Porcupine Tree frontman-turned-solo-artist, Steven Wilson, is featured in a new interview on the Gas Masks & Hand Grenades podcasr alongside Tom Bowness to discuss their project, No-Man. Duting the chat, found below, Wilson offered some information on his next solo album, due out in 2025.
Wilson: "The follow up (to The Harmony Codex) is almost finished, can you believe. Bear in mind The Harmony Codex was finished in December 2022, so it's been over a year since that, and I've almost finished the follow-up. It's very different again. I work very quickly and I'm still excited by making music. This is just two 20-minute long tracks, so it's very conceptual, and I think that'll be finished and ready to come out early next year."
In November 2023, Wilson has shared a stunning official music video for the brooding centerpiece of The Harmony Codex. The clip for the claustrophobic and hypnotic "Beautiful Scarecrow" was directed and animated by long-term collaborator Jess Cope alongside Venkatram Viswanathan. Cope previously directed videos for Wilson's tracks "The Raven That Refused to Sing," "Routine," "People Who Eat Darkness," and "King Ghost."
A gothic horror story set in a post-apocalyptic world where a deadly pandemic has led to the human race being divided, with the infected rounded up and forced to live in underground quarantine, Jess’ extraordinary film continues to play on the mind long after the credits have run, showing how a simple gesture of kindness can resonate with profound meaning for years afterward.
“The video is a completely new approach for Owl House Studios," says Jess Cope. "I wrote the original idea with my partner Jonathan Main and in conjunction with Venky Viswanathan and Shaheen Sheriff, we decided to pursue a 3D animation route. Our aim was to build a computer–generated world but give it the 'feel and texture' of a stop-motion animation. As always, Steven’s track was so exciting to work with, as the more you listen to the track the more your ears discover. The song has so much depth and richness, it allowed us to freely explore an intriguing visual narrative.”
Written, performed, and produced by Steven Wilson, The Harmony Codex includes the singles "What Life Brings," “Impossible Tightrope,” “Rock Bottom” (featuring Ninet Tayeb), and “Economies of Scale,” all available now alongside official music videos streaming on YouTube. The album is available now via Spinefarm Records in a wide range of formats – including CD, 2LP, Blu-ray, and digital download. Order here.
"What Life Brings" video:
"Economies Of Scale" video:
