Former Porcupine Tree bassist Colin Edwin and live guitarist John Wesley have joined forces in a brand new act, Voyage 35.
As the band name implies, the pair will be taking to stages to perform Porcupine Tree material rarely heard in the live arena these days. The band have announced one live date thus far, at the 2Days Prog + 1 Festival in Novara in Italy next September, but Prog is aware UK shows are currently being booked.
“I know there is a lot of love out there for the early Porcupine Tree material, and many people have expressed a desire to hear it again," says Edwin. "Most of this music kind of fell by the wayside as the band moved on, and it feels right to revisit things again with a fresh approach and new musical talent”
“I realised deep inside that I really missed playing that music, so an opportunity to go out with Colin and an amazing set of musicians to perform music I deeply cared about was not something I was going to miss," adds Wesley. "Bringing that music to fans that care about it as I do will be a mutual pleasure."
The pair will be taking Porcupine Tree's original lightshow, Fruit Salad Lights, out on the road with them, and plan to perform material from the band that's not been played live for many years, concentrating on the early Delerium Records and Snapper Records eras.
Edwin was famously left out of Pocupine Tree's 2021 reunion, but had been the band's bassist from 1993, performing at their very first live show at The Nag's Head in High Wycombe, to 2010, when the band went on hiatus in 2010. Wesley performed live with the band from 2002 to 2010.
“Over the years, in various interviews usually based around whatever I was doing at that moment, the inevitable Porcupine Tree questions would come my way," Edwin continues. "For several reasons, I’d long considered Porcupine Tree a thing of the past and had never seriously considered the possibility of revisiting the music, not least because it was made clear to me that there was “no role for me” in the band."
It was a chance meeting with former Porcupine Tree manager and the man behind Delerium Records, Richard Allen, and Glenn Povey, the band's original booking agent, that acted as a catalyst for Voyage 35.
"Richard and I met up after many years of no contact," Edwin recalls. “And the idea of forming a band and touring was more of a joke about how it might happen in an amusing way. Having been asked many times over the years if performing the old repertoire was a possibility, I always responded that it was firmly locked in a drawer marked 'No'."
Allen's not the only former Pocupine Tree contact Edwin has been involved with of late. Original drummer, Chris Matiland, performs on the recently released The Baldock Transmissions ambient prog album with Edwin and guitarist Jon Durant, although whether he has any future involvement in Voyage 35 remains to be seen.
“There was a certain energy, naivety and spirit to the band’s early years that I am very fond of, and I know that many fans share that nostalgia from the large amount of correspondence I have received over the years," Edwin concludes. "Although I am not usually one for the rear-view mirror, I am very much looking forward to performing that music again and bringing a new energy to it, in a live environment."
More details will be available through the band's new website, which you can access here.
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