Steven Wilson insists he wouldn’t want to take the lead on writing duties in any Porcupine Tree reunion.
The frontman has never ruled out a return to the band, although in January he shot down rumours that it was set to happen in the near future.
But if they do get back together, he has no interest in bringing in a near-complete album like he used to.
Wilson tells Under The Radar: “I would have to say to the guys, ‘Look, there’s no point in me writing the material. If I were to do that I might as well do it for a solo record. Let’s try writing together, or writing in partnerships.”
He accepts that, no matter how successful his solo career becomes, he’ll always be asked about Porcupine Tree. “I think of someone like Peter Gabriel – people are still asking him when Genesis are getting back together,” says Wilson.
“It’s not a bad thing; it’s a flattering thing. When you step out of a reasonably successful band it doesn’t matter how good your solo work is. People always have a nostalgic attachment to the band identity. I’m used to it now.
“But it is frustrating sometimes that I have to explain, four albums into my solo career, that if Porcupine Tree get back together, it will be a side-project.”
Wilson just released Hand. Cannot. Erase. the follow-up to 2013’s The Raven That Refused To Sing – both of which have helped his solo career rocket.
PT drummer Gavin Harrison recently completed work on an album of the band’s music, reinterpreted in a big-band format. Wilson says of Cheating The Polygraph: “It’s brilliant – I love it! he sat me down and played me some of those tracks. I was almost the whole way through and he said, ‘Do you recognise it?’ I said, ‘No.’ And these are songs I wrote. It’s a beautifully executed piece of work.
Cheating The Polygraph is released on April 13. Hand. Cannot. Erase. is on sale now. Wilson is the cover star of the latest edition of Prog and he tours the UK later this month:
Mar 12: Cambridge Corn Exchange
Mar 13: Cardiff St David’s Hall
Mar 14: Manchester Bridgewater Hall
Mar 16: Edinburgh Queens Hall
Mar 17: London Troxy
Mar 18: Wolverhampton Civic Hall
