The Harmony Codex by Steven Wilson – Album Playback and Live Review

Wednesday 27 September 2023

EartH Hackney, London

*****

The Harmony Codex in immersive surround sound and live performance

Steven Wilson has often said that one of his lifetime ambitions is to write a film soundtrack – he even co-wrote a film script with the film-maker Mike Bennion which eventually became the basis of the Porcupine Tree album Deadwing. In September 2020 the film project resurfaced, with a substantially rewritten script, under the name And No Birds Sing; there was even a short teaser on YouTube, but the film itself has not yet been released and it’s unclear whether it ever will be. Wilson has partly had to satisfy his love for cinema by writing cinematic songs like miniature movies, with widescreen production.

In the meantime, last Wednesday evening saw the launch of Wilson’s new album The Harmony Codex at EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney), beginning with a playback of the record in full, followed by a short live set. It’s difficult to describe the experience of listening to the album in this way, as there is no art or entertainment experience with which to compare it. The venue is a small theatre, with raked seating and a small stage which was used for the live performance. The audience were surrounded by loudspeakers and listened in near darkness. Perhaps the closest equivalent is the shared experience of being in a cinema, but without watching a film – some of the songs on the album already have excellent videos that can be seen on YouTube but the decision had been taken not to display them during the playback. The audience listened in reverent silence, clapping occasionally as if wondering what the appropriate response should be to listening to a recording.

The cinematic analogy continued in terms of the technical presentation of the music. A surround sound system was used, similar to that found in high-end cinemas. Wilson has recently started mixing his own and other people’s records in Dolby Atmos, technology that uses multiple loudspeakers to create spatial audio. The playback system at EartH was provided by L-Acoustics, giving a truly immersive experience, particularly for electronics and backing vocals. The quality of reproduction was also evident on lead vocals, Wilson and his occasional vocal partner Ninet Tayeb sounding warm, rich and intimate.

But the experience was much more than an exercise in high quality audio, although that played an important part. The experience became transcendent during the title track The Harmony Codex. The words of the German poet Stefan George ‘I feel air from another planet’ (quoted by the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg in his second string quartet) came to mind. The trance-like nature of this instrumental track was deeply enhanced by the immersive sound; it truly felt as if the music was being beamed from a distant planet or from a dying star, creating a feeling of deep nostalgia for lost worlds but also a deep sense of joy.

Having singled out one individual track, it’s worth considering the whole experience. It felt like a movie for the ears; a surreal narrative from an art house movie, the type of film that Wilson has expressed great affection for – a series of connected scenes that don’t necessarily form an obvious linear narrative, such as works by Luis Buñuel and David Lynch.

The album playback was followed by a live set consisting of three tracks from the new album, The Harmony Codex, Economies of Scale, Actual Brutal Facts, and one track from Wilson’s last solo album The Future Bites. Wilson was joined on stage by his wife Rotem who provided voice overs, and guitarist Niko Tsonev who toured with Wilson in 2012 and plays on the new album. Behind Wilson himself was a series of large lightboxes, recreating the cover design for the album which has one coloured light for each of ten tracks, forming the staircase which features in the short story on which the album is loosely based.

What was most striking for Wilson’s fans was seeing him coming on stage without a guitar. Although he sometimes plays live keyboards, his main instrument has always been the guitar so to see him only playing keyboards was unusual. His voice was as strong as it is on the record, and the keyboard sounds were rich and immersive; it felt like a privilege to be in such an intimate space when his recent gigