To listen to previous podcasts, visit the podcast page at www.kscopemusic.com/podcast

Tracks featured:
Mothlite – ‘Something in the Sky’ (from Dark Age)
Steve Hogarth and Richard Barbieri - ‘Naked’ (from Not The Weapon But The Hand)
North Atlantic Oscillation – ‘Soft Coda’ (from Fog Electric)
Gazpacho – ‘What Did I Do?’ (from March of Ghosts)
Gavin Harrison and O5Ric - ‘The Man Who Sold Himself’ (from The Man Who Sold Himself)

While this podcast looks forward to what we have coming up over the next few months, the latest edition of Classic Rock Prog looked back at 2011 and there were three Kscope albums in their critics top 15 albums of the year. Steven Wilson’s Grace for Drowning was voted number 2 in the poll ahead of Falling Deeper by Anathema at #10 and Blackfield’s Welcome To My DNA at #11 (see below).

(click image for larger version)

For artist’s mini-sites, click below;
Mothlite
Gavin Harrison & 05Ric
Steve Hogarth & Richard Barbieri
Gazpacho
North Atlantic Oscillation
Steven Wilson
Blackfield
Anathema

The Man Who Sold Himself is the third album from the collaboration between Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison and 05Ric, the multi-instrumentalist, singer songwriter . The album will be released on Kscope on February 27th 2012 as a 2 disc set which, alongside the stereo mix of the album on CD, features a 5.1 mix on DVD, allowing fans to enjoy the intricate complexities of the album in full surround glory. A montage of the tracks can be heard on The Man Who Sold Himself mini-site

In addition to being voted Best Progressive Drummer four years in a row in the Modern Drummer Magazine’s readers poll. He was also recently invited to perform on the David Letterman show as part of his Drum Solo week.

Best known for his work with Porcupine Tree, Gavin has also played extensively with King Crimson as well as providing session drumming for a host of respected artists but his work with 05Ric has allowed him to develop some of the work that he has created outside these projects.

05Ric uses his voice, extended range bass and guitars to turn his love of sound into sonic tapestries. His vocals, virtuoso playing and a chance meeting between the two has led to one of the most interesting and complex musical collaborations in recent years.
The union of 05Ric’s distinctive style with Gavin’s extraordinary drumming has already produced some unique results but Gavin has stated that with The Man Who Sold Himself , ‘we have continued to push the boundaries of our rhythmic and harmonic possibilities, I believe these are some of the wildest rhythmic concepts that I have ever conjured and 05Ric has snaked his bass around.’

05Ric goes on to explain that lyrically the album deals with themes “based on the greed of the financial global crisis, the empty shallowness of goal seeking without passion or for its own sake and the destructive force left behind by selfish behaviour – but the central character through heightened awareness and right action discovers his true calling.”

The album, which was written over the last two years and recorded in mid-2011, is the duo’s first release since Circles in 2009. Circles was described by Classic Rock Prog as ‘bristling with instrumental technique and firepower… it is peppered with a pulsating, muscular funk that pushes through generic barriers to create its own unique space.’

The Man Who Sold Himself looks set to push these barriers even further.

The set can now be pre-ordered from The Man Who Sold Himself mini-site. In addition to the montage, the site also features a free MP3, downloads and more.

Release Date 27th February 2012

Click here to order your copy from the Kscope store

Steven Wilson’s first ever solo tour of North America starts tonight (November 8th) in Orlando. The gig is the first of eight dates which will also see him visit Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, Toronto and Chicago (click here for full details and ticket links). On the dates Steven will be playing material from his new album Grace for Drowning, as well as selections from his first solo album, Insurgentes.

Grace for Drowning entered the US Billboard Rock album chart at #19 (#13 in independent chart), the UK top 40 album chart at #34, both the Dutch and German national charts at #22 and debuted at #7 in the Polish national charts. The album has been critically acclaimed too, having been described by Mojo as ‘an immersive, ambitious project that demands repeated spins’ (4 stars), by Terrorizer as ‘a dense yet extremely coherent album, Grace for Drowning succeeds brilliantly… Prog album of the year, no less’ (5/5) and by Classic Rock Prog as ‘ a magnificent step up; he simply can’t stopped.’

For the Grace for Drowning tour, Wilson has worked extensively with Lasse Hoile, his long time visual collaborator, to create a show unlike nothing else that has ever done with his other bands, Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, No-Man or Bass Communion.

The shows submerge fans in a rich sensory experience: rear speakers provide surround-sound effects, giant screens show off Lasse’s films made specifically to accompany these songs, and cutting-edge lighting designs give texture to each song. The heart of the performance is Wilson (on keys, guitar, and vocals) and his virtuoso band: Marco Minnemann (drums), Nick Beggs (bass), Theo Travis (flute and sax), Adam Holzman (keys), and John Wesley on guitars. John is replacing Aziz Ibrahim who played on the successful European tour. Three tracks recorded in London’s Shepherd Bush Empire as part of that tour are now available on the Grace for Drowning to the mini-site. The tracks soundtrack short videos made by Lasse featuring pictures taken on the tour.

These tracks have just been added to the mini-site, previously have been available on the official Steven Wilson iphone and ipad app. The free app features exclusive music, videos and photos, plus up-to-the minute news and tour info, and can be downloaded from here.

Here is the video for Index:

Visit the mini-site to watch videos for Sectarian and No Part of Me

In addition to the tour dates, Steven has booked three in-store appearances including a special rare acoustic performance in NYC, dates are as follows;
Nov 11th – NYC – 12:30pm
J&R Music World, 23 Park Row – signing and special acoustic performance
Nov 12th – Boston – 1pm
Newbury Comics, 1 North Marketplace, Faneuil Hall – signing
Nov 18th – Chicago – 12:30pm
FYE, 26 East Randolph Street – signing

Steven recently partnered with Guitar World and Spector Bass Guitars to giveaway a Legend 5 Classic Bass valued at $1100. This is the same bass that was used on the recording of the album, and you can enter to win it here: http://bit.ly/oz013G

Grace for Drowning North American Tour
Nov. 8 – Orlando, FL, House of Blues
Nov. 10 – Baltimore, MD, Ram’s Head
Nov. 11 – New York, NY, Best Buy Theater
Nov. 12 – Philadelphia, PA, Temple PAC
Nov. 13 – Boston, MA, Berklee Performance Center
Nov. 14 – Montreal, QC, Corona
Nov. 16 – Toronto, ON, Opera House
Nov. 18 – Chicago, IL, Park West
Click here for links to buy tickets for the tour

‘An album that can’t really be described but it urgently calls to be heard’
CLASSIC ROCK

‘Wilson’s ability to create music so prodigiously and to such consistent standards remains a mystery. With his second solo album, the Porcupine Tree leader has done it again.’
METAL HAMMER

‘an immersive, ambitious project that demands repeated spins’
MOJO (4 stars)

‘A dense yet extremely coherent album Grace For Drowning succeeds brilliantly… Prog album of the year’
TERRORIZER (5 stars)

‘A majestic soundscape created by an innovative, forward-looking musician immersed in the history of music’
RECORD COLLECTOR

‘This is a magnificent step up; he simply can’t be stopped.’
CLASSIC ROCK PROG

Grace for Drowing mini-site

Watch the show here

Gavin, who is Porcupine Tree’s drummer as well as a respected solo artist, was performing as part of Letterman’s second ‘drum-solo week’. Other artists that are appearing this week include Stewart Copeland (The Police) and Neil Peart (Rush) who also played on the show during the first ‘drum-solo week’.

Circles, Gavin’s recent album with 05Ric, was released last year on Kscope. He will be returning with a new album next year.

Click here to visit Gavin Harrison’s Circles mini-site

There will be a special playback of the classic Porcupine Tree album Stars Die, this Friday (27th May) at the Planetarium in Bochum, Germany.

The playback, in conjunction with Eclipsed magazine, is the part of the Under The Stars series, which allows the readers of the magazine to nominate progressive and art rock albums which they would like to hear in the spectacular surroundings of the Planetarium.

Stars Die is a collection of early recordings that Porcupine Tree made between 1991 and 1997 while on the Delerium label.

Click here for tickets

Buy Porcupine Tree albums from: the Kscope store​

Anesthetize by Porcupine Tree has been named DVD of the year in the Critics Choice poll in the end of year issue of Classic Rock Presents Prog.

