The empty rooms, the empty house
Someday soon, you’ll work it out –

Schoolyard Ghosts

The seeds of what would become Schoolyard Ghosts were first sown in the period of time after the release and tour of Tim’s first solo album, 2004’s My Hotel Year.  In the first few months of 2006, Tim began work on a series of demos with an eye towards several potential collaborations. The lyrics attached to this material were already pointing towards the slightly more optimistic world that Schoolyard Ghosts would inhabit. Around the same time, Tim had begun to write alongside Nosound’s Giancarlo Erra under the name Memories of Machines. Tim had first met Giancarlo during the recording of Nosound’s Lightdark in late 2006. The two soon struck up a friendship, with Tim receiving a co-writing credit on the Nosound song “Someone Starts to Fade Away.” Tim had also begun working with a musician named Alistair Murphy (alias The Curator) on a handful of songs under the name Postcards From Space.

The mid 2000’s was also a period of intense creation for Steven. Porcupine Tree had finally managed to snag a foothold in North America with the release of 2007’s Fear of a Blank Planet and its accompanying world tour.  Despite the grueling tour schedule, Steven also released the second Blackfield record alongside Israeli singer Aviv Geffen and was beginning to pull ideas together for what would eventually become his debut solo record Insurgentes.

Originally, Schoolyard Ghosts was to be a concept album centered around the theme of childhood trauma and its ripples across adulthood. While the concept was soon dropped, the idea of moving through darkness and into the light would remain within the songs. A break in touring allowed for Steven to bring his attention fully to the demos Tim had prepared, with work beginning on the album proper that fall. Initially Steven had envisioned the project as a more “hands-off” record from his perspective, with Tim and his band handling the bulk of recording and him tackling the mixing process. While the two eventually settled on a more traditional recording process, Schoolyard Ghosts has the unique distinction of being written in its entirety by Tim alone or with other collaborators as opposed to Tim and Steven writing together or Tim fashioning lyrics to tracks provided by Steven. The sole exception is “Whenever There Is Light” which was written by the two near the end of the album’s recording.

Playing the demos to Steven for the first time was surprisingly daunting for me. We got together in the Autumn of 2007 and in typical no-man fashion, the comic insults were flying at a rapid pace. Steven had just finished a Porcupine Tree tour and I was feeling unusually fragile (perhaps because I knew my songs would be judged in a very direct fashion!). As a result, we were probably more at odds than we’d ever been during the recording of a no-man album.

Tim Bowness

In traditional No-Man fashion a varied group of collaborators and guests were pulled from Tim and Steven’s combined musical world, with the bulk of the tracks featuring contributions from Tim’s recently formed backing band of Mike Bearpark, Andy Booker, Pete Morgan, Steve Bingham and Stephen Bennett.

Opener “All Sweet Things” began life as a simple piano, synth and vocal demo crafted by Tim and Peter Chilvers for the duo’s long gestating second record. A small section of the original demo can still be heard in the glitchy piano outro. At Steven’s suggestion, the synthesizer parts were replaced with a largely acoustic palette, including guitar and glockenspiel. All Sweet Things sets the lyrical tone of the album with a mixture of grace and vulnerability, with Tim almost seeming to pick up emotionally where he left off on Together We’re Stranger closer “The Break-Up For Real.”

“Beautiful Songs You Should Know” originated from the writing sessions Tim had undertaken with Giancarlo for what would become Warm Winter. While the Warm Winter version is awash in atmospheric synth parts, the No-Man version simplifies the arrangement, focusing on Colin Edwin’s distinctive acoustic fretless bass and Steven’s acoustic guitar line. Rounding out the lineup on the song is percussionist Rick Edwards, who had last worked with Tim and Steven on the track “Close Your Eyes” and cello from Marianne De Chastelaine. Perhaps one of the most upbeat songs in the entire No-Man catalog, Tim’s lyrics capture the bliss and optimism flowing from the beginning of a new relationship.

“Beautiful Songs You Should Know” stems from the start of my collaboration with Tim, that dates back to more than 10 years ago. It was one of the first (songs) we did, and one that immediately captured both of us. 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

Giancarlo Erra

“Pigeon Drummer” is a sonic oddity within the otherwise dream pop world of the album. Starting out life as demo called “The City Sounds,” it was an attempt by Tim to make something with a harder edge to it. It’s pounding and abrasive drums along with its atmospheric keyboard parts point more towards the world of Wild Opera. At Steven’s suggestion, the track was expanded to incorporate the ghostly choral section in the introduction. For the full studio version, drums were provided by veteran session player and long time King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto.

The contrasts are extreme on Pigeon Drummer. It’s akin to Scott Walker’s album The Drift. Having incredible noise followed by incredible beauty or ambiance is something I really love. It’s the only moment on the record when you get a sense of what we were doing a few years ago on Wild Opera. Pat Mastelotto did a great job on the rhythms as well on that track, although everything is going through a distortion box on the noisy sections, including the drums, keyboards, guitars, bass, and voice. It’s pure white noise. I love it.

Steven Wilson via Innerviews

The song that became Truenorth started out life as another looped piano/vocal demo called “Another Winter.” “Another Winter” was part of the initial batch of songs submitted to Steven when work on Schoolyard Ghosts began. Starting out as a piano and synthesizer demo (with careful sonic manipulation from Tim), the demo would soon expand to include guitars, piano and Fabrice Lefebvre’s yang t’chin. While Steven was initially uninterested in the demo, it unexpectedly grew on him to the point that he agreed to fully flesh out the song. The two quickly expanded the piece into a three-part suite, with additions from Andy Booker, Theo Travis, Peter Chilvers and for the first time in No-Man history, a full string section arranged by Dave Stewart. The track can be broken down into three movements. The first movement leans heavily on the original “Another Winter” demo before slowly opening up to include acoustic guitar, ghostly mellotron and strings. The second section drops the piano and shifts focus to Steven’s hand percussion loops and flute from Theo Travis. Tim’s heartfelt lyrics reflect on the idea of coming through pain and trauma into a new sense of understanding and being. The final section offers a sense of conclusion with its simple yet effective vocal outro and the sounds of Andy Booker’s electronic drum kit.

Despite the end product featuring contrasting elements such as lo-fi GarageBand samples and an immaculately recorded large orchestra, my primitive guitar and Theo Travis’s virtuoso flute, and Steven’s hand percussion and Andy Booker’s electronic drums, everything gelled. In all respects, this seemed like an exciting and magical upgrade of the classic no-man sound.

Tim Bowness

“Wherever There Is Light” is the only track from SG written in “real time” by Tim and Steven. Using the lyrics from the “The City Sounds” demo as a starting place, the two crafted a gorgeous look at self-acceptance and perseverance. The distinctive pedal steel guitar sound was provided by Bruce Kaphan of American Music Club fame.

“Song of the Surf” had started out life as a demo created by Tim alongside Alistar Murphy (alias The Curator) as part of the Postcards From Space project. True to the project’s name, the demo paints an extremely atmospheric picture with prominent piano and rhythm guitar parts alongside an extended intro. Feeling the Postcards from Space material wouldn’t be taken any further, Tim passed the track along to Steven, who completely reshaped the song into a minimalist ballad. Steven was also responsible for adding the fiery guitar coda and the heavy use of bells and glockenspiel. In an unusual twist, the original demo for “Song of the Surf” was adapted and recorded by former Fairport Convention singer Judy Dyble, making it one of the few No-Man tracks to have been covered by another artist.

One of the beautiful things you can do across an album is you can almost program it to be like a piece of cinema by juxtaposing those scenes and those different emotions. I love doing that and I think it’s one of the things I’m good at. Schoolyard Ghosts would have been another example of taking all those disparate elements and making it hang together in a satisfying way

Steven Wilson

“Streaming” was a fleshing out of Tim’s demo “Ominous Dancefloor,” with Andy Booker providing additional drum patterns and Bruce Kaplan returning on pedal steel. Directly tying into Tim’s original concept for Schoolyard Ghosts, the weaves a tail of around the passing of time and the ghosts of what once was. Tim would return to these lyrical themes within his future solo releases.

Closer “Mixtaped” is the closest no-man have ever sounded to the type of post-rock heard from the likes of Mogwai or Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Originally intended to be No-Man’s version of Tim’s demo “Schoolyard Ghosts,” the track was reworked by the duo, with Steven crafting the expansive coda and Tim contributing a new set of lyrics to match the otherworldly landscape. The droning guitars and flute, along with the restrained drumming from Porcupine Tree’s own Gavin Harrison paints an extremely bleak portrait of broken despair. It’s tone, both lyrically and sonically, stand in stark contrast to the cautious optimism and perseverance presented on the rest of the album. Gavin’s drum parts were a last-minute addition at Steven’s suggestion after both he and Tim were dissatisfied with the original drum track.

I’m pretty sure for ‘Mixtaped’ I used a 12” splash cymbal as opposed to my regular 10” splash cymbal

Gavin Harrison via Drum Hangs (09/12/20)

Released on the 12^th of May, 2008, Schoolyard Ghosts received the largest amount of press coverage the band had ever seen up until that point. Buoyed by the continued interest in the band along with a hole in Steven’s performance schedule, No-Man would briefly go on the road for the first time since 1993. Both Tim and Steven continue to hold the album in high esteem, with Tim singling out “All Sweet Things” and “Truenorth” as being among the pinnacle of the band’s entire catalog.

“When it was complete, my feeling was one of relief. We’d made a new no-man album that sounded like no other, but still retained the essence of the band’s identity. It also felt like we were trying to better ourselves, especially in terms of arrangement and compositional sophistication. The supporting mini-tour was the best we’d done to date and the band appeared to have found itself in an exciting new place with possibilities ahead of it. Together We’re Stranger had come together effortlessly and seemed like the pinnacle of a particular type of no-man music that Steven and I valued. Overcoming TWS’s stranglehold wasn’t easy, but I think we did it.

Tim Bowness

Tracklist (Original CD Version)

1. All Sweet Things
2. Beautiful Songs You Should Know
3. Pidgeon Drummer
4. Truenorth
5. Wherever There Is Light
6. Song of the Surf
7. Streaming
8. Mixtaped

Tracklist (Deluxe Edition)

Disc One
1. All Sweet Things
2. Beautiful Songs You Should Know
3. Pidgeon Drummer
4. Truenorth
5. Wherever There Is Light
6. Song of the Surf
7. Streaming
8. Mixtaped

Disc Two
1. Another Winter (Demo)
2. The City Sounds (Demo)
3. Ominous Dancefloor (Demo)
4. The Place Where You’d Hide (Demo)
5. Truenorth Part 1 (Strings)
6. Truenorth Part 2 (Alternate)
7. Beautiful Songs You Should Know (Alternate)
8. Pigeon Beater
9. Lucky You, Lucky Me
10. Song of the Surf (Duet)
11. Counting
12. Death Was California

1. “All Sweet Things“ – 6:47

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Glockenspiel, Harmony Vocals – Steven Wilson
• Samples – Peter Chilvers
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

The run-down streets, the civil wars
You don’t go there anymore
It’s how you used to live

The trampled hopes, the made-up laws
The itchy feet, the pub quiz bores –
It’s so hard to forgive

All sweet things
All sweet things will come again
All sweet things will come again

Weekend slimmers count their chains
Still wanting someone else to blame
You watch them come and go

Empty nightclub escapades
They tell you more than words can say –
That open doors get closed

All sweet things
All sweet things will come again
All sweet things will come again

The empty rooms, the empty house
Someday soon, you’ll work it out –
Still finding the way back home

The schoolyard ghosts, the playtime fears
You take your pills, they disappear –
The people that you’ve known

All sweet things
All sweet things will come

All sweet things
All sweet things will come

When the heartbeat slows
(All sweet things)
When the silence grows
When the heartbeat slows
(All sweet things will come)
When the silence grows

2. “Beautiful Songs You Should Know” – 4:25

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Guitar, Bass, Keyboards – Steven Wilson
• Fretless Acoustic Bass – Colin Edwin
• Percussion – Rick Edwards
• Cello – Marianne De Chastelaine
• Written by Bowness/Giancarlo Erra

I want to play you
All the beautiful songs you should know
I want to save you
With the beautiful songs we can grow

I breathe in the light
I breathe in the life

Loving arms and cowboy guns
Mothers holding wayward sons

Breathe in the light
Breathe in the life

I want to give you
All the beautiful dreams you can bear
I want to show you
All the possible ways we could care

Open the door
Breathe in the light
Opening eyes
Breathe in the life

Morning sunshine on the leaves
(Open the door)
Cancels out the city freeze
(Breathe in the Light)

Open the door
Breathe in the light

Loving arms and cowboy guns
(Open the door)
Mothers holding wayward sons
(Breathe in the light)

Breathing

3. “Pigeon Drummer” – 6:16

• Vocals, Mellotron – Tim Bowness
• Bass, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Harp – Steven Wilson
• Drums, Percussion – Pat Mastelotto
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

