The latest edition of Prog magazine carries a review of the band’s gig at the Hammersmith Apollo last month.

In heaping praise upon the in-concert performance of The Incident, reviewer Michael Donlevy, observed that PT’s presence comes not from individual grandstanding but the ability to act as a cohesive unit.

“...there are no drum solos, for example. There’s no need. Bassist Colin Edwin is similarly understated, almost hiding behind a big hat so as to let his subtle but intricate parts do the talking for him. Richard Barbieri, behind banks of keyboards, adds pastel to the paintwork . And we have to add a word for touring guitarist John Wesley, who is sensationally good, especially as he contributes to the background vocals too. He’s not a full-time member but he seems like one.”

Donlevy concludes “This is a genuinely brilliant band a the peak of its powers.”

Elsewhere in the magazine, PT are favourably mentioned in a round-table discussion about the current state of progressive rock by cover stars Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth) and Big Elf’s Damon Fox.

Following on from the resumption of The Incident tour, Porcupine Tree are featured in Painkiller. Featuring an interview with Richard and Steven, the periodical is apparently “China’s No. 1 heavy magazine”.

Gavin has been talking to The Telegraph newspaper of Calcutta, India ahead of PT’s debut performance in Mumbai next month. Amongst other things, the Q&A reveals Gav’s desire to work with Indian percussionist Zakir Hussain, his own experience of working with Indian musicians, and the location of his most favourite recent PT concert. Click here to read the whole article.

Details on how to register and get tickets for the Mood Indigo gig are now online.

Gavin Harrison is also the subject of a four-page feature in November's edition of Drummer magazine where he talks about his work within PT.

"I recorded the drums for the previous two and a half Porcupine Tree records at my own studio (Nil recurring being half a record) but for The Incident I recorded at Air Studios because I really like the room there. I made sure I was well rehearsed because I didn't want to waste time or money struggling through the arrangements. It was very much a performance thing. I played whole takes from beginning to end, maybe did three or four takes and picked the best one. at home I can do it at a very leisurely pace but doing at Air did really kick my arse and I kind of like that."


The article goes on to discuss his work in King Crimson and how his forthcoming book/DVD package Rhythmic Designs came about.

"I met this guy called Terry Branam on the internet via Drummerworld and he started sending me transcriptions of some things I had played and they were very detailed and accurate, even down to the stickings. He transcribed everything from Drop and then I sent him an advance copy of Circles and he did all of that. When he'd transcribed both records I thought it must come out as a book so I decided to make an accompanying DVD, explaining the tunes, to go with it. That however turned into nearly three hours of video! I've just finished it and I'm really pleased with it."

The December edition of Classic Rock magazine have reviewed PT’s recent show at the Hammersmith Apollo. Tommy Udo was clearly impressed by the two hour show which he describes as being “very intense and delirious”. Udo observes “PT have neither the theatrical genius of Peter Gabriel nor the overwhelming exotic light show and visuals of Tool, but with a free-ranging imagination and a fairly simple back projection tightly linked to their music, Steven Wilson draws us into a world of magic realism, a psychedelic rural landscape sketched by a barrage of disturbing images.”

Elsewhere in the same mag, the making of King Crimson’s 1969 debut album is the subject of a four-page feature, including a 300 word contribution from SW, who has recently remixed the prog-rock classic for surround sound and a new stereo mix.

Assessing the legacy of the record, SW concluded “Some people snigger at the idea of progressive rock but, for me, when it was at its peak in the ’69 to ’74 period it was the most experimental, most credible, most ambitious music that has ever been made. The guys were reaching for the stars. And very often got there.”

Gavin will be doing a drum workshop in March next year. During the demonstration Gavin will be playing and explaining the drumming parts for some PT tracks as well as shedding light on the material he has produced by bassist / vocalist 05Ric. As if all this wasn’t enough fun, Gav will be doing a Q&A after the demonstration.



Gav in Copenhagen by Lasse Hoile

The session will take place at Mr. Kryps, Parkstone, in Poole, UK on 18th March 2010. Tickets are on sale now and as it’s an intimate venue folks are advised to book their place right now.

There’s a two-part interview with Colin Edwin online wherein he shares his thoughts on the importance of having broad musical tastes, the influence of African music in Ex-Wise Heads, the spoken word origins of his solo album,Third Vessel, and discovering the joys of flat-wound strings.

When asked about the musical changes which the band has undergone and what people can expect with The Incident, Colin had this to say. “I think The Incident is a really good blend of what I would call old PT and new PT. There’s elements of The Incident which sound like they could be on Stupid Dream or something. There’s that kind of spacier aspect. Not the earlier space-rock like Voyage 34 - that’s long gone - but there’s elements of things which could’ve been on Stupid Dream, but also things we’ve been doing for the last few records such as heavier sections as well. I think it’s the most complete blend of where we’ve been at for the last few records married with where we were a few years ago.”

Watch Part 1

Watch Part 2

Elsewhere, the latest edition of Metal Hammer magazine continues the discussion about The Incident with a major feature about the record and an interview with SW.

Porcupine Tree have donated an autographed set of promo CDs to help raise money for the New York-based legal charity, LIFT. The promos include:

1) Shallow promo single (January 2005 Lava/Atlantic Records) contains: Shallow (radio edit); So Called Friend (non-album track); Half-Light (non-album track)

2) Futile promo CD (July 2003 Lava Records) contains: Strip The Soul (edit); Orchidia (2003 band recording); Futile (May 2003 new recording); Drown With Me (Previously issued on In Absentia European edition bonus CD); Interview with Steven Wilson; Hatesong (Recorded live in Philadelphia, 26 Jul 2002); Blackest Eyes (live at XM radio); Death Whispered A Lullaby (Taken from Opeth "Damnation" CD); Steve Wilson Generic Station ID (0.09)

3) Porcupine Tree Sampler 2002.1 (July 2002 Lava promotional CD) - Number one in a series of three samplers based around material from the "In Absentia" album. This CD sent to radio only. Trains (4.25 edit)

At the time of writing, there are three days left to place your bid. Visit the auction here.

100 % of the money raised in this auction goes to the charity. You can find out more about LIFT and what they do by visiting their website.

As the title cunningly implies, the All Music Guide have recently updated their listing for Porcupine Tree. In his review of The Incident, Greg Prato indulges in a bout of prog stererotyping before concluding “unlike early proggers who favored meandering instrumental doodling over succinct songwriting, Porcupine Tree always favor the importance of memorable songs over flashy solos, which certainly makes the group one of the top modern-day prog rock bands.” You can read the review here and take a peek at AMG’s PT biography .

Elsewhere, Gavin has been interviewed by the German language site, Hooked On Music.For those who don’t speak German, there’s this translation which may not be quite what Gavin said and so should be approached with caution.

Richard Barbieri is the subject of an interview conducted in Budapest last Sunday with the Hungarian web mag, Good Music Is Good Music.

When asked about whether or not the band is progressive with a capital P, Richard has this to say: “We started as a band about ’93 and it’s gone through a lot of different musical changes. I think we’re a little bit alternative, a little bit experimental...progressive in our ideas … We want to find new ways to make music, we’re not restrained by any limitation. For us that means progression; you move forward to find new music.”



















The whole interview can be read here.

Our thanks to Lasse Hoile for the photographs taken at the gig in Copenhagen over on the tour photoblog. Sabrina Mortensen, who starred in the video of Way Out of Here, also stopped by to say hello to the group.