It was one of three Kscope releases in the top five ahead of Insurgentes by Steven Wilson at number 3 and Mixtaped by No-Man at number 5.

Click here to buy the Blu-Ray/DVD

There were also three Kscope releases in the top five of the Prog Albums of the Year poll with Grappling Hooks by North Atlantic Oscillation (#5), Someone Here is Missing by The Pineapple Thief (#3) finishing behind Anathema’s We’re Here Because We’re Here, which has done the double after also being declared Classic Rock magazine’s favourite Prog album.

A new webpage for the Kscope edition of Circles, the second album from Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison and the multi-instrumentalist, singer and extended range bass player 05Ric, is now online at: www.kscopemusic.com/gavinharrison. The site features info about the album along with audio samples of some of the tracks.

For this Kscope edition the album has been extended to a 2CD set that includes the original album plus a 5.1 surround mix. It is available in stores now, as well the Kscope store. Click here to order your copy.

The project is the result of a chance meeting between the two which led to one of the most interesting and complex musical collaborations in recent years. 05Ric has developed a fresh, exciting, style of singing and virtuoso playing, which blended with the extraordinary drumming of Gavin Harrison has produced some unique results.

Circles picks up from where their debut Drop left off. The 10 songs feature Ric’s amazing extended range bass and haunting vocals – along with Gavin’s mind bending rhythmic designs and unusual expressions on the drums.

Tracklist
Disc 1 CD / Disc 2 DVD-A
1. Circles
2. Source
3. Last Call
4. Crisis
5. Faith
6. Scar
7. Break
8. Beyond The ‘A’
9. Eye
10. Goodbye

For more information and audio samples from Circles, visit the web page at: www.kscopemusic.com/gavinharrison

New documentary starring Porcupine Tree front-man Steven Wilson
Special screenings with Q&A in London (2nd Sept) and New York (21st Sept). Available as 2 DVD set from 27th September – pre-order now.

Insurgentes, Lasse Hoile’s film about Steven Wilson, is released on DVD by Kscope on 27th September and is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store. The first 2000 come with an exclusive free gift if you order it online via Kscope/Burning Shed.
Click here to pre-order the DVD set

Prior to the DVD release there will be a special screenings of the film in the Prince Charles Cinema at London’s Leicester Square on September 2nd and at the IFC Center in New York on September 21st. Steven will be at both screenings and will be available to answer questions from the audience about the film during a Q&A session which will follow the film. He will be joined by Lasse at the New York screening.

A limited number of tickets for these special evenings are available to purchase from www.princecharlescinema.com (London) and Burning Shed (New York). Tickets for London cost £10 (+75p booking fee) and tickets for New York cost $15.

The 2 disc set comes packaged in a digibook with a 65 page booklet featuring photography by Lasse and Carl Glover, Steven’s long-time art collaborator, in a hard slip case. The second disc features a host of extras including a 31 minute film of Bass Communion and Pig live in Mexico City, the promo video for Harmony Korine, two trailers, 6 audio out-takes from the album recording sessions and more. The film is subtitled in Spanish, French, German, and English and the sound mixed is in stereo and 5.1 surround sound. 

Insurgentes is a musical road movie that follows the making of the solo record of the same name, and is a portrait of an increasingly rare artist who works with music and media out of love and not for fame and fortune, persisting in making art on his own terms in a world where ‘throw-away’ mentality is increasingly becoming the norm.

Hoile has described the project as ‘starting out as a small side project to Steven Wilson’s solo album’ yet ‘as the project developed and more and more people got involved, we realised that we had the potential to create a great documentary that could stand on its own feet.’

Insurgentes explores music and the album as art form, and applying the same aesthetic vision through the writing, performance, production, artwork, lyrics, videos and beyond. The film looks into the issues of creating, packaging and marketing music in an era when iPods, mp3′s and download culture are changing and eroding perceptions of exactly what an album is supposed to sound and look like.

“My fear is that the current generation of kids who’re being born into this information revolution, growing up with the Internet, cell phones, iPods, this download culture, ‘American Idol,’ reality TV, prescription drugs, PlayStations — all of these things kind of distract people from what’s important about life, which is to develop a sense of curiosity about what’s out there.”
(Steven Wilson, MTV News)

It’s this curiosity that takes the artist around the world to find inspiration to create and record his music.

Through travels to different cultures and continents we meet with other personalities in the industry, including Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth, the Israeli superstar Aviv Geffen and the legendary producer Trevor Horn, and hear different opinions on the current and future state of music. The result, as Lasse remarks, is ‘both a portrait of Steven as an artist but also a look at today’s download culture and the effects it has on the artists trying to create and share what is truly in their hearts and minds.’

Insurgentes also follows Steven back to his roots and upbringing and what led to him becoming a musician, from humble beginnings in the suburbs of London to touring the world as a successful artist, working with many other established artists, and creating a lasting legacy of recorded work.

www.insurgentesfilm.com

Anesthetize is a 2 disc set (DVD + Blu-Ray) which captures the power of band’s live show. Recorded in high definition on multi-cameras over two nights at 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland in October 2008, the concerts featured tracks from throughout the band’s career until that point. Anesthetize collects the highlights from the two shows and presents them on both DVD and on Blu-Ray. The last remaining copies of the limited digi-book edition of the DVD and Blu-Ray set are now available to order from the Kscope store. Once this edition sells out, a super jewel case edition of the set will be available.

Buy Porcupine Tree albums
www.kscopemusic.com/porcupinetree

Buy Steven Wilson albums
www.kscopemusic.com/stevenwilson

Hotly tipped trio North Atlantic Oscillation have been announced as the support for UK dates of Porcupine Tree’s current European tour.

The band take over from Kscope label mates, Engineers who had to pull out of the dates due to unforeseen personal circumstances. The dates kicked off last night in Wolverhampton before gigs in Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow.

Dec 08 2009 NEWCASTLE, Academy
Dec 10 2009 MANCHESTER, Academy
Dec 11 2009 GLASGOW, ABC

NAO’s debut release, the EP Call Signs, has just been released and has been attracting rave reviews with Art Rocker claiming ‘NAO may well be your new favourite band’ and Drowned In Sound simply declaring ‘they really are quite alarmingly good’ while naming the track Cell Count as their single of the week. The Metro also recently stated that their ‘bright, friendly electronics and lush Brian Wilson harmonies suggest Scotland may have the beginnings of its own Animal Collective.’

The Call Signs EP can be ordered from the Kscope store or downloaded from all major download stores including iTunes, Amazon and emusic. Grappling Hooks, the band’s debut album, will be available from March 2010.

Check out the video below for Cell Count below, filmed and edited by Ben (from the band) and Michael Sherrington of Forest of Black.

www.kscopemusic.com/northatlanticoscillation
www.naoband.com

A promo for Engineers’ new single What Pushed Us Together is also now on the Kscope Vimeo channel, and can be seen below. The single can be downloaded from iTunes now, and will be available at most other digital outlets soon. The single also features the A Ricardo Tobar Mix.

www.kscopemusic.com/engineers

A new video for the track International Dirge has just been completed, and can be seen below:

TOUR CANCELLATION

It is with much disappointment that we have to announce the cancellation of all of our forthcoming gigs.

Due to some unavoidable personal circumstances we cannot perform the gigs with our full line up and we feel that this would not do justice to our recorded work.

Many apologies to those who have bought tickets and arranged transport and accommodation, and also to everyone involved in the organization of them.

We really appreciate your support and hope that you can obtain adequate refunds.

There are no plans to reschedule the gigs at the present time.

Sorry for any inconvenience,

Engineers.

Insurgentes, the debut solo album from Steven Wilson, is released in the UK on March 9th and during the week of release Steven will be visiting key independent record shops in London, Cheltenham, Cardiff and Bristol to sign copies of the album. Details of exactly where and when are below.

A vinyl edition of the album is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store. The vinyl edition will be limited to 2000 copies and will come on double heavyweight (180g) vinyl in a gatefold sleeve. This edition shall only be available from this site. It also features 4 bonus tracks not available on the CD/DVD edition.
 
Harmony Korine, the first single to be taken from the album, is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store. The single is available on limited edition coloured vinyl (black, white or blood red – 1000 copies of each). 

Lasse Hoile, the acclaimed director and long-time collaborator with Steven, has made a promo video for the single. You can check it out on the Insurgentes mini-site.
 
The mini-site also features clips taken from the forthcoming Insurgentes documentary. In the film Steven tests various ways to destroy an iPod and every week leading up to the release of the album snippets of the film shall be posted on the site, showing a different method of destruction ranging from hammers to shotguns to woodchippers. Click here to view the iPod destruction.

We have received a large number of entries for the remix competition that is running on the website but some people have contacting us to ask if we can extend the deadline for entries so we have decided to move it back to March 27^th.
 
UK instore signing sessions;
 
Monday 9th March 5.30pm
Sister Ray
34-35 Berwick Street, London, WIV 8RP
 
Tuesday 10th March 5.30pm
Rise
Unit 19, Beechwood Centre, Cheltenham, GL50 1DQ
 
Wednesday 11th March 5.30pm
Spillers Records
36 The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1AJ
  
Thursday 12th March 6.00pm
Fopp Bristol
27-29 College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TD

A new mini-site for Insurgentes is now online at www.insurgentes.org. In addition to audio clips, a free mp3 and downloads, the site also features a remix competition. The remix that Steven judges to be best will be included on a future official Steven Wilson release. If you are looking for some inspiration, there are two new mixes from Engineers (Kscope’s newest act) and Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson) already available to stream on the site.

The first single to be taken from the album, Harmony Korine, is available to pre-order from the site. Harmony Korine will be issued as a limited edition 7 inch vinyl single in a choice of three different colours – black, white, and blood red, each limited to 1,000 copies. The single will only be available through the mini-site.

A video for Harmony Korine is currently being made by long time collaborator Lasse Hoile and will be streamed from the site as soon as it’s ready! Lasse is also putting the finishing touches to the Insurgentes documentary. Trailers for the film are also streaming on the mini-site.

The mini-site also includes;
• Free mp3 track download
• Remix competition – winner to be included on an official Steven Wilson release
• New mixes from Engineers  and Pat Mastelotto
• Pre-order links for ltd edition 7″ single Harmony Korine (only available from the mini-site)
• Audio streams
• Video for Harmony Korine coming soon
• Trailers from the forthcoming Insurgentes documentary, filmed by Lasse Hoile
• Web and mobile phone downloads
• Artwork Gallery
• IPod destruction videos coming soon

Acclaimed for his work with Porcupine Tree, Opeth and Anja Garbarek amongst others, Steven Wilson’s debut album Insurgentes will be released on Kscope on the 9th of March 2009 (24th February in the US and digitally from 16th February)

Comprising 10 new tracks that range from ballads and anthems to all-out industrial noise assaults, the dark, cinematic and richly textured album represents two years’ worth of creative output and numerous recording sessions worldwide in studios from Mexico City to Japan and Israel. 

While Wilson is a member of several bands including Blackfield, No-Man and Bass Communion, he explains that: “when I began writing these songs, I quickly realized that they would be best suited to an album under my own name.  It was an intuitive, almost unconscious writing process that resulted in a kind of ‘poetry of melancholy.”  The final product inhabits a similar experimental realm as recent albums by Thom Yorke, Portishead, and Nine Inch Nails.


Wilson recruited a stellar cast of guests to work on the album including bassist Tony Levin, drummer Gavin Harrison, and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, alongside Japanese Koto player Michiyo Yagi, British guitarist Sand Snowman, and jazz flautist and saxophonist Theo Travis.

The Kscope edition of Insurgentes, the solo album from Steven Wilson is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store.

Insurgentes will be ship from 24th February, but you if you pre-order it now you will receive a link to download the album in 256kb mp3 format to listen to while you wait for your physical copy to arrive. Orders placed through this website will also include a free exclusive postcard.

Acclaimed for his work with Porcupine Tree, Opeth and Anja Garbarek amongst others, Insurgentes is Steven Wilson’s debut solo album. Comprising 10 new tracks that range from ballads and anthems to all-out industrial noise assaults, the dark, cinematic and richly textured album represents two years worth of creative output and numerous recording sessions worldwide in studios from Mexico City to Japan and Israel. 

To watch a trailer set to the first song from the album, Harmony Korine and to hear more music from the album visit www.insurgentes.org 

While Wilson is a member of several bands including Blackfield, No-Man and Bass Communion, he explains that “when I began writing these songs, I quickly realized that they would be best suited to an album under my own name.  It was an intuitive, almost unconscious writing process that resulted in a kind of ‘poetry of melancholy.”  The final product inhabits a similar experimental realm as recent albums by Thom Yorke, Portishead, and Nine Inch Nails.

For the album, the first of a three album deal with Kscope, Wilson recruited a stellar cast of guests to work on the album including bassist Tony Levin, drummer Gavin Harrison, and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, alongside Japanese Koto player Michiyo Yagi, British guitarist Sand Snowman, and jazz flautist and saxophonist Theo Travis. 

This edition consists of a 2 disc set in a rigid hardback digibook with 36 page booklet. Disc one is the already acclaimed 10 track album on stereo CD, and disc two is a DVD-A containing the album in higher resolution 24 bit stereo and 5.1 surround sound (in high res DVD-A and DTS version compatible with any DVD player), an 18 minute extract from Insurgentes film, and 2 album trailers.

Tracklist:
Harmony Korine
Abandoner
Salvaging
Veneno Para Las Hadas
No Twilight
Significant Other
Only Child
Twilight Coda
Get All You Deserve
Insurgentes

New solo album from Japan and Porcupine Tree legend Richard Barbieri

Spanning four decades, Richard Barbieri‘s eclectic musical career has encompassed innovative contributions to Japan in the 1980s and contemporary worldwide success with Porcupine Tree.

Following the artistic and critical success of his 2005 debut album Things Buried, Stranger Inside further develops Barbieri’s unique approach to texture, harmony and rhythm.

Writing and producing the album himself, the album includes contributions from long-term creative partners Steve Jansen (mixing/ 
co-arranging), Steven Wilson (mastering), Gavin Harrison (drums) and  
the legendary double bass player, Danny Thompson (currently enjoying  
renewed acclaim as part of the reformed Pentangle).

Although instrumental in nature, most tracks feature radical and atmospheric manipulations of the sampled voices of Tim Bowness and Suzanne Barbieri.

The CD comes in digipack artwork by Carl Glover and Luigi Colasanti.

Stranger Inside is in stores from September 15th and will be available digitally from September 8th.

To listen to a six minute sampler of the album, download desktops and more, go to www.kscopemusic.com/richardbarbieri/strangerinside

Tracklist:
Cave
All Fall Down
Hypnotek
Decay
Abyssn
Byzantium
Morphia
Retina Blur
Stranger Inside

Joining Lightbulb Sun on Kscope is the Porcupine Tree DVD, Arriving Somewhere. Filmed on October 11th and 12th 2005 at Park West, Chicago, on the Deadwing Tour, the DVD captures the band in
glorious 5.1 & stereo.

Alongside the Park West performance, the double DVD set also features a host of extras including Lasse Hoile’s films for Halo, The Start of Something Beautiful, and Mother and Child Divided, Lazarus promo clip, Futile and Radioactive Toy from German Rockpalast TV broadcast, Gavin Harrison’s Cymbal Song in 5.1 surround sound and a photo gallery.

Captures the Brit quartet at the peak of their powers ★★★★★
Record Collector

The DVD will be released on April 21st.

On April 21st Kscope will be releasing a new special 2 disc (CD & DVD-A) edition of the 2000 album Lightbulb Sun.
 
Described by Classic Rock as ‘an album of stunning songs and startling musicianship… breathtaking’, the album features the singles 4 Chords That Made A Million and Shesmovedon.
 
On this brand new edition, disc one is a CD containing a new Steven Wilson remix/re-master of the original stereo album, while disc two is a DVD-A containing the album remixed into 5.1 surround sound (in DVD-A and DTS versions), as well as a 24 bit high resolution version of the stereo mix.
 
Also included on the DVD are a gallery of images not used in the booklet, notes on the songs and the re-mastering/re-mixing process which has been undertaken for this new edition and 5.1 mixes of the bonus tracks Disappear, Buying New Soul and Cure For Optimism.
 
This is the definitive version of one of the essential albums in the Porcupine Tree catalogue.

Click here to order your copy