If there’s anything that characterises the multi-faceted work of the remarkable Steven Wilson – musical auteur, Porcupine Tree founder, remix king, solo artist, serial collaborator – it’s his restless curiosity. So what better destination for his latest project than the outer reaches of space.
The Overview, his eighth solo album, tackles the big existential questions as it journeys through a richly nuanced soundscape of Earthly disquiet and cosmic reverence across its two lengthy tracks, informed partly by cinematic visions such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar and Solaris. Guests include guitarist Randy McStine, XTC’s Andy Partridge and Wilson’s wife Rotem.
The album’s arrival was previewed with a series of immersive playbacks, for which director and regular collaborator Miles Skarin created a 40-minute accompanying film emphasising The Overview’s vast scale.
How did The Overview come about?
Fundamental to my whole career is this idea of not wanting to repeat myself. So I thought it might be a challenge to do some kind of collaboration with a visual artist or film project or installation.
I sat down with Alex Milas [former editor-in-chief of Metal Hammer], who runs this organisation called Space Rocks, dedicated to bringing together the worlds of astronomy and science and music. I thought it would be really interesting to maybe create a bespoke piece of music for something that Alex would be doing.
At one point he asked me: “Have you heard about this phenomenon known as the overview effect?” He explained that it’s this profound cognitive shift that astronauts have when they first look back at the Earth from space. And it’s not always a positive reaction, because a lot of them perceive just how insignificant and meaningless human existence really is, ultimately. That was a lightbulb moment. It immediately suggested a conceptual album.
And how did you go about realising that?
I knew this wasn’t going to work as ten separate songs. It needed to be something in the long form, analogous with a movie or novel. And it needed to take the listener on this incredible journey from Earth to the other side of the universe.
For all its sense of wonder, The Overview is a journey into the void, which I’m guessing is very liberating for an artist.
There’s literally nowhere you can’t go. It’s the beauty of emptiness, the beauty of complete non-existence. I could have easily called the album Perspective, because I think that’s really what it’s about. In some ways this album is a continuation of what I’ve always written about, dealing with deep existential questions: What are we here for? What is the purpose of our life? The album starts with this scene where the alien essentially says: “Did you forget to look around at this beautiful place that you live in?”
Did you always think of involving Andy Partridge in this project? Not from the beginning, but I developed this notion of a section that would contrast huge cosmic phenomena - black holes imploding, stars dying, nebulas diving – with the minutiae of everyday human existence. So it’s a husband cheating on his wife, a nurse working in a care home, a young kid getting his first telescope.
As soon as I had that idea, I thought: “Who writes about little England better than anyone else?” So I called Andy up: “I’ve got a challenge for you!” He did a beautiful job, bringing a little slice of Swindonian soap opera.
You’re uneasy about the idea of being a progressive rocker, yet you describe The Overview as prog. How do you reconcile the two?
For many people, prog is simply a label for something that sounds like Genesis in 1972. But nothing could be further from me in terms of what I want to achieve and what The Overview is. The fact that the two tracks are long, that they go through scenes and have a sense of development which has got nothing to do with the conventional pop form, is what a lot of people would consider to be progressive. Including myself, by the way. But The Overview touches on electronic music, ambient music, singer-songwriter sensibilities, metal, big riffs, krautrock, progressive rock, it’s all in there. It’s simply an attempt to create something that sounds like a Steven Wilson record.
You begin touring in May, including four nights at London Palladium.
The second half of the show will be a performance of The Overview, with the film. So it’s going to be quite big. In terms of the rest, I’ve got quite a substantial back catalogue now, to say the least. One thing I don’t have is hits, which means I can just put together a show that feels like a very satisfying journey. With four nights at the Palladium, I’ll be looking to change it up a little, hopefully with some special guests.
You always appear to have so much going on. Is Porcupine Tree still on the agenda?
We came back a couple of years ago with a new record [2022’s Closure/Continuation] and had a great time touring. In the past I was writing the majority of material, so the key for me was bringing back Porcupine Tree as something much more collaborative. It’s definitely on the table that we’ll continue to make music together.
Having spent the previous decade establishing your solo career – and talking of perspective – did you have a different approach when you returned to Porcupine Tree?
Yeah, very much. I’ve always said that part of me wasn’t really meant to be in a band, because I’m too much of a control freak. I’m very clear on what I want to do, which can be really annoying for other people. I can be honest about it now, but back in the day that was the source of some friction.
Having my solo career means that if I’m going back into a band situation, I feel more comfortable with the idea of being part of a democratic unit where I don’t always get my way. So I’m enjoying that sense of compromise in the best possible sense of the word.
The Overview is out now via Fiction Records.
