn’t live without it and I am really looking forward to eating it in India.

Still waiting
Porcupine Tree is the first major international act to come to India post the terror attacks in Mumbai last year.
Live Earth India was scheduled to take place in Mumbai in November 2008, and was cancelled due to security
reasons. Bon Jovi, Roger Waters and Will.I.Am, of Black Eyed Peas, were to perform in Mumbai, at the concert.

Here are the other international acts that have been promising to tour India but are yet to come:

* In 2006, Coldplay sponsored the planting of 10,000 mango trees in southern India as part of an environmental cause. That was the closest the band has ever come to being associated with India, as a tour they’ve been promising hasn’t yet
happened.
* U2 has been promising to visit India too, and frontman Bono is apparently even in talks with Arjun Rampal for a project. But nothing’s been confirmed.
* Def Leppard was to perform in India in early 2009, but indefinitely postponed its gig due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
* Talk of Guns ‘n’ Roses performing in India was floating around earlier this year, until the management said it was a lie.