It's mind blowing for me to realise that it is almost exactly 20 years since Porcupine Tree made their first ever live appearance, at a small club called the Nag's Head in High Wycombe, UK on the 4th December 1993. To commemorate the anniversary here is a recording from the archives of the first song played at that first ever show, the Van Der Graaf Generator / Dead Can Dance sampling, David Gilmour meets The Orb fusion of Voyage 34 (years before he did actually collaborate with The Orb!), the birth of PT as a band and a performing entity.  It was recorded straight from the mixing desk so the balance is a bit strange, but actually considering how nervous we must have all been, it's not bad at all. 

Buy archive PT CD here

PORCUPINE TREE - Voyage 34 (Nags Head 4/12/1993)

Wizardry by Garrie Mushet

Artist Details:

SC: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/ukWzyQkEFzg6eXPa6

IG: https://www.instagram.com/silentsevir/?hl=en

Silentsevir

The second remix for 'Index' was created by Necro Deathmort.  Despite their name, NDM aren’t an East European death metal group (!) but an English electronic music duo, of whom I am a big fan, so I was very happy when they agreed to do the remix.  It originally appeared as a bonus track on the digital single release of Postcard in 2012.

Postcard

Index (Necro Deathmort Remix)

Written in 2001 for a planned metal style collaboration with Mikael Åkerfeldt, this song has been revisited several times since, but I could never really make it fit the style of whatever I was doing at the time.  In the meantime the album with Mike finally happened, but in a completely different style to the album we planned 10 years ago (it's coming out in April).  So finally here is the orphan song Cut Ribbon - this is the latest version from the 2010/2011 Grace For Drowning sessions.  Gavin Harrison on drums (recorded in 2008), all other instruments SW.  

Cut Ribbon

I found this on an old computer - it's a demo for either the In Absentia or Deadwing albums, something that never got used - I can't be totally sure because while it shares lyrical themes with the songs on In Absentia, one of the melodies seems to relate to another piece from Deadwing era.  I don't remember too much about it, other than I guess it wasn't good enough to get any further than this.  Rescued from the abyss, so I only have a compressed audio file of this one, sorry about that.

Godfearing (demo 2001-03?)

25 years ago today, on the 4th December 1993, Porcupine Tree made its first ever live appearance at the Nag's Head in High Wycombe, UK.  By then 2 albums and an EP had been released under the name (and a third one was half finished), all of which gave the impression that Porcupine Tree was a band, when in fact it was a solo project, just me messing about in my bedroom studio, although Colin and Richard had both guested on one song each on Up the Downstair released earlier that year. Positive press and a growing fanbase had led to increased pressure for live appearances, so in late 1993 I asked 3 brilliant musicians I knew, Colin Edwin (from my home town of Hemel Hempstead), Richard Barbieri and Chris Maitland (both of whom had played with my other band No-Man) to join me in forming a real band line up of the project. For some reason they all agreed, and on the strength of the buzz about the project, Richard Allen at my then record company Delerium managed to book this show, as well as 2 others and a BBC radio session.  After one week of rehearsals this was our first ever gig in front of an audience, performing a 7 song, 70 minute set in a backroom of a pub to about 200 people that had traveled from all over the country.  The first song played was Voyage 34. which you can find elsewhere on the web, but here is a mixing desk recording of the second song Always Never.  This would have also been the first time I had sung in front of an audience, at least since the days of my various school bands, so I can only imagine now how nervous I must have been at the prospect!  

The rest, as they say, is history...

PORCUPINE TREE - Always Never(Nags Head 4/12/1993)

An extended 6 minute version that was previously released as part of the "Blackfield" digital download single, but I think only in mp3 form (as usual this is full resolution WAV). Blackfield's third album is due for release in March, and there is now a facebook page dedicated to the band at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blackfield/103704446366593

Blackfield

BLACKFIELD (extended)

My Personal Shopper's remix of the amazing SW. I hope you enjoy it!

Personal Shopper- Steven Wilson remix

Crash Diet - Vocal Cover

Too Late for Democracy

Going Down

I'm a Canadian artist and current guitarist of Austrian alt rock band INTERGANG. I would describe my music as hard rock mixed with progressive rock, a bit of industrial metal, and progressive pop.

Going Down

Aien

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