<img title="Steve Wilson" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/24Steven-Wilson.jpg" alt="Steve Wilson" />Steve Wilson
When he picked up the guitar, he reincarnated the psychedelic genre that remained barren after Pink Floyd&rsquo;s adjournment in the &rsquo;80s. Steven Wilson is a musician, often called a magician. The world identified the genius after hearing him in Porcupine Tree. Ahead of his India tour at the NH7 Weekender, the 48-year-old speaks about his solo career and stories behind his popular songs. Excerpts from an interview:
You worked with project Altamont at 15. What inspired your sound? My father used to listen to a lot of Conceptual Rock music, like Pink Floyd&rsquo;s The Dark Side Of The Moon. I absorbed that music since childhood. I wanted to tell stories through music, my parents created that musical DNA within me. Tell us about books you read, films you watched during the time? I didn&rsquo;t enjoy school but I loved&nbsp;English literature. I had a great teacher who introduced me to Franz Kafka and Steppenwolf comics. Those books were complex and surreal. Most films I loved were esoteric, like Eraserhead (David Lynch) and all of Stanley Kubrick&rsquo;s films. They had a surreal quality and spoke of dream logic. When you dream, the story doesn&rsquo;t follow a logical path. This sounds similar to the surreal film, Un Chien Andalou Absolutely. Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali followed the format. Even Bunuel&rsquo;s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie was an absurd film. When I write music, I ensure that I don&rsquo;t let the song go in obvious directions, like these films.
<img title="Steven Wilson (third from left) during his Porcupine Tree days" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/24pt2.jpg" alt="Steven Wilson (third from left) during his Porcupine Tree days" /> Steven Wilson (third from left) during his Porcupine Tree days Do you still intend to make a film on Deadwing? I read the script a year ago. I feel if I do a film now, I would rather write something different. The Deadwing script is a 10-year-old draft, essentially a ghost story, which fortunately became a best-selling album. Even Hand. Cannot. Erase (fourth studio album) developed into some stories, there could be a movie down somewhere. What&rsquo;s the story of Lazarus? I thought the song would be in one of my solo records but it ended up in a Porcupine Tree record. The script had a character named David and the song is from the perspective of his mother; she is singing the lines from the grave. How do you write your songs? Does it trigger from a guitar lick or a lyric? It could be anything, a lyrical idea or a piano note or a rhythm. I wrote most of the tunes in Hand. Cannot. Erase from a bass guitar. Will you reunite with Porcupine Tree? I don&rsquo;t think I will go back to a band. The group was fine but I believe I am supposed to be a solo artiste. When I was in the band, I wrote songs, helped in production, did interviews and I am still doing the same. I am not saying there weren&rsquo;t valuable contributions from others but being solo, I can work with any musician on earth and change directions when I want to. Can fans expect songs like Half Light and Piano Lessons? I wouldn&rsquo;t rule out doing the stuff. I still play their songs and the music will live on. People often call your music modern Pink Floyd I don&rsquo;t want to be a substitute to anyone, I think they mean in a positive way but I don&rsquo;t want to be seen living in the shadow of any other artiste. I want people to say, &lsquo;This is Steven Wilson&rsquo;s music&rsquo;. It doesn&rsquo;t annoy me but I don&rsquo;t encourage the comparison.
What about the fifth studio album? I&rsquo;ve been writing since last year, and I plan to hit the studio after returning from India. I have written roughly 19 songs. It is important to keep moving forward. Tell us your memories of your last India gig, in 2009. It was a good shock to come to a country for the first time and understand that there were so many people who knew and loved my music. The audience was incredible. If given a chance, will you collaborate with Indian musicians? I would love to, though I do not know many of them but I would love to be introduced. Indian music is successful, integrated music.
On October 22 (Shillong), December 3 (Pune) Log on to www.insider.in

Ahead of his October NH7 Weekender gig, British singer-songwriter Steven Wilson wants to create his identity as a solo artiste

Interview: British singer-songwriter Steven Wilson talks about solo career, popular songs and more

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Home / Lifestyle / Culture / Article / Interview: British singer-songwriter Steven Wilson talks about solo career, popular songs and more

Interview: British singer-songwriter Steven Wilson talks about solo career, popular songs and more

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