Editing Porcupine Tree (section)

==Musical style==
===Influences===
Some of the inherent musical background of Porcupine Tree goes back to Wilson's childhood, when his parents gave Christmas presents to each other. His father received Pink Floyd's ''[[The Dark Side of the Moon]]'' whilst his mother got [[Donna Summer]]'s ''[[Love to Love You Baby (album)|Love to Love You Baby]]'', both of which Wilson listened to heavily. These albums influenced his further songwriting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kscopemusic.com/stevenwilson/insurgentes/biography.html|title=Steven Wilson Insurgentes Biography|publisher=[[Kscope]]|access-date=11 April 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207134659/http://www.kscopemusic.com/stevenwilson/insurgentes/biography.html|archive-date=7 February 2010}}</ref> Other influences include [[The Beatles]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-01 |title=10 Albums That Might Not Exist Without Sgt. Pepper's |url=https://consequence.net/2017/06/10-albums-that-might-not-exist-without-sgt-peppers/ |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Steven Wilson Addresses Fan Hate for Going Pop, Remembers Getting Hate for Going Metal With Porcupine Tree, Shares Opinion on The Beatles |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/steven_wilson_addresses_fan_hate_for_going_pop_remembers_getting_hate_for_going_metal_with_porcupine_tree_shares_opinion_on_the_beatles.html |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=www.ultimate-guitar.com |language=en}}</ref>  [[Camel (band)|Camel]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hit-channel.com/interviewsteven-wilson-soloporcupine-tree/46767|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029205340/http://www.hit-channel.com/interviewsteven-wilson-soloporcupine-tree/46767|archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=14 June 2016|title=Interview: Steven Wilson (solo, Porcupine Tree)|publisher=Hit Channel|date=June 2013|publication-date=12 April 2012|author= Thodoris }}</ref> and [[Karlheinz Stockhausen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/steven-wilson-i-cant-emphasise-how-much-i-learned-working-with-king-crimsom|title=Steven Wilson: I Can't Emphasise How Much I Learned Working With King Crimson|last=Moon|first=Grant|date=26 September 2016|website=Louder Sound|access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref>

Later in his teens, Wilson briefly became a fan of the [[new wave of British heavy metal]], but as soon as he discovered [[1970s in music|1970s]] music and progressive rock, his interest in metal diminished in favour of experimental music. He later (in the 2000s) discovered bands in the likes of [[Gojira (band)|Gojira]], [[Sunn O)))]], [[Neurosis (band)|Neurosis]], and [[Meshuggah]], which restored his faith in metal music. "For a long time, I couldn't find where all these creative musicians were going...", said Wilson, "and I found them, they were working in [[extreme metal]]." Shortly thereafter, he went on to produce three consecutive albums by Swedish [[progressive death metal]] band Opeth, which had a considerable influence in his further songwriting.<ref name="metal storm">{{cite web|url=http://www.metalstorm.ee/pub/interview.php?interview_id=453|author=Jeff|location=Toulouse, France|title=Porcupine Tree interview (01/2008)|website=[[Metal Storm (webzine)|Metal Storm]]|publication-date=1 January 2008|date=19 November 2007|access-date=7 April 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927085330/http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/interview.php?interview_id=453|archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref>

The influence of [[electronic music]] and [[krautrock]] is present, with Wilson namechecking bands such as [[Can (band)|Can]], [[Neu!]], [[Tangerine Dream]],<ref name="Steven Wilson Headquarters">{{cite web|url=http://www.swhq.co.uk/bass_communion_interview.cfm|title=Chasing Ghosts in the Dark |first=Geoff |last=Kieffer |website=Steven Wilson Headquarters|date=10 February 2004|access-date=10 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430021827/http://www.swhq.co.uk/bass_communion_interview.cfm|archive-date=30 April 2008}}</ref> [[Squarepusher]], and [[Aphex Twin]]<ref name="Free Williamsburg"/> and artists such as [[Klaus Schulze]] and [[Conrad Schnitzler]], among others.<ref name="Aural Innovations Issue No.7"/><ref name="Steven Wilson Headquarters"/> He has mentioned on multiple occasions that he admires the work of American musician [[Trent Reznor]], the founding member of [[Nine Inch Nails]].<ref name="MusicPlayers"/><ref>{{cite web|first=Roy|last=Povarchik|url=http://www.alternative-zine.com/interviews/en/110|title=Interview with: Porcupine Tree lead guitarist/singer/songwriter Steven Wilson|date=26 June 2007|access-date=7 April 2008|location=Tel Aviv|website=Alternative-Zine.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626193727/http://www.alternative-zine.com/interviews/en/110|archive-date=26 June 2007}}</ref><ref name="Rock Eyez">{{cite web|first1=David|last1=Felix|first2=Carlos|last2=Rodrigues|url=http://www.rockeyez.com/interviews/int-porcupine-tree.html|title=Interview: Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree)|publisher=Rock Eyez|date=12 May 2005|access-date=7 April 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051025045819/http://www.rockeyez.com/interviews/int-porcupine-tree.html|archive-date=25 October 2005}}</ref> Wilson has also cited English electronic band [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]] (OMD), along with other potentially "surprising" influences such as [[ABBA]], [[The Carpenters]], [[Electric Light Orchestra]], and the ''[[Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack)|Saturday Night Fever]]'' soundtrack album (1977), largely written and performed by the [[Bee Gees]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/steven-wilson-my-top-5-not-so-guilty-pleasures-of-all-time-560830|title=Steven Wilson: my top 5 not-so-guilty pleasures of all time|last=Bosso|first=Joe|date=17 September 2012|website=MusicRadar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302223559/https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/steven-wilson-my-top-5-not-so-guilty-pleasures-of-all-time-560830|access-date=30 November 2021|archive-date=2 March 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Porcupine Tree @ Poznan, Poland (11-28-2007).jpg|thumb|left|250px|Steven Wilson at Arena, [[Poznań]], Poland, on 28 November 2007.]]

===Characteristics===
The music of Porcupine Tree is often described as melancholic.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} Wilson has stated music is a way for him to channel all his negative feelings,<ref name="Innerviews 1">{{ cite web | last = Prasad | first = Anil | author-link = Anil Prasad | website = Innerviews | url = http://www.innerviews.org/inner/ptree.html | title = Porcupine Tree – Shadows and light | access-date = 8 April 2008 | date = 2004 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080328040658/http://www.innerviews.org/inner/ptree.html | archive-date = 28 March 2008 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> and "an exorcism of those elements within",<ref name="Innerviews 2">{{cite web |last=Prasad |first=Anil |url=http://www.innerviews.org/inner/ptree2.html |title=Porcupine Tree – Cinematic catharsis |date=2005 |website=Innerviews |access-date=8 April 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328214858/http://www.innerviews.org/inner/ptree2.html |archive-date=28 March 2008}}</ref> finding it "easier to write songs about the negative side of the world than it is about the happy side of the world." In the ''Warszawa'' live radio broadcast album, before performing "Stop Swimming", Wilson can be heard saying "the saddest music is often the most beautiful."

Porcupine Tree is an album-oriented band, making records where many songs are related to each other.<ref name="Free Williamsburg"/>  Wilson has said: <blockquote>"The important thing with Porcupine Tree is that all our songs have a unique sound world that they inhabit. I don't like the idea of any song sounding like any other song. So most of the time it's a case of finding the sound world first whether it be a texture or a drum rhythm that sets you off on a certain musical path, or particular musical atmosphere, or flavour."<ref name="Free Williamsburg"/></blockquote> For their recordings, the band has included [[mellotron]], [[banjo]], [[hammered dulcimer]], and [[guimbri]], among other instruments unusual for rock bands.{{opinion|date=November 2021}}

Above all, Porcupine Tree's music has maintained a strong textural and experimental quality, often fusing many genres in a single track. The band's work is noted for its [[ambient music|atmospheric]] nature, largely due to Barbieri's keyboard style and sound-processing abilities, and Wilson's cinematic scope, as a declared fan of American filmmaker [[David Lynch]], whose films are renowned for their sonic content.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=3724|title=KNAC.COM – Features – Interview With Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson|date=25 June 2005|access-date=11 April 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210070535/http://www.knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=3724|archive-date=10 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myspace.com/therealstevenwilson|title=Steven Wilson's MySpace|access-date=11 April 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719095355/http://www.myspace.com/therealstevenwilson|archive-date=19 July 2008}}</ref> "Very layered, very produced, very arranged and [with] complex arrangements" is the way Wilson describes the sound of the band.<ref name="High Fidelity">{{cite web|url=http://www.highfidelityreview.com/features/porcupine_tree.asp |title=Porcupine Tree in Absentia DVD-Audio – Steven Wilson Interview |publisher=HighFidelityReview.com |date=7 March 2004 |access-date=8 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404160609/http://www.highfidelityreview.com/features/porcupine_tree.asp |archive-date=4 April 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Apart from their regular edition, the albums ''Stupid Dream'', ''Lightbulb Sun'', ''In Absentia'', ''Deadwing'', ''Fear of a Blank Planet'', and ''The Incident'' are available in [[Digital Theater System|DTS]] (5.1 Surround Sound) mix; this mixing technique has become a tradition for the band in recent years.

The band's live performances have also been praised, with ''[[Future plc|MusicRadar]]'' placing them fourth in their list of "The 30 greatest live acts in the world today" in 2010.<ref>[http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/yy35/synesthetize/NuevoLienzo.png Archive] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326031043/http://i775.photobucket.com/albums/yy35/synesthetize/NuevoLienzo.png |date=26 March 2012 }}/[http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/the-30-greatest-live-acts-in-the-world-today-462684/28 Original] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917052448/http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/the-30-greatest-live-acts-in-the-world-today-462684/28 |date=17 September 2012 }}. "The 30 greatest live acts in the world today" by ''MusicRadar''. (16 June 2011)</ref>

Porcupine Tree are often categorised as a progressive rock band. Although many listeners familiar with the group label them as such, Steven Wilson has been noted in the past to express a certain dislike for the use of the term "progressive" to refer to them.<ref name="Aural Innovations Issue No.7" /> However, more recently, he made note that he has since become more relaxed toward the word considering it is becoming "a much broader term"<ref name="ProgArchives"/> as time passes. He has frequently stated that he dislikes the press comparing Porcupine Tree with [[neo prog]] bands or citing them as 'the New Pink Floyd'.