My Favourite Porcupine Tree Play List

How lucky am I?

I have taken an opportunity to escape the cold & wet grip of Melbourne’s winter and take a break in Europe with my family. Like many families, this is the first opportunity we’ve had to travel after the global pandemic lockdowns ended so we have been looking forward to it immensely.

After a few wonderful days in London, we boarded the Eurostar train bound for Paris, settled in and zoned out for a couple of hours while watching the scenery pass by. I thought that it would be a wonderful opportunity to re-visit some of my old playlists that I haven’t connected with for a while.
Popped on the headphones.

Now, what music is great for travelling?

Flicking through old playlists is like browsing a photo album, isn’t it?
My mind filled with memories & images that I had unconsciously attached to that music.
And then I saw it – my old Porcupine Tree playlist!

Porcupine Who?

These guys are an English rock band formed by the talented Steven Wilson in 1987. Since then, they have made 11 studio albums, 13 live albums, 6 compilation albums and 2 video albums. They earned acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following and became a major influence for new artists.

The group’s career has always been at arms-length from the mainstream, being described by the music press as “the most important band you’d never heard of”.

Their strange name is part of their strange story because the band began as a hoax… a joke. Steven Wilson and Malcolm Stocks were working on ‘serious’ projects and decided to invent a fictitious band called Porcupine Tree and give it an elaborate back story with colourful fictitious band members. To prove that it made music, Wilson produced an 80-minute cassette titled Tarquin’s Seaweed Farm. One thing led to another and… the band that didn’t exist got signed! 😊

A few years ago, I put together this playlist.
It is 2hrs 57mins and covers a period in their career 1994 – 2012.
I’m not claiming that this is the best representation of their work, nor does it cover all of their discography. But it has served me well over the years, especially on long drives or rides.

I wanted to share it with you and introduce you to this interesting progressive rock band. If you like their music, please send me your playlist (I mean it!).

My old Porcupine Tree playlist – enjoy!