“From now on, everything I release is going to be on Blu-ray,” insists Steven Wilson, rock’s renaissance man. Wilson and I were sitting on a couch in a control room at Avatar Studios in New York City in the late afternoon of July 28, in between 5.1 surround-sound playback sessions for his upcoming second solo album, Grace for Drowning. If you thought Wilson had already set a high bar for original surround-sound material with his otherworldly 5.1 work in Porcupine Tree and on his first solo album, 2009’s impeccable Insurgentes, well, to borrow a line: you ain’t heard nuthin’ yet.
I was at Avatar Studios (site of previous invite-only 5.1 listening sessions for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ Mojo and Porcupine Tree’s In Absentia) on NYC’s west side from 2 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, and was able to listen to the 88+ minutes of the two-disc Drowning all the way through three times. Disc 1 percolates with influences of another Wilson (Brian, that is) on a number of layered harmonies throughout a few different tracks, and “Remainder the Black Dog” springboards from the template set forth with Insurgentes’ build-to-a-pummeling “Get What You Deserve.” On Disc 2, “Index” burbles with an ‘80s-meets-‘10s vibe. (“I’m a collector / I’ll collect anything I find,” it begins. Hmm, know anybody like that?) And “Raider II” is a 23-minute epic of various movements and passages of — without spoiling its impact, as you MUST experience it yourself — loud, soft, loud. Word is that the Crimson King himself, Robert Fripp, gave his blessing to this occasionally Lizardesque piece during a listening session at Air Studios in London.
“There’s no question Blu-ray is the best way to release my material,” Wilson told me. “For better or worse, I have this reputation as being someone who’s on the cutting edge of audio excellence, or whatever you want to call it. Some people are complaining that we’re abandoning DVD-Audio, but come on — you can get a Blu-ray player for 75 bucks.”
High-res really is the only way to hear — and see — what Wilson is doing. We’ll be doing much, much more with him in the months ahead. For now, Wilson wanted to extend his personal thanks to all the support he’s received from the S+V audience over the years, and he and I agreed that it would only be fitting to show his appreciation by sharing some video with all of us, so watch this space over the coming weeks for some clips from Drowning. It's a life-saver.
I think it is Fantastic that Sound & Vision has hooked up again with Steven Wilson. I have already ordered my copies of Grace For Drowning...can't wait! I for one have loved the fact that SW has released his and most of PT's material on DVD-A. It is the only way to hear Hi-res on the road. I have yet to hear of a head unit that plays Blu-ray. I need to say Thank-you to Steven for all the music he has subjected me to over the years. I'm confident Drowning will be some of his BEST work to-date. Thanks to S&V for yet another great article!
p.s. Steven - PLEASE Don't Forget Denver
GAS
It is always gratifying to know more 5.1 surround SW music is on the way! I've also preordered the special edition of Drowning just yesterday.
I too have all of the DVD-A group and solo discs and wonder about Blu-Ray in the car; I suspect that we'll see some head units before too long.
For the benefit of other readers, when I attended the NYC screening of the Insurgentes last September (and met you both), I made it a special point to publicly acknowledge Steven's AMAZING work on the 5.1 mixes of the King Crimson album catalog to the audience, going so far as to say that "his application for sainthood has been approved."
Also quite surprised and joyful that tour dates are appearing for supporting this album.
Cheers! Tim (residing in Nashville and serving as a Quadraphonic Quad moderator)
Just wait folks -- your collective minds will be blown (in all channels). The video content you'll soon see here is downright amazing, as are Steven's plans for the live set, band, sound, and visuals...
MM, S+V EIC
As a huge PT fan, I was somewhat disappointed with his first solo album. Not really sure why, but it just didn't do it for me. Even still, I'll definitely pick this one up.
To continue being a negative nancy, while I'm thrilled that one of my favorite artists is doing so much with high-res audio, I can't say I'll likely want to purchase this on blu-ray unless it also comes with a CD or a high-res digital copy. I just prefer to listen to my music whenever it's convenient, which is usually in the car or at work via headphones. And as much as I enjoy the audiophile experience of sitting in the sweet spot and all that, it just rarely happens for me these days... Lack of free time I suppose... Don't get me wrong; I would like to see the video component, I just doubt I would watch it more than once or twice, and I like to listen to albums far more than once or twice.
Anywho. I recognize I'm in a somewhat shitty mood, so I would like to apologize to Steven Wilson and S&V. Keep up the great coverage and Steven, keep experimenting and coming up with great music!!