Pete Morgan has been the bassist for the No-Man live band since 2008. He is also a co-founder of BurningShed alongside Tim and Pete Chilvers in addition to the founder of NoiseBox Records. His solo releases can be found under the alias UXB
How did you first meet Tim Bowness and can you speak to his’s evolution as a songwriter?
We were both on the same bill at the Lady Owen Arms in Angel, Islington 1989. I was a one-and band (The Bushbabies) and they were still No Man Is An Island with backing tapes. They were excellent. I was not. We were both supporting a band called Venus Fly Trap who I can’t recall anything about. Tim came up and spoke to me after the gig and got my details (he is/was always very good at ‘networking’) and he stayed in touch over the years. He’s always been very strong at songwriting though those early NM things don’t tend to have middle eights as they are often built around a groove/breakbeat.
How did you get involved with the No-Man live band?
I was asked to play with Tim’s solo band around the time of the My Hotel Year album and that band became the de facto No-Man backing band when the idea of some live dates arose.
How would you say the live band has evolved between the short 2008 tour and the longer 2012 tour?
We got a bit better at playing the songs and interpreting them in our own way (so that they were not always trying to replicate the records)
Performing “Mixtaped” as part of the Love & Endings live album
Any plans on the horizon for the band to tour the material from Love You To Bits?
None that I know of, sorry.
How would you say the arrangements of tracks differed from the studio to live performances when it comes to bass playing?
Well, the most obvious thing is that some basslines were programmed and I’m playing them live. Also, some were played on a double bass by Colin Edwin and he has a different style to me so I have to interpret them my own way sometimes
What’s the deal with Tim and the track Housewives Hooked on Heroin? Seem’s like a very unusual choice to revive for live performance.
It was a bit of a joke in the rehearsal room. We tried out lots of other songs that never made it into the set because they just didn’t work with the band (from memory: Chelsea Cap, Break Heaven, Teardrop Fall). Housewives was ‘ok’ but we weren’t convinced by it. After every gig we’d go offstage and the audience would call for an encore and Tim would jokingly say “Housewives Hooked On Heroin”? So, one night we decided to call his bluff and say a big collective “Yes, ok”. We played it once and once only. Mainly as it was a bit of a shambles!
What was the impetus for the formation of BurningShed?
I was living in Norwich from 1991 onwards and Tim moved here around 1999/2000. I was making CDs for him (No-Man ‘Radio Sessions’) that he was selling by mail-order to fans.
He and Peter Chilvers came to me with an idea about setting up a label that would only ‘burn’ CDRs to order (hence “Burning” Shed). They wanted me to just make the discs but I suggested that we become a 3-way partnership and that I would make the discs and run the business side, Tim would find the artists and Peter would build the website.
I had just given up running a more traditional label (Noisebox Records) after 50 releases of pressing up 500/1000 copies and trying to get them into shops so the idea of selling online one-order-at-a-time appealed to me.
Fan-made cover for the No-Man – Radio Sessions (1992-1996) release
How exactly does BurningShed go about adding artists to its roster?
Do we like it/them, is there a connection to things we already do, will it sell (e.g. we get sent a lot of great ambient music but we know it will only sell 10 copies)
How did you manage to get King Crimson to sell through BurningShed?
Tim had a connection to Robert Fripp since the Flowermouth sessions and was in touch with Declan who runs the label for King Crimson. We started off stocking the ‘In The Court…’ boxset and they were impressed by how many we sold and the way we handled the orders so they agreed to let us take on the whole store.
How has the shift from physical media to digital/streaming affected the way BurningShed operates?
It hasn’t really. We keep being told we should do an artist-led, ethical streaming service but our customers like physical things to have, listen to and collect.
We all use streaming to listen to things but there’s no replacement for owning a physical copy of an album. As we always say, you can’t sell a second hand download…and you never know when that album you love will drop off the streaming services because the rights have gone or a low-selling artist can’t afford to keep it on there any more.
Peter Chilvers is a long time collaborator with both Tim Bowness and legendary experimental musician Brian Eno.
How did you first meet Tim Bowness and can you speak to his evolution as a songwriter over the years?
I think I first met Tim at an acoustic gig in Kings College, London in the early 90s. Mike Bearpark and I played as part of Samuel Smiles (a different, folky incarnation of the band with a female Irish singer whose name I can’t spell!) Tim played an acoustic set with No-Man as a headline (Steven on piano and Ben Coleman on violin). He made quite an impression, with big hair and an even bigger voice. Tim’s Peter Hammill influences were more to the fore back then, and he really let rip towards the end of the set. Some time after, Mike sent Tim an instrumental track we’d written, Tim liked it, sang over it, and it became the catchily titled “Life with the Independent Whore.” Very soon after – probably the summer of 1991 – the three of us got together and recorded an album in a day, under the name “Strapless”. This later was re-released under the name “Tim Bowness / Samuel Smiles” as the Burning Shed CD-R Live Archive One.
Hard to believe that’s nearly 30 years ago. Much of what Tim does now was already present back then, but I think he’s honed and pared down his style to something terser and less flowery. His lyrics on our freshly-released Modern Ruins album represent some of his best work in my opinion. Also some of his bleakest!
Were any future No-Man tracks demoed with Samuel Smiles. I know that the group played the then unreleased “All That You Are” live a few times.
I’d forgotten we played that one. A lovely song! I don’t think we demoed any other ones, but Tim and I wrote a song later called “Brighter Than Before” which became “All the Sweet Things.” Several No-Man tracks made their way into our sets, I think we used to play Wherever there is Light and parts of Days in the Trees in a more reduced acoustic form.
World of Bright Futures has some unusual cover songs. What led to the decision to record “Two Hands” by King Crimson, “Ophelia” by Peter Hammill and and a new version of “Watching Over Me”?
I think those were both chosen by me, but I could be wrong. Certainly they were both from artists we greatly admired, and I think we enjoyed the idea of covering bands who at the time were less fashionable.
I’ve always enjoyed stripping away rock arrangements and presenting a song in a much more skeletal form. It wasn’t done so often then, but now it’s pretty much a staple for John Lewis’s Christmas ads. Tim and I covered a few Deep Purple and Queen songs at the time, I wish we’d got a proper recording.
The Samuel Smiles cover of “Watching Over Me” came about because Tim had the tracks from a No-Man radio session version of it, and wanted to rework it. It ended up, particularly with the live versions, becoming quite different.
Tim Bowness/Samuel Smiles version of “Watching Over Me”
On Together We’re Stranger you are credited with “Space Bass.” What exactly is “Space Bass?”
It’s fretless bass played through a huge filtered delay, which exaggerates and expands all the slides. I stopped playing fretless bass, for no real reason, shortly after that. I’ve only just picked it up again recently, which I’m enjoying.
Any chance of seeing a physical reissue of World of Bright Futures? The album has been a near constant for me while in quarantine.
I don’t see why not! I should discuss it with Mike and Tim. I’ve always been quite fond of it ; my first studio album. Glad to hear that it’s been keeping you company in quarantine. I hope Modern Ruins helps maintain the required air of misery!
Any chances of a second Samuel Smiles studio album?
We started work on a second one, but it never quite gained momentum. All three of us often work together in other line ups, so it’s not seemed so obvious that it’s not been followed up. I’d be inclined to say Samual Smiles unconsciously split into the more sedate Bowness Chilvers material and the more rocked up Tim Bowness solo material (which often involves Mike.) We all played together on several Henry Fool albums, along with Myke Clifford, which was great fun.
What is the story behind the “digital archaeologist” credit you have on David Byrne & Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today? That album is a dear favorite of mine and was my first exposure to Brian Eno outside of his work with Talking Heads
I started working with Brian Eno on the computer game Spore in 1996. It was supposed to just be a one off, but we worked well together and I altruistically suggested I doing studio work together in between our generative app projects. The first job to come up was the Eno / Byrne album. Brian had sent David Byrne a large number of instrumental tracks years earlier. Out of the blue, David suddenly sent him lots of songs and we had to dig out the original tracks. In computing terms retrieving digital audio tracks from even a few years earlier can be a nightmare – the software that created them has changed, plugins no longer exist, hardware stop working. So my job was to dig through all of these arcane computers – I’ll swear some of them ran on coal – and try and find workable versions. Archaeology was an accurate term! I love the final result though, an unusually ecstatic album.
David Byrne & Brian Eno – “One Fine Day.” Taken from the 2008 album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
I do still have to trawl through the archives sometimes, but thankfully most of our work together now involves me creating or finding interesting software tools to expand his reach.
Peter (right) alongside Brian Eno
The latest Tim Bowness/Peter Chilvers album, Modern Ruins, is available through BurningShed for order.
Stu (Second from Right) alongside Tim, Steven and Ben.
Stu “The Still Owl” Blagden was No-Man’s original guitar player. He is present on the title track of The Girl From Missouri and on the 1989 Band search competition footage.
How did you get involved with No-Man in the first place?
Me and Tim were in a short-lived band called Still formed in 1983 with a keyboard player called Tony Cotterall. This was in Sale Cheshire. Tim used to get the train from Stockton Heath where he’s from to rehearse with us at Tony’s house. We wrote a lot of songs in a very short period some of which we sent to a young Mark Ratcliffe who played them on his BBC Radio Manchester programme and who considered us the most important band since Joy Division. Various ego problems cropped up (mainly, it has to be said, from me) and the band split up. Me and Tim had a band after that called Always A Stranger which staggered a long for a brief time after that. I was also in a Folk Prog band at the same time called Life After Life (who released a now much sought after privately released LP called Life After Life) and because of this commitment I left Tim to his own devices. I also was working at this same time with ex-Twelfth Night singer Geoff Mann on his first solo album I May Sing Grace (Food For Thought Label) in August 1984. Also on that album was a very very talented guy called Keith Gould who played Chapman Stick – and me and Keith worked a lot together in a band called A Cast Of Thousands. Tim was also a big fan of Keith Gould and worked with him separately a little later.
Tim in the Mid-80’s
For three years me and Tim didn’t work together (I think this was the period he first got in touch with Steve Wilson)
In 1988 I moved down to London and starting working in music shops as well as playing bebop on the London jazz scene.