The background buzz, the lo-fi hum
The fallen saviours beat their ritual drums

Their eyes alive with destiny –
Sweet delusions, which serve to set us free

The bar room bids for tarts with hearts
The dumbed down kids in souped up cars

The clapped out lovers on their guard –
Smaller details written large

Her sun-kissed skin caught in your frame
You know you’ll never pass this way again

You wash the dirt out of your hair
You find the words you need when no-one’s there

The moments lost

The distant stars

4. “Truenorth” – 12:51

• Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Loops – Tim Bowness
• Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Harmony Vocals, Harmonium, Percussion – Steven Wilson
• Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Theo Travis
• Yang T’chin – Fabrice Lefebvre
• Electronic Percussion – Andy Booker
• String Arrangements – Dave Stewart
• Strings – The London Session Orchestra
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

You survived another winter
You survived where nothing grew

The days felt cold and never changing
So you just slept the whole way through

When you think about the future
It’s like the past, but hard and small

An old idea you stole from someone
A borrowed dream that’s born to fall

—————————-

Take a taxi through the snow
Tell them you love them –
Don’t let go

Through the tunnel moving slow
Tonight’s there’s nowhere
You won’t go

You survived yourself
You survived inside the lost world
The dreams of love repeat

Subways sing with heated calls –
The G-string sirens walking tall
Summer fires turn winter dreams
An old romantic’s hotshot schemes

You survived yourself
You survived inside the lost world
The ghosts of harm retreat

—————————-

Sweet surrender to the night
Sweet surrender to the light

Sweet surrender to the night
Sweet surrender to the light

The dreams of love repeat

Sweet surrender to the night
Sweet surrender to the light

Sweet surrender to the night
Sweet surrender to the light

The dreams of love repeat

5. “Wherever There Is Light” – 4:21

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Guitar, Mellotron, Organ – Steven Wilson
• Flute – Theo Travis
• Pedal Steel Guitar – Bruce Kaphan
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

Jane passes through the crowds
Outside the Mercury Lounge
She loves the city sounds
She feels that she’s been found

Wherever there is light
She follows

The bats are out again
Kids shout in summer rain –
For real, imagined, shame
For things they cannot name

She thinks of all their bright
Tomorrows

Wherever there is light
She follows

Walk in and out of rooms
Fall in and out, in and out of love

Walk in and out of rooms
Fall in and out, in and out of love

6. “Song of the Surf” – 6:11

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Harp – Steven Wilson
• Drums, Percussion – Pat Mastelotto
• Written by Bowness/Wilson/Alistar Murphy

Self-defeat in sparkling eyes
Breaking up the family ties
She smiles and tells another lie
All you want to do is cry

Hopes drowning in the hurt –
Song of the surf

Song of the surf

And as she takes the sun away
She asks how you feel today
The sky has turned pavement grey
The remnants of her body spray

Still lingers on your shirt
Song of the surf

Song of the surf

Every time you catch her eyes
All you want to do is cry –
Silence growing

Every time you catch her eyes
All you want to do is hide
Heartbeat slowing

Hopes drowning in the hurt
Song of the surf

Song of the surf

All you want to do is cry
All you want to do is cry
All you want to do is cry
All you want to do is cry

Silence growing
Heartbeat slowing
We’re just going
Nowhere

7. “Streaming” – 3:22

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Guitar, Keyboards, Drum Programming – Steven Wilson
• E-bow, Pedal Steel Guitar – Bruce Kaphan
• Bass – Pete Morgan
• Drum Loop – Andy Booker
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

The music’s changed
Its getting louder
By next weekend
You’ll be gone

The summer days
Are nearly over now
The DJ plays
A summer song

The good-time crowd
Is looking older
Their cartoon laugher
Seems unkind

The summer days
Are nearly over now
The summer rave
Counts the hours and marks your time

The summer rays
Are streaming from the evening sky
The summer says
It’ll work out fine

8. “Mixtaped” – 8:38

• Vocals, Musical Box – Tim Bowness
• Guitar, Bass, Musical Box, Electric Piano, Organ – Steven Wilson
• Flute, Clarinet – Theo Travis
• Drums – Gavin Harrison
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

They came and went
Their mixtapes and their passion spent

You stuck around
And lost yourself in crowded worlds of sound

Youd kill for that feeling once again
Afloat on the ocean, before the pain

You pay the price averting eyes
In rooms where people go to die

You’re scaling the mountains, crossing the plains
Afloat on the ocean, avoiding the rain

Remember

Dare to believe
Dare to believe in silence
Dare to believe
Dare to believe in noise

You’d kill for that feeling once again
Afloat on the ocean, beyond the pain

You’d kill for that feeling
You’d kill for that feeling
once again

Special thanks to Giancarlo Erra, Alistair Murphy, Anil Prasad & Drum Hangs

Truenorth: 2008-2012

The idea of a “radio edit” has become something of dated idea. The metrics of radio play and radio coverage have long been replaced with the world of streaming and pleasing the algorithm.  Yet in 2008, radio play still held a large amount of sway over listeners and their buying habits. Perhaps intrigued by this opportunity, Kscope prepared edits of the tracks “All Sweet Things” and “Truenorth” for radio use. “All Sweet Things” loses it’s second verse and it’s lengthy outro, while “Truenorth” sees both its first and third sections cut, leaving only the second section intact.

While it is unknown if the radio edits influenced the album’s eventual sales numbers, they do provide intriguing alternates to the full-length versions on Schoolyard Ghosts. The edits would end up being used as the basis for a pair of music videos commissioned by the band.

Tracklist

1. All Sweet Things (Radio Edit)
2. Truenorth (Radio Edit)
3. Wherever There is Light

1. “All Sweet Things (Radio Edit)” – 4:16

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Glockenspiel, Harmony Vocals – Steven Wilson
• Samples – Peter Chilvers
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

The run-down streets, the civil wars
You don’t go there anymore
It’s how you used to live

The trampled hopes, the made-up laws
The itchy feet, the pub quiz bores –
It’s so hard to forgive

All sweet things
All sweet things will come again
All sweet things will come again

Weekend slimmers count their chains
Still wanting someone else to blame
You watch them come and go

Empty nightclub escapades
They tell you more than words can say –
That open doors get closed

All sweet things
All sweet things will come again
All sweet things will come again

All sweet things
All sweet things will come

When the heartbeat slows
(All sweet things)
When the silence grows
When the heartbeat slows
(All sweet things will come)
When the silence grows

2. Truenorth (Radio Edit) – 4:25

• Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Loops – Tim Bowness
• Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Harmony Vocals, Harmonium, Percussion – Steven Wilson
• Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Theo Travis
• Yang T’chin – Fabrice Lefebvre
• Electronic Percussion – Andy Booker
• String Arrangements – Dave Stewart
• Strings – The London Session Orchestra
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

Take a taxi through the snow
Tell them you love them –
Don’t let go

Through the tunnel moving slow
Tonight’s there’s nowhere
You won’t go

You survived yourself
You survived inside the lost world
The dreams of love repeat

Subways sing with heated calls –
The G-string sirens walking tall
Summer fires turn winter dreams
An old romantic’s hotshot schemes

You survived yourself
You survived inside the lost world
The ghosts of harm retreat

3. “Wherever There is Light” – 4:21

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Guitar, Mellotron, Organ – Steven Wilson
• Flute – Theo Travis
• Pedal Steel Guitar – Bruce Kaphan
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

Jane passes through the crowds
Outside the Mercury Lounge
She loves the city sounds
She feels that she’s been found

Wherever there is light
She follows

The bats are out again
Kids shout in summer rain –
For real, imagined, shame
For things they cannot name

She thinks of all their bright
Tomorrows

Wherever there is light
She follows

Walk in and out of rooms
Fall in and out, in and out of love

Walk in and out of rooms
Fall in and out, in and out of love

Special thanks to Peter Sieker for helping me source a copy of this rare EP.

Wherever There Is Light EP

In 2009, two additional unreleased tracks from Schoolyard Ghosts would surface as part of the Whenever There Is Light EP, packaged alongside “Wherever There is Light,” two live cuts pulled from the concert film Mixtaped and videos for both “Wherever There is Light” and for a live version of “All The Blue Changes.”

The dream-like “Death Was California” puts Steven’s acoustic guitar work to the fore. The song is both a mantra and mission statement for Tim as a songwriter, a man who has taken his own pain and struggles and made it beautiful within the musical worlds he calls home

By contrast, “Counting” emerged from the foreboding solo demo “The Place Where You’d Hide,” cut by Tim in the years leading up to Schoolyard Ghosts. The fully fleshed out version retains the percussion loops of its earlier incarnation, but substitutes the gliding synthesizers for the drones of a Hammond organ. While the track fits into the atmosphere of Schoolyard Ghosts quite well, Tim’s lyrics feature an air of darkness that almost harken back to the world of Wild Opera. This is accentuated by the layers of guitar feedback from Steven, seemingly punctuated the desperation of Tim’s words and voice, before subsiding to the ragged possibility of hope.

Tracklist

1. Wherever There is Light
2. Death Was California
3. Counting
4. Carolina Skeletons (Live)
5. All The Blue Changes (Live)
6. Wherever There is Light (Music Video)
7. All The Blue Changes (Live Video)

1. “Wherever There is Light” – 4:21

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Guitar, Mellotron, Organ – Steven Wilson
• Flute – Theo Travis
• Pedal Steel Guitar – Bruce Kaphan
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

Jane passes through the crowds
Outside the Mercury Lounge
She loves the city sounds
She feels that she’s been found

Wherever there is light
She follows

The bats are out again
Kids shout in summer rain –
For real, imagined, shame
For things they cannot name

She thinks of all their bright
Tomorrows

Wherever there is light
She follows

Walk in and out of rooms
Fall in and out, in and out of love

Walk in and out of rooms
Fall in and out, in and out of love

2. “Death was California” – 3:02

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Instruments – Steven Wilson
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

You thought that you’d recovered
You thought you’d been reborn
You thought you’d never sell your love so cheaply
Like a joke that fell to silence
A gesture never made –
Death was California
Standing in the shade
Feeling you’d been played
When nothing else remains
Take your pain and make it beautiful

The hot September mornings
The coffee counter smells
The words that shook your world completely

When nothing else remains
Take your pain and make it beautiful

3. “Counting” – 4:24

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Instruments – Steven Wilson
• Electric Violin – Steve Bingham
• Written by Bowness/Wilson

You swallowed your pride
Moved back to the town you knew –
The place where you’d hide
When it all seemed too much for you

When you’re up
You long to see real faces. (counting)
When you’re down
You wish the world would run aground. (counting)

Closing the door
You pull down the dusty blinds
Rubbing your eyes
You find ways to kill the time

It’s seven-o-clock, then it’s quarter to eight
You’d get out of the house
But you’ve left it too late again

When you’re up
You want to hear real voices. (Counting)
When you’re down
You wish the world would make no sound. (Counting)

When you’re up
You try to find real love again. (Counting)
When you’re down
You wish the world could not be found. (Counting)

4. “Carolina Skeletons (Live)” – 7:09

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Guitar – Steven Wilson
• Guitar – Mike Bearpark
• Bass – Pete Morgan
• Electronic Drums – Andrew Booker
• Keyboards – Stephen Bennett
• Electric Violin – Steve Bingham
• Recorded live at Bush Hall on the 29th of August, 2008

Cowboy Kate came too late,
She’ll never see the dawn.
Cowboy Kate came too late,
She’ll never face the sun.

The love goes by and the life runs dry,
Pulls the tinsel from her hair.
She loses sight in the velvet night,
Drops a tin can by the chair.

Through all the tiny victories and the big defeats,
It’s Carolina skeletons that keep her rooted to her seat.

Cowboy Kate came too late,
She’ll never read the signs.
Cowboy Kate came too late,
She’ll never have the time.

The love goes by and the life runs dry,
Pulls the tinsel from her hair.
She dreams of flight in the velvet night,
Throws a tin can in the air.

Through all the tiny victories and the big defeats,
It’s Carolina skeletons that keep her rooted to her seat.

Through all the shitty obstacles and all the words so sweet,
It’s Carolina skeletons that make her stranger when she eats.

5. “All The Blue Changes (Live)” – 6:39

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Guitar – Steven Wilson
• Guitar – Mike Bearpark
• Bass – Pete Morgan
• Electronic Drums – Andrew Booker
• Keyboards – Stephen Bennett
• Electric Violin – Steve Bingham
• Recorded live at Bush Hall on the 29th of August, 2008

All the blue changes
All the blue chains
All the blue changes rearranged

Giving up on beautiful
And making peace with strange
All the blue changes rearranged

