Editing Porcupine Tree (section)

===The Delerium years (1991–1997)===

====''On the Sunday of Life...''====
Along with the ''A Psychedelic Psauna'' compilation, which featured the Porcupine Tree track "Linton Samuel Dawson", the newly formed [[Delerium Records|Delerium]] label, formed by ''Freakbeat'' editors Richard Allen and Ivor Trueman, offered to reissue the cassettes ''Tarquin's Seaweed Farm'' and ''The Nostalgia Factory''. Two hundred copies of each cassette were sold through ''Freakbeat's'' mail order, The Freak Emporium, and soon Porcupine Tree became known as a mysterious new act amongst the then UK underground psychedelic music scene.

Shortly thereafter, Delerium invited Wilson to sign as one of the label's founder artists. The first release after this, a double vinyl album and single CD compiling the best material from his two cassettes, was released in mid-1992 as ''[[On the Sunday of Life]]'', a title chosen from a long list of possible nonsense titles compiled by Richard Allen. The rest of the music from the initial tapes was released on the limited edition [[compilation album]] ''[[Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape]]''.

In 1992, Delerium released ''On the Sunday of Life'' as an edition of 1,000 copies, complete with a deluxe gatefold sleeve. The album sold very well, particularly in Italy, and it was briefly repressed on vinyl and has remained in print on CD ever since its release. The album featured future concert favourite and frequent [[encore (concert)|encore]] song "Radioactive Toy". By 2000, ''On the Sunday of Life...'' had accumulated sales of more than 20,000 copies.<ref name="Porcupine Tree Biography">{{cite web|url= http://www.porcupinetree.com/background.cfm|title= Porcupine Tree Biography|website= PorcupineTree.com|access-date= 15 May 2007|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080410092648/http://www.porcupinetree.com/background.cfm|archive-date= 10 April 2008|df= dmy-all}}</ref> ''On the Sunday of Life'' was originally meant to be a quadruple (LP)/double (CD) album compiling both cassettes in full, but changed to the best (according to Wilson) songs from the tapes. In 2004, Wilson remixed and remastered all three tapes, releasing them as a three-CD box set called ''Footprints: Cassette Music 1988-1992''. This box was only distributed to family and friends.

====''Up the Downstair''====
In the midst of Porcupine Tree's rising success, Wilson's other band, No-Man, had been getting excellent UK press, which led to the band being signed to leading UK independent music publisher, Hit & Run Music Publishing, in 1991, which resulted in recording agreements with [[One Little Indian Records]], and Epic 440/Sony in the US. No-Man's success gave Wilson the opportunity to leave his regular job and devote his time solely to music. All of the Delirium releases were published by Hit & Run, whose executive Dave Massey had signed No-Man and continued to be closely involved in the Porcupine Tree project.

In May 1993, the second Porcupine Tree album, ''[[Up the Downstair]]'', was released, another prospective double album that was finally slimmed down to a single record. "Voyage 34" was actually going to take up the second disc, but it was last decided to be released alone as a single. The album was highly praised, ''[[Melody Maker]]'' describing it as "a psychedelic masterpiece... one of the albums of the year."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.delerium.co.uk/delerium/releases/delec020.html|title=Delerium Records: Porcupine Tree – Up The Downstair|date=2000|access-date=18 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826202210/http://www.delerium.co.uk/delerium/releases/delec020.html |archive-date=26 August 2007}}</ref> The album continued the [[fusion (music)|fusion]] of [[electronic music]] and rock and also featured guest appearances from two future Porcupine Tree members, [[Richard Barbieri]], of 1970s-80s art rock band [[Japan (band)|Japan]], and [[Colin Edwin]].

In November 1993, ''[[Voyage 34]]'' was reissued alongside an additional [[12-inch single|12-inch]] remix by Astralasia. The album managed to enter the ''[[NME]]'' indie chart for six weeks and became an underground chill-out classic, even without radio play.<ref name="Porcupine Tree Biography" />

====''The Sky Moves Sideways''====
The profile of Porcupine Tree had now grown to the extent that Wilson wanted to expand into live performances. Thus, in December 1993, Porcupine Tree became a live unit featuring Wilson on lead vocals/guitar, Colin Edwin on bass, Chris Maitland on drums, and Richard Barbieri on keyboards.<ref name="MusicPlayers">{{cite web |url=http://www.musicplayers.com/features/guitars/2007/0707_Steven_Wilson.php |title=Steven Wilson: Fear of a Blank Interview |website=MusicPlayers.com |first=Scott |last=Kahn |access-date=8 April 2008}}</ref>

{{listen
 | filename     = Porcupine Tree - The Sky Moves Sideways (European Edition) - 01 - The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One).ogg
 | title        = "The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 1"
 | description  = from ''The Sky Moves Sideways'', which contains some of Steven Wilson's longest compositions. The band evolved into a more electronic, ambient, and trance sound, and included more jam-like parts. The song is mostly instrumental and consists of four movements; the US release has an individual track for each section.
 | format       = ogg
}}

All three new members of the group had worked with Wilson on various projects over the preceding years, especially Barbieri and Maitland, who had been part of No-Man's touring band. The new line-up's first live album, ''[[Spiral Circus]]'', contained recordings from their first three performances, including a [[BBC Radio 1|BBC Radio One]] session for [[Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)|Mark Radcliffe]], an early champion of the group.

Porcupine Tree's next album did not emerge until early 1995, but was preceded by the ''[[Moonloop]]'' EP, the last two tracks of which were recorded during the album sessions and were the first to feature the new band. Released in 1995, the band's third studio album, ''[[The Sky Moves Sideways]]'' became a success among [[progressive rock]] fans and Porcupine Tree were hailed as the Pink Floyd of the 1990s. Wilson later lamented this, stating, "I can't help that. It's true that during the period of ''The Sky Moves Sideways'', I had done a little too much of it in the sense of satisfying, in a way, the fans of Pink Floyd who were listening to us because that group doesn't make albums any more. Moreover, I regret it".

''The Sky Moves Sideways'' was an "expansive soundscape of melody and ambient rock experimentation", but proved to be a transitional work, with half recorded before the formation of the band and half recorded after. Most of the album was taken up with the 35-minute title track, which at one point Wilson had intended to be long enough to occupy the whole album. An alternate version of the track, containing some of the excised music, was included on the 2004 remastered version of the album. It also entered the ''NME'', ''Melody Maker'', and ''[[Music Week]]'' charts.<ref name="Porcupine Tree Biography" /> Together with the ''Moonloop'' EP, this album was the first Porcupine Tree music issued in America in the autumn of 1995, and attracted favourable press on both sides of the Atlantic. The band supported the album with numerous concerts throughout the year at major music venues in the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, and Greece.

====''Signify''====
Partly unsatisfied with the half band/half solo nature of ''The Sky Moves Sideways'', Porcupine Tree promptly got down to the task of recording the first proper band record. Wilson admitted he was always "in love with the idea of the rock band" because "bands have a kind of glamour, and appeal, and a romance about them the solo projects just don't have."<ref name="Aural Innovations Issue No.7">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue7/ptree03.html|title=Porcupine Tree (Review/Interview)|magazine=Aural Innovations|first1=Jerry|last1=Kranitz|first2=Keith|last2=Henderson|date=July 1999|issue=7|access-date=7 January 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312134918/http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue7/ptree03.html |archive-date=2007-03-12}}</ref> The band worked sporadically over the next year on developing a tighter and more ambitious rock sound.

{{listen
 | filename    = Porcupine Tree - Every Home Is Wired.ogg
 | title       = "Every Home Is Wired"
 | description = from ''Signify''. This album contains shorter pieces than its predecessor, and featured the first collaborative compositions between Wilson and the other band members.
 | format      = ogg
}}

[[File:Steven Wilson Strawberry Fayre Cambridge 1997.jpg|thumb|left|145px|Steven Wilson at the Strawberry Fair, Cambridge, 1997]]

After the release of the first real Porcupine Tree single, "[[Waiting (Porcupine Tree song)|Waiting]]", which entered all UK indie charts and the UK National chart and attracting airplay all over Europe, ''[[Signify (album)|Signify]]'' was released in September 1996. The album was a mixture of instrumental tracks and more song-oriented tunes, blending numerous rock and ''[[avant-garde]]'' styles, such as [[krautrock]].<ref name="even less">{{cite web |last=Ezell |first=Brice |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/156385-progs-only-stupid-dream-porcupine-tree-even-less |title=Prog's Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - "Even Less" |website=[[PopMatters]] |date= 2 April 2012|access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref> Wilson expressed satisfaction in the direction of the album, stating "tracks like 'Every Home Is Wired' and 'Dark Matter' totally transcend both genre and comparison. Finally, I think we are making a completely original and 1990s form of music, but which still has its root in progressive music."<ref name="Record Collector November 1996, issue 207">{{cite web |url=http://www.porcupinetree.com/background.interviews.cfm?press=interview007 |title=Record Collector |date=November 1996 |issue=207 |access-date=7 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114142444/http://www.porcupinetree.com/background.interviews.cfm?press=interview007|archive-date= 14 November 2006|df= dmy-all}}</ref> The musicians received writing credits for some tracks, most notably for "Intermediate Jesus", which evolved from a jam session later released as ''[[Metanoia (Porcupine Tree album)|Metanoia]]'' at the end of 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.porcupinetree.com/discography.details.cfm?albumid=97|title=Porcupine Tree – Discography|publisher=porcupinetree.com|access-date=6 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405052425/http://www.porcupinetree.com/discography.details.cfm?albumid=97|archive-date=5 April 2008}}</ref> A large amount of major European media interest accompanied the album's release.

In March 1997, they played three nights in Rome to an audience that surpassed 5,000 people. All three dates were recorded for use in the 1997 live album ''[[Coma Divine – Recorded Live in Rome]]'' that was released as a goodbye to Delerium Records, which felt it could no longer offer the kind of resources the band needed  to continue to build its profile worldwide. In late 1997 Porcupine Tree's first three albums were remastered and reissued. ''Signify'' also was released in the US on [[Miles Copeland III|Miles Copeland]]'s [[Ark 21 Records|Ark 21]] label.