Whilst hunting for vinyl in a legendary Soho record shop called Cheapo Cheapo records, I very surprisingly bumped into Tim who told me that he was working in a new band called No-Man Is An Island with a young keyboard player called Steve Wilson. At this time Steve was almost exclusively a keyboardist and was already a real whizz in the studio; remarkably precocious in fact. I agreed to meet Steve (who wrote a sweet little letter which I think I still have saying how much he was looking forward to working with me) and we met up at Steve’s parents house in Hemel Hempstead (where Steve had his studio) a little later.
I thought it worth mentioning that in Still we did almost exclusively original material but we did cover Leonard Cohen’s ”Suzanne” — so I think this gave Tim the idea to try that song later with Steve.
How would you describe Steven Wilson at that point?
Steve was obviously destined for great things but at that point he was learning his trade – he was younger than me and Tim and I was aware of the age difference. My main memory of Steve was that he was really VERY heavily into Prince at that time particularly the Sign o’ the Times album. He didn’t mention Prog that much at that time but I think Pink Floyd were his number one Prog influence. He was also a fan of jazz pianist Keith Jarrett’s recorded reverb heavy piano sound and used it a lot at that time. He wasn’t much of a player on keyboards but he was able to express himself sufficiently on keyboard to convey his ideas.
I do remember introducing the music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt to both Steve and Tim – I remember taking the vinyl copy of Part’s ECM album Tabula Rasa to Steves home in Hemel Hempstead. One other abiding memory was that both Tim and Steve were huge fans of Strawberry yogurt drinks at that time!
Steven performing Sign o’ the Times in India in 2017
What memories do you have of the Hemel Hemstead Bandsearch gig?
I don’t remember much about the band-search but I do remember thinking (and the video reminded me) that the hall it was held in was pretty seedy and depressing like the inside of a Soho porn cinema. Apart from that all I remember is how superior we all felt to the rest of the competition entrants.
What’s the story behind “The Hidden Art of Man Ray”
Well it was just one of the tracks we were working on in 1988- I do remember we were trying to play as little as possible–the ‘less is more’ doctrine etc. – of course I recorded quite a lot of songs like Days In The Trees and Bleed for instance that weren’t used until much later (though of course I’m not on the later released versions of those tracks) — I am on the Girl From Missouri EP of course — on the title track. Overall, I would say that the apparently tiny discography I have with the group doesn’t really reflect the amount of time I was working in the group I’m sure Tim and Steve would agree with that.
What were the early No-Man gigs like?
I only remember the 100-club gig which I enjoyed because it was quite a prestigious place to play in those days — I can’t remember whether David Cross of King Crimson was on that gig but I have a vague memory of seeing him live there with Tim at that point. On the whole I have barely any memory of playing live with the group
What caused you to leave the band?
There were quite a few reasons I left the group — happily none of them were because i ever fell out with Tim or Steve. It was completely amicable. I felt musically very restricted in the confines of the group — I was and still am a real ‘Progger’ and was always into groups like Yes or King Crimson who laid great emphasis on instrumental dexterity, technical ability at the service of broad musical expression. I would really argue that No-Man were never Prog–for me they were really Art Rock if we have to give labels to the music. The ethos in the group wasn’t really about great musicianship. In 1988 I was technically very advanced on the guitar and listening more and more to guys like Allan Holdsworth at that particular time — I was getting more and more into Jazz and Fusion so obviously the No-Man aesthetic of ‘less is more’ didn’t really fit in with how I wanted to express myself. Sometimes ‘Less is More’ but sometimes it’s true to say ‘Less is Less’ too and really, I didn’t see how I could fit in with No-Man’s approach to music at that time. On top of that Ben on violin was really taking the role of lead guitarist in the band.
Ironically, now I would be far more at home with what Steve is doing musically–using guys like Paul Stacey and Chad Wackerman I would be really at home in that context.
I also composed and didn’t see that I could get my material played by the group.
On top of that I was very unhappy in my personal life dealing with issues that I’m still having to deal with today. That’s all i’m saying about that!!
Since then what have you been up to?
I turned professional in 1999 and have performed countless corporate gigs and concerts including at the Barbican and the Sounth Bank Centre. In 1999 I formed a guitar duo with Tim Panting. We played festivals in France and in 2000 we toured Argentina as part of the World Guitar Festival directed by Juan Falu. At that time I was playing Brazilian and South American classical guitar music both classical and popular and that obsession lasted about 10 years.till about 3 years ago I had my own band playing the music of Django Reinhardt (ie: Gypsy Jazz Manouche.)
The last 3 years I have been working as a solo guitarist playing contemporary fingerstyle guitar inspired by John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Michael Hedges and Pierre Bensusan. I’m currently involved in a Prog Folk project which sounds a little like Nick Drake accompanying an English church boys choir with elements of ECM jazz. I hope to release it later this year but of course everything is up in the air at the moment with the COVID-19 nightmare.
Are you still in contact with Steven, Tim or Ben?
I’ve been in touch with Tim intermittently over the years and have been very impressed with some of his solo work. I’m sure our paths will cross again sooner or later.
Carl Glover is a graphic artist who specializes in album artwork. He has created pieces for the like of King Crimson, The Pineapple Thief and No-Man. Carl was kind enough to answer some of my questions about his creative process and his work with Tim and Steven.
