Changing Viewpoints With STEVEN WILSON

Interview by Kris Peters
Acclaimed musical innovator and six-time Grammy nominee, Steven
Wilson, will bring his highly anticipated The Overview Tour to
Australia this November. His arrival will follow a massive run of
UK, European and American dates and celebrates the release of his
eighth solo album, The Overview, out now via Fiction Records.
Australian fans can expect a captivating live experience from one
of contemporary music’s most boundary-pushing, genre bending
artists. Accompanied by accomplished and seasoned veterans
including Nick Beggs on bass (Mute Gods, Steve Hackett), legendary
jazz keyboardist, Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Ray Manzarek), Craig
Blundell on drums (Steve Hackett, Frost) and Randy McStine on
guitars (Marco Minnemann, The Fringe) this world-class line up will
bring the expansive, progressive soundscapes to life in a way that
can only be experienced in a live setting.
The Overview is a 42-minute conceptual journey inspired by the
“overview effect” of astronauts viewing Earth from space, and marks
a return to the long-form progressive style Steven Wilson redefined
with the iconic Porcupine Tree and his earlier solo work. Featuring
two ambitious tracks and immersive spatial audio production, The
Overview blends progressive sprawl with cinematic electronics and
lush, immersive vibes all wrapped in spatial audio wizardry.
It’s a bold addition to his repertoire which also includes six
Grammy nominations, three consecutive UK Top 5 albums and a string
of iconic remixes for artists including, Pink Floyd, The Who, King
Crimson and Tears For Fears. The Australian tour promises to be a
thrilling and dynamic experience. Expect a set packed with The
Overview’s mind-bending sprawl, alongside cuts from his acclaimed
and peerless career.
HEAVY had the pleasure of chatting with Wilson, in an enlightening
chat that proves why the man is so highly regarded in the music
industry. One of the questions we asked focused on the length of
his songs and whether the global shortening of attention spans
comes into his thinking when writing.
"The simple answer is I try not to think about the listener when I
mark art," he answered honestly. "That sounds very selfish and
self-indulgent, and it is, but I've always believed that artists -
if I can pretentiously call myself that - should never be thinking
about their audience when they create the art, I think by
definition it is a selfish act, and you just hope that people want
to go with you on that journey. You hope that people will give you
the benefit of the doubt. I have a fairly loyal fan base that
listen to everything I do. Even if they moan about it, and they
complain it's not what they want they still go with me on that
journey (smiles), which I think is something that I've built up
over the years, that kind of loyalty. 
Also, I think there's a sense of providing the alternative. There's
always been this notion in pop and rock of alternative music.
Providing the alternative to whatever is the mainstream at the
moment. The mainstream at the moment, as you suggested, is very
immediate, short, synthesized pop music. Usually sung by female
solo artists. That seems to be very much the prevalent, mainstream,
pop formula. So here I am kind of providing the alternative to
that. There are people that want that. There are people who want to
engage on a deeper level and are prepared to sit and listen to a
longer piece of music. So in that sense I see myself as the
alternative to the mainstream, and there's always an audience for
that."
In the full interview, Steve runs us through his busy schedule,
tells us what has changed since his last visit, his backing band
and what they bring to the live show, The Overview and how fans
responded, the conceptual story it is based on and how it
transpired to verse, the balance of writing long compositions in
the face of people's shortening attention spans, the musical
atmosphere generated in his music and the process of bringing it to
life, constructing set lists when so many of his songs are lengthy
and more.


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