All the blue changes
All the blue chains
All the blue changes rearranged

Giving up on beautiful
And giving up on pain
All the blue changes rearranged

All the things we were –
Rearranged

The city in a hundred ways
It wouldn’t let you stay

The city in a hundred ways
Would never let you stray

Memories of Machines

If Schoolyard Ghosts is the shadowy patch of light coming through overcast skies, then Warm Winter is the feeling of the December sun on one’s skin. Giancarllo Erra’s band Nosound can be seen as one of the many children of Porcupine Tree. A talented multi-instrumentalist as well as producer and audio engineer, Erra first encountered Tim Bowness during the recording of Nosound’s second album, Lightdark in 2006. The two quickly bonded and crafted the song Someone Starts to Fade Away. Bowness would later join Nosound in onstage that same year to sing the song, “Change Me Once Again,” another track that had emerged out of the initial sessions with the band.

Pleased by the results of their initial teamwork, the two decided to turn their attention towards a full-length collaborative project, one that Tim had already begun preparing songs for. Recorded before, during and after the sessions for Schoolyard Ghosts, Warm Winter saw Bowness and Erra invite the likes of Peter Hammill, Robert Fripp, Jim Matheos and Steven Wilson to add to the growing project. Considering the parallels in sound and lyrics to Schoolyard Ghosts, it’s no surprise that several tracks appear across both albums, albeit in different forms.

“Beautiful Songs You Should Know” bears some resemblance to its Schoolyard Ghosts counterpart. The percussion of and the distinctive bass of Colin Edwin have been removed entirely, leaving only Marianne de Chastelaine’s cello behind. In its place are swirling synthesizers that conjure the tranquil image of new love and new opportunity.

“Schoolyard Ghost” the track at first listen doesn’t seem to share much in common with Schoolyard Ghosts the album. A deeper look however reveals the same chord progression and despair that is present in “Mixtaped.” The original demo for “Schoolyard Ghosts” was presented to both Steven and Giancarlo, who each took the track in different directions. While Steven completely reworked the song from the ground up, Giancarlo kept Tim’s demo mostly intact, adding only a few keyboard and guitar enhancements. Additional contributions from No-Man live drummer Andy Booker, keyboardist Stephen Bennett, guitarist Michael Bearpark, bassist Peter Chilvers and sax player Myke Clifford serve to complete the song’s sense of listlessness and mourning for a past that never truly was there.

“Lucky You, Lucky Me” saw the least change between No-Man’s own recording and the eventual version that ended on Warm Winter. The main changes can be heard in the mix, as the washes of drone like guitar and mellotron are put more to the front on the Warm Winter version. By comparison No-Man’s own recording centers Steven’s soloing along with a slightly different vocal take from Tim. Both songs however feature the same haunting look at the power of words to both hurt and heal. No-Man’s version would later be included on the deluxe editions of Schoolyard Ghosts.

Warm Winter would be released on the 16th of May, 2011. It marked a successful conclusion to four years of sporadic recording from Bowness and Erra. The album would be remixed, re-released and renamed in 2021 to Memories of Machines, with credits changed to Bowness/Erra. While the two have remained open to a follow up, no work has been forthcoming beyond a single track, “Someone Starts to Fade Away,” which was recorded in 2020.

Tracklist (Original CD Version)

1. New Memories of Machines
2. Before We Fall
3. Beautiful Songs You Should Know
4. Warm Winter
5. Lucky You, Lucky Me
6. Change Me Once Again
7. Something in Our Lives
8. Lost and Found in the Digital World
9. Schoolyard Ghosts
10. At The Centre of it All

Tracklist (2022 Reissue)

1. New Memories of Machines
2. Before We Fall
3. Beautiful Songs You Should Know
4. Warm Winter
5. Lucky You, Lucky Me
6. Change Me Once Again
7. Something in Our Lives
8. Lost and Found in the Digital World
9. Schoolyard Ghosts
10. At the Centre of It All
11. Dreamless Days
12. Someone Starts to Fade Away

3. “Beautiful Songs You Should Know” – 5:05

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Guitar, Piano, Keyboards – Giancarlo Erra
• Cello – Marianne de Chastelaine
• Written by Bowness/Erra

I want to play you
All the beautiful songs you should know
I want to save you
With the beautiful songs we can grow

I breathe in the light
I breathe in the life

Loving arms and cowboy guns
Mothers holding wayward sons

Breathe in the light
Breathe in the life

I want to give you
All the beautiful dreams you can bear
I want to show you
All the possible ways we could care

Open the door
Breathe in the light
Opening eyes
Breathe in the life

Morning sunshine on the leaves
(Open the door)
Cancels out the city freeze
(Breathe in the Light)

Open the door
Breathe in the light

Loving arms and cowboy guns
(Open the door)
Mothers holding wayward sons
(Breathe in the light)

Breathing

5. “Lucky You, Lucky Me” – 4:25

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Guitar, Piano, Keyboards – Giancarlo Erra
• Guitar, Keyboards – Steven Wilson
• Written by Bowness/Erra

I send you all I couldn’t say.
You can’t always make it pretty, so ugly has it’s way.
I send you all I couldn’t say.

I take my words
And use my words
To heal the hurt and the blame.

I take my words
And twist my words
To clean the dirt and the stains.

Lucky you, lucky me. Lucky you.

You wish for all I cannot give.
You try to make it perfect, when it only wants to live.
You wish for all I cannot give.

I take my words
And use my words
To heal the hurt and the blame.

I take my words
And twist my words
To clean up all that remains.

Lucky you, lucky me. Lucky you

9. “Schoolyard Ghosts” – 4:53

• Vocals – Tim Bowness
• Guitar, Piano, Keyboards – Giancarlo Erra
• Volume Swell Guitar – Michael Bearpark
• Electric piano, synthesizer – Stephen Bennett
• Drums – Andy Booker
• Bass – Peter Chilvers
• Saxophone – Myke Clifford
• Written by Tim Bowness

Tracey laughs at David’s questions,
As if she hasn’t got a care.
The classroom clowns Are getting bolder by the minute,
You just wish that you weren’t there.

The boy whose mother slipped and died,
Who at the funeral never cried.
While all the people all around,
Made him feel more lost than found

Jill is sitting by the window,
The sunlight shifts across her hair.

While all the people all around,
Find themselves and settle down,
The schoolyard ghosts that haunt your dreams,
Hold you back and make you feel unclean.

You and Jules down vodka shots
To hide the feelings that you’ve got.
You love her eyes, you love her mouth, You love her put on Rock-chick pout.

With all the voices telling you,
There’s nothing good that you can do,
The schoolyard ghosts that haunt your dreams, Hold you back and make you feel unclean.

Special thanks to Giancarlo Erra

Slow Electric

In one final unexpected twist, the centerpiece of Schoolyard Ghosts, Truenorth, would reappear a few years later in a completely different form and with a completely different band. Slow Electric was a one-off project that saw Tim and Peter Chilvers join forces with Estonian guitarist Robert Jürjendal and trumpeter Aleksei Saks, who had previously performed together as the duo UMA. The four had first crossed paths in 2010, when UMA joined Tim and Peter for a trio of performances in Estonia, before blooming into a fully-fledged collaboration.

Slow Electric took the ambient and electronic leanings of the first Bowness/Chilvers album and greatly expanded the sonic canvas. It also gave Tim a chance to revisit a few older pieces that he felt hadn’t quite found the right home or arrangement yet. One of those was the original piano demo for “Truenorth,” “Another Winter.” Here, stripped of its lush arrangements and with the ghostly addition of Aleksei’s trumpet, the cold wilderness of loves lost make themselves known for all to hear.  

Each night we played [Another Winter] I was so enamored of everyone els’s contributions ot the end sequence that I kept my rambling trap shut for fear of ruining the delicately crafted mood that Peter, Aleksei and Robert set up.

Tim Bowness via the liner notes for Slow Electric

Tracklist

1. Towards the Shore / Towards an Ending
2. Criminal Caught in the Crime
3. Days Turn Into Years
4. Slow Electric Hum / Also Out of Air
5. Another Winter
6. Between the Silent Worlds

5. Another Winter – 5:04

• Vocals, Loops, Piano – Tim Bowness
• Keyboards, Effects, Drum Programming – Peter Chilvers
• Trumpet, Loops – Aleksei Saks
• Guitar, Loops – Robert Jürjendal
• Written by Tim Bowness

You survived another winter
You survived where nothing grew

The days felt cold and never changing
So you just slept the whole way through

When you think about the future
It’s like the past, but hard and small

An old idea you stole from someone
A borrowed dream that’s born to fall

As the 2000’s drew to a close, both Tim and Steven were still very much engaged in pursuing their collaboration as No-Man towards new material and their seventh album. What nobody saw coming was the long and strange roads that the two would end up traveling, both alone and together, that would lead to that fabled seventh record.