What’s your design philosophy when it comes to albums?
Ideally, making the album look like it sounds. Talking to the artists helps with this as they will give clues for the direction it should be taking.
How do you go about designing album covers? Is there a process you usually go through? Does it change depending on the artist/band?
I let a few days pass before doing anything so ideas can drop in place, usually this occurs during a long walk around London. It’s an inspirational place for me. Train journeys seem to be good for ideas too.
You initially started out with Bill Smith Studio. How did your time there influence your current work?
I started as a designer at i-D magazine, which was a baptism of fire as I started working there immediately after the job interview. It was a great place for learning things and a lot of interesting people would pass through, the money was dreadful but the fun was unbelievable – I ended up in a Wham! video because of i-D magazine! After i-D I went to Mainartery designing album covers for a few years, for some reason I was the typography guy. I worked on a lot of chart hits at Mainartery, stuff I would never be associated with now like Rick Astley, Sinitta, and the Blow Monkeys. I joined Bill Smith Studio in November 1988, I had a lot of freedom at BSS which was great as it gave me the confidence to start up my own business. After BSS I was Senior designer, then Art Director at Getty Images, but had my company Aleph Studio doing album covers running parallel. I went full-time in Summer 2003.
The work was very varied, all of us at the studio rarely had a choice on what the next assignment would be. It was more a case of who was free at the time, consequently I did a lot of covers for pop, soul, house, rap, rock and electronic artists. I learned more about what I didn’t want to do if given the chance, I valued timeless covers as a result.
Were you involved with the cover of Flowermouth and/or Marillion – Brave during your time there?
I designed Flowermouth and Brave while at BSS. No-man got in touch based on their liking of Marillion’s Brave, King Crimson’s THRAK, and Led Zeppelin’s Remasters all of which I had worked on at the time.
The striking cover of the 2018 reissue of Marillion – Brave
Do you listen to the album before creating the artwork and what do you gain from it if you do?
Sometimes, but not much. The conversations at the beginning do most of the heavy lifting. A good title will help tremendously.
What exactly is on the cover of Together We’re Stranger?
It’s a light trail made by a torch, made to look like it was going around two people. I wanted to show absence. I used one person, who moved sideways after the first pass with the torch to make space for the second outline.
Cover for Together We’re Stranger
Why was the artwork changed between the original 1996 version and the 2010 re-release of Wild Opera?
I didn’t have the artwork any more for the original version that I did at BSS, so used ‘new’ old imagery from my archive of vintage slides – the band and the label were very happy with it at the time.
What are your thoughts on the first two No-Man album covers (Loveblow and Lovecries – A Confession and Flowermouth)?
I like them both, I tend to think that a good no-man album cover would work well as a book cover and these two fit the bill perfectly. Paul White is a brilliant designer, some of his work with Bjork is amazing.
Why do you think Tim and Steven return to your artwork for new No-Man album covers?
I’ll ask Tim, it’s better coming from one of the band, otherwise I be making guesses.I really don’t know.
When we first signed to One Little Indian, no-man were locked into using the company’s in-house designer Paul White. Paul’s work was great, but not wholly suitable for the music of no-man. After the label and Paul had a dispute, the band were allowed to select their designer of choice. I’d been greatly impressed with the design on the King Crimson box set Frame By Frame and suggested we go to Bill Smith Studio. Though Bill was the name on the door, Carl Glover had been the person responsible for a lot of the work we liked by the studio. For me, Carl’s work managed to combine directness and mystery, and accessibility and experiment equally. In some ways, I saw what he was doing as a distinctive updating of styles I loved (1970s Hipgnosis and 1980s Peter Saville/Factory Records). We immediately hit it off with Carl on a personal level and all sides were delighted with the first results of our collaboration (Flowermouth). Since then, Carl’s artwork has become an important factor in promoting no-man and I feel that his imagery very effectively tangentially captures the essence of the music. My personal favourite covers are Together We’re Stranger, Love You To Bits and Flowermouth. Carl’s recent work for Plenty (It Could Be Home) was another case of an ideal meeting of image and music.
Tim Bowness via Carl Glover
Cover for the single and cassette version of Love You To Bits
Where there any pieces you did for Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson or No-Man that were rejected?
Hundreds. Most ideas are rejected, I tend to do six initially, but that can expand when dealing with more than one decision maker. Some of those rejected ideas find new homes over the years. It’s all part of what album design is about. It’s great when a personal favorite gets chosen.
How did your involvement with The Pineapple Thief – Your Wilderness come about?
Richard Beeching at Kscope got in touch asking for scans from old slides in my archive, I sent 90 across which I thought worked well with the title. They chose 22. I’ve collected slides and negatives since I was teenager back in the 1970s, there are tens of thousands of them.
How has the change from Vinyl to CD’s and now to streaming affected album artwork?
Not much as the shape remains the same throughout. LPs are the most fun to do but most people would feel the same I think. The last couple of streaming jobs I worked on have had sister-images to the album image for all the tracks, which has made them more worthwhile to do. I prefer printed matter.
Cover for the re-release of Wild Opera
Carl was kind enough to also answer my follow up questions
Where did the decision to re-do the artwork for Marillion – Afraid of Sunlight come from for the deluxe edition?
The decision lay with the band – they weren’t happy with the original sleeve and neither was I. The 1995 sleeve was the result of the record label interfering with the cover chosen by the band – they originally chose what happened to be the cover that you see now on the deluxe edition.
“Day-Glo Jesus” – The cover for the 2019 deluxe edition of Afraid of Sunlight
Both you and Lasse Hollie have worked extensively with Steven over the years. How would you compare your style and approach to his?
Very different – most of my photographic work is a means to an end, the subject is what I wish to show. Lasse is best described as an expressionist, his work is of an extremely atmospheric nature akin to artists like Edvard Munch or Francis Bacon. He’s a great guy with a brilliant sense of humor too, it’s our stylistic differences that makes it work I think.
How did the THRAK album cover and your involvement with King Crimson come about?
I did the design for THRAK as a result of working on VROOOM a while before. For VROOOM I was given a set of black and white photographs by my boss Bill, and told to do something interesting with them for a CD cover. The result was VROOOM – the type was inspired the lettering on an old butchers van I remembered from my childhood, I liked the shading. I worked on THRAK as a result of that. Once again I was supplied images collated by Bill: all visually representing the sound made by the album title, I was given free reign regarding the appearance of the package.
Were there any other King Crimson pieces you worked on?
The Great Deceiver box set, Frame by Frame box set, The First Three box set, California Guitar Trio, B’Boom, The Robert Fripp String Quintet and a few of the Soundscapes albums all spring to mind but I’m sure I’ve missed a few!
Cover for the 1994 King Crimson EP VROOOM
How did the Deadwing and Marbles album covers come about? Were there any alternate version’s created?
Regarding Deadwing, most of the heavy lifting had been done before it reached me – the band had already decided on the cover image and I was supplied with all that I needed pictorially, it was just a case of putting it together and making sure that it printed ok.
Marbles had a difficult birth cover-wise but I was pleased with how it turned out, especially since some of the alternate cover ideas became divider-spreads between song imagery in the 128 page special edition. There were about a dozen or so Marbles cover ideas, what was chosen was definitely the best!
The cover for Marillion’s 2004 album Marbles
Who would you say are your biggest influences when it comes to design and artwork?
Regarding people, I’d say Peter Saville would be number one, followed by Barney Bubbles, Wim Crouwel, Josef Müller-Brockman, Marcus Keef, Martin Sharp, and early Hipgnosis.
It was only with hindsight that I noticed that the area I grew up in (Hoo St Werburgh) was an enormous influence, especially the marshland with its curious structures from WWII scattered about in it. Objects have an unearthly presence in that landscape. I still find it inspirational but I wouldn’t want to live there again.
Where did your passion for collecting the slides and negatives (like those used for Your Wilderness) come from?
I find all photography fascinating, and believe that everyone has the potential of taking good pictures. I have always collected things, starting with the usual fossils, stamps, records, eventually leading to 1930s radios, synthesisers, guitars, ribbon microphones, art books, and lately cold-war pilot helmets…
One of the big motivations in collecting slides and negatives is seeing how we used to live. I also have a thing for the muted vibrancy found in old Kodachromes – somehow the most mundane subject becomes a piece of art by its colours alone.
Cover for the 2017 The Pineapple Thief single “Fend For Yourself”
Ian Dixon has contributed trumpet and flugehorn to “No Defense” and “Close Your Eyes” (both off of Returning Jesus). Ian was kind enough to send me his thoughts about working with No-Man on the album as well as his later work with Tim Bowness on 2019’s Flowers at the Scene.
I first met Tim Bowness and Steve Wilson through an invitation to play on some tracks for No-Man’s 2001 album Returning Jesus, my parts recorded at Steve’s studio in his home in Hemel Hempstead from memory. I was living in London at the time and playing with Porcupine Tree bassist Colin Edwin on a few projects including his band Ex-Wise Heads with Geoff Leigh of Henry Cow. I also knew Theo Travis who played on the album through 33 Records. I think Steve and Tim had heard some of the stuff from my band Ute.
The Returning Jesus session was relaxed but very focused. A quick listen to the track, a few words about the mood and the placement/functions of the trumpet in the arrangement and then a take straight through. Then a few more words about the mood and another take, sometimes to get closer to Tim and Steve’s idea and sometimes to give contrasting choices as the tunes were in different states of completeness, some quite finished, some more skeletal. So open v muted, more or less dense, oblique or direct etc then straight on to the next track with the same process. I remember I missed the last train back to London from Hemel and spent a few cold hours watching mail trains race through the station until the first passenger train in the morning.
Years later in 2018 Tim emailed me about playing on Flowers At The Scene. I was living in Australia by then so I recorded my parts in my own studio on beds Tim sent over. The tracks developed quite a bit over time (independently of my input), sometimes quite changing their identity so Tim would send me more developed versions of tracks as they evolved. Some of the tracks only required the melody, but I bunged solos on anyway, doubled things and so on. With me having a longer working process than the one afternoon in the studio of Returning Jesus I had the luxury of spending some time in contemplation before and between takes and to develop ideas at Tim’s suggestion him hearing initial trumpet takes. Funnily while recording my parts for Rainmark the drought broke forcing me to pause until the rain stopped as my studio has a tin roof, Tim jokingly suggested there was an ambient album in that. It’s a nice way to work and it was a pleasure to do so with Tim.
While perhaps best known as the front man of the prog band Nosound, Giancarlo has a writing credit on the song “Beautiful Songs You Should Know” off of Schoolyard Ghosts
What is the story behind “Beautiful Songs You Should Know” and how did come to meet Tim Bowness?
Beautiful Songs You Should Know indeed stems from the start of our collaboration with Tim, that dates back to more than 10 years ago. We started working in 2008 I think, when we did “Someone Starts To Fade Away” for Nosound’s album Lightdark. But we were in contact before as Tim liked Nosound’s first album Sol29 and helped us selling it on Burning Shed.
After our collaboration on Lightdark album, we decided to do more and the bases for Memories Of Machines project were born. Our collaboration was joining my music with his unmistakable voice and lyrics/melodies, and we started working on and recording MoM first album Warm Winter.
In the meantime we also decided to meet in New York where Tim was living at the time, and there we recorded most of the album demos and parts that eventually made it to the final album.
Then in 2009 I moved to UK also helping Tim and Pete Morgan with Burning Shed and expanding my music work, so things accelerated as at first I was actually living with Tim so the work on the album was intense.
Beautiful Songs was one of the first we did, and one that immediately captured both of us, and I can still remember how easily it resonated with Tim and how quickly we knew it was going to be one of the main songs. I particularly loved the lyrics of that one, and so I was very happy when Tim asked me to have it also included in No-Man Schoolyard’s Ghosts (that contains other elements that were also present during MoM sessions).
What made you seek out Chris Maitland (ex-Porcupine Tree/No-Man drummer) for Nosound’s 2013 album Afterthoughs
As for Chris’ collaboration, it was a combination of factors to be honest. First of all Chris has always been one of my favourite drummers, being very dynamic and “alive” instead of overly technical while playing, and I always thought was a great loss that ended an important phase for Porcupine Tree. So as we were in contact and I always wanted to work with him, during a change of drummer in Nosound I decided it was the right time to ask him to work with me, and he gladly accepted. We met in Rome for some pre-production and then we recorded the whole album over a week in London, and it was a great time and surely a drummer that imprinted his own sound on Afterthoughts.
I’d heard of Tim first. I’d seen his Flame album (with Richard Barbieri) in Our Price in Muswell Hill in 1995, with artwork by the Bill Smith studio, same as the new King Crimson Vrooom album. I then joined a band that I later found out Tim and Steven were friends with. We were doing a gig in Cambridge in May 1996, and in the pub at some point someone pointed out that the guy in the stripy top was Tim Bowness. I met up with Tim properly a few weeks later and found out about No-Man. Somehow I ended up with at least one compilation cassette, either from him or another friend, and was hooked.
Was there an audition process to become the live drummer or did Tim/Steven ask you?
There was no audition, I was lucky there! I think Tim and Steven both said they would use me if they ever put another live band together. That was back in 1997 or 1998. Tim put a solo band together in 2004 and offered me the job. I was using electronic drums at that point, which worked out well, as they fitted the music and could be used quietly without drowning him out. The 2008 live band was essentially Tim’s live band.
How would you say the live band has evolved between the short 2008 tour and the longer 2012 tour?
I would say there was a significant increase in confidence all round. Tim’s vocals were struggling to compete with the band in 2008, but a year or so later he got himself a new microphone which worked much better for him on stage, and suddenly he was blasting out. Also I think he adjusted his delivery slightly for live singing, and has been sounding great on stage ever since. I think Steven was more at ease with the band in the later shows. He’d not worked with any of us before in 2008. He was more relaxed in rehearsals in 2011/2012, knowing that we could pull off a good show! As for the band sound, there was a bit less of an effort to try and recreate the sounds of the recordings in 2011, not that there was much in 2008. We dropped the likes of All Sweet Things, Truenorth and Returning Jesus, for which we had attempted a similar feel to the originals, and replaced them with My Revenge On Seattle and Beaten By Love, for which we had put together our own band arrangements as we liked, with our own sounds. I’m not sure if anyone else was doing anything especially different, give or take a change of amp. The main thing for my part was that I switched to acoustic drums, which completely changed my game. Also my playing was a lot stronger in 2012. I’d joined Sanguine Hum earlier that year and was getting a regular workout.
When Beaten By Love was revived, did Tim and Steven let you hear the original demo?
Tim sent it round, with suggestions for how the live band could go about structuring a live version in preparation for the 2011 Leamington gig. I’ve forgotten the demo, as we immediately set about making a live band version in our own way, and I now only remember that. The version we came up with initially was quite upbeat. Steven then joined the rehearsals and deemed it far too jaunty, mainly because of what I was doing! Hence the more sombre funeral-march feel of the live version. After the Leamington gig we got together in Steve Bingham’s house and recorded both gloomy and upbeat versions. The gloomy one eventually made it onto Tim’s Abandoned Dancehall Dreams album three years later.
Any plans on the horizon for the band to tour the material from Love You To Bits?
Not that I know of. Last I heard is that Steven might be willing to play live if the album does well. I’d love to go out and play some more No-Man gigs again, and I demoed some drums for LYTB about five years ago, so some of that material would be familiar were we to attempt it. That’s assuming I’m involved at all. It’s seven years since the last shows, during which Steven has had a constant busy schedule with his solo career, so my expectations of anything happening are low, realistically, I think! But if I get the call I’ll be ready.
How would you say the arrangements of tracks differed from the studio to live performances when it comes to drumming?
In general the live arrangements were a function of the live members’ tastes and abilities. Usually, trying to recreate the detailed production of the album versions just didn’t work, but instead we came up with something that at least had the right chord sequence and structure, and that sounded good. For the drums, my job is to fit the band arrangement, and that may or may not involve playing something similar to the studio version. For one thing, the band needs to be kept in time, when a lot of the original music is drumless. There’s never been a backing track, and the only person who’s ever had a click in their ear is me. Sometimes in the 2008 set, where there was not really a drum part to the original, I covered a tuned part with the electronic pads, for example in Returning Jesus. Sometimes I did both, for example Truenorth begins with a heavily delayed piano sound, and then a single drum figure that comes in after a verse or so. I played both of those parts live (delayed piano on the pad block, drum rhythm with the left foot). Otherwise, in something like Wherever There Is Light, I’ll be playing something light that tries not to spoil the dynamic of the song, but that keeps everyone together. My favourite example of that was Back When You Were Beautiful. The original just has a brushed ride cymbal. Those can get a bit lost on stage, and are boring when done all the time, whereas I found that beating the floor tom and snare drum softly with maracas provided the ideal low-key pulse for the ballad. I loved that live version. Other times, I try for something akin to the original but find it needs to be souped up for the louder band sound. Mixtaped, for example, is a quiet, brooding track on the album. Live, this became one of our typical whisper-to-a-scream pieces, where we absolutely blasted out some of the sections. In the quiet bits I followed the example of the original and played about with beat with some light hotrods. Then in the loud bits I had to give it about five times more power. We often add drops and lifts in the dynamics that aren’t on the record, to make it easier for Tim to sing over. One stand-out example is Time Travel In Texas. The original has a sampled drum loop and a fairly even dynamic. Live, we stick to a broadly similar drum pattern, but take it right down for the verses. Simply introducing the stepped dynamic caused all sorts to happen in that arrangement. We still play it all the time in Tim’s live band, it continues to evolve, and you’re definitely hearing the sound of the band having fun. Occasionally I feel awkward about that, given the lyrics are about domestic violence.
Tommi Grönlund is the head of Sähkö Recordings based out of Finland. In 2016 the label released a special remix of the non-album track Heaven Taste. On the A-Side was an all new edit of the track by Steven Wilson with the B-Side consisting of a remix done by Jimi Tenor.
The Sähkö Recordings boss at work
I’m curious how you first came upon No-Man and in particular the Heaven Taste track.
I heard the track first time when someone played it on a DJ-set.
What about the track captured your attention?
The track has a wonderful Ibiza-morning feeling, laid back rhythms combined with some progressive melodies. I really regard it as a masterpiece.
Were you familiar with the work JBK (Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri and Mick Karn) before-hand?
Yes I have a lots of records where they appearin different roles.
Did you have any difficulties securing the rights to reissue the track?
No it was very easy. I just sent a mail to Steven Wilson and he said yes immediately.
What is the origin of the cover art on the release?
The image is from some old book found by Jimi Tenor. Also the label arts are from there, The elements are newly composed on both.
Does the label have any plans to release other No-Man material or the full version of Heaven Taste?
I don’t think so. The idea was to make a nice 12″ of the track suitable for DJ-use. I have a long DJ background
Cover of the 2016 Sähkö Recordings release of Heaven Taste
Andrew “Os” Ostler is one half of the experimental duo Darkroom along with Mike Bearpark. Tim Bowness has collaborated with the duo on several occasions over the years. Andrew also contributed two tracks to the Flowermix remix album.
How did you first meet Tim Bowness and how would you say his songwriting has evolved over time?
I met Tim when no-man were booked to play at my college – this would’ve been 1990 or so, around the time of the ‘Colours’ single. Mike (Mike Bearpark) came with them to be their sound guy – we found we shared a love of the Alesis Quadraverb, and the rest is history!
I can’t say I pay enough attention to song writing to comment on how it’s evolved. I take more interest in the sound and instrumentation.
How did Tim get involved with Darkroom?
I guess strictly speaking it was Tim & Mike originally and I got involved! They were invited to provide a live soundtrack to a film (the Roswell Alien Autopsy) at the Nevers Film Festival, and Mike asked me to help him prepare a backing track, over which they would improvise. That backing track, and the recordings of the performance, became the basis of our first release ‘Soundtracks’, then under the name ‘Collective’. Much of that album became the first proper Darkroom album, ‘Daylight’.
How did your involvement with Flowermix come about?
Steven (or Tim, honestly I forget) asked me to contribute. We’d done a number of gigs together by that point.
What drew you to remix “Simple” and “Soft Shoulders” for the project?
For ‘Simple’ I think it was the timeless line “no more dreams turning to armchairs again”. For ‘Soft Shoulders’ I’m not sure – I probably just liked the chorus. I was very limited in terms of what I could take from the original – the sampler I was using at the time had very little memory. So I would’ve looked for a strong hook.
Any chance of seeing you contributing to any future No-Man projects?
I’d be delighted to, but that’s very much up to no-man to ask!
While better known for his time as Porcupine Tree’s drummer from 1993 to 2001, Chris Maitland’s first work with Steven Wilson was the 1993 No-Man tour. Chris was kind enough to answer several of my questions about both the tour and the sessions for Flowermouth.
Porcupine Tree before the Planet Pul festival show in 1994
How did you first hear about the band?
In an advert for a drummer at the back of the Melody Maker weekly music paper.
Previously I’d become practiced at London auditions resulting from answering ‘MM’ ads which often were from worse bands than I’d been accustomed to playing with even at sixth form colleges in my hometown of Cambridge.
Very disconcerting as I aspired to greater things in London.
I started to only answer the bigger ‘box’ ads as these were more likely to have been afforded by bands with management or record company involvement.
It worked, as the previous year I’d successfully auditioned to be the drummer for Miles Copeland’s managed band ‘Middleman’ (another band with ‘man’ in their name!) and been properly retained by ‘One Fifteen’ management.
When that year’s contract ceased I returned to answering ad’s and was back auditioning at the rehearsal studios near Shepherd’s Bush then called the ‘Nomis Complex’.
What was the audition process like for the live band?
This has been answered in the clips within No-man’s ‘Mixtaped’ DVD (the relevant clip is also within ‘videos’ at my website). You’re welcome to quote from it if you like.
Any particular memorable shows from the1993 live tour?
All of the shows I enjoyed playing very much.
One that was memorable for me was at the Kentish Town Forum supporting the band ‘Magazine’.
I’d invited along some musicians, who had not long since played with The Who & Eric Clapton, to see me play at a well known London venue. As I kicked into the power of the opening number, fully expecting in synchronization with the music going from nothing to everything that the stage would go from pitch black to fully lit, to my horror we stayed in darkness!|
How disappointing that the lights didn’t work just on that special occasion I thought. Little did I know that Tim had invited someone to do slide projections who’d killed the lights so that they wouldn’t wash out and detract attention from these. Horrible for a performer who believed his remit was to be an important and integral part of the visual interest and was looking forward to being ‘seen’ doing so!
Do you have any pictures from the tour? It seems to be the only one I can’t find any photos from
I don’t think so – I think I would’ve been aware of any by now.
There has been mention of a professional recording of the final gig of the tour. Do you have any information about that?
No, not aware of that.
When during the Flowermouth recording sessions were your drum tracks laid down?
I don’t know the answer to this but i’m sure Steven would know.
You are credited with percussion on Animal Ghosts. How much of what we hear is you and how much is that of drum machines and the like?
Having just listened again to this I believe i’m playing solely bongos which are not really obvious until a breakdown in the track at 3:14. Then it’s possible to hear how they as real percussion differ from the other electronic drums & percussion previously heard.
Animal Ghosts taken from the 1994 No-Man album Flowermouth
Were there any songs that you did drums for during the Flowermouth sessions that didn’t make the album?
I don’t think so though i’m not sure. Again Steven would be the one to ask.
When did Steven ask you to join Porcupine Tree? Was it during the recording sessions for Flowermouth?
I think it was later but while I was packing up my kit after the Flowermouth sessions there was some new ‘Floyd’-like music playing in the studio which caught my ear. I didn’t know it was Steve who’d put it on and also didn’t know it was actually Voyage 34! I guess he was seeing if I’d show an interest in it which of course I did.
I also asked Chris a few questions about his time with Porcupine Tree and beyond
Both Steven and Colin have posted about having full copies of the very first Porcupine Tree show on cassette. Do you have one as well?
I don’t think so – I’ll have to look in the loft!
How did your involvement with I.E.M. (Incredible Expanding Mindfuck) come about?
Simply by Steve making music under a different banner & asking me to do the drumming. As he was working under a different name I decided to use a pseudonym. I’d previously made up the name Jennis Clivack so used that!
Were you influenced by the work of Talk Talk’s Lee Harris for Stop Swimming?
Not at all – but I do love Talk Talk’s music. Does one of their tracks have a similar pattern?
Stop Swimming taken off of the 1999 Porcupine Tree album Stupid Dream
How did your involvement with the Blackfield TV gig at the end of 2003 come about?
Having recorded tracks previously for Steve’s project with Aviv which later were released on Blackfield’s eponymous first album, Aviv rang and asked me. I was very pleased and particularly to have the opportunity to work with Steve again.
Are you still in contact with Steven, Tim and the rest of Porcupine Tree?
Steve & I are mostly only in ‘business’ contact – I never get to see him socially- he’s too busy apart from anything else!
I’ve lost touch with Tim & Colin.
I still meet up with Richard Barbieri about once a year.
And finally, will we be seeing you back behind the kit in the studio or on tour with any progressive rock bands in the near future?
That would be nice but I don’t hold out much hope of being asked and i’ve never got very far with putting my own project together. I love performing live and have lots of musical ideas that i’d love to be included in the creative process but these days my energies are consumed learning West End chair holders’ drum parts.
All The Blue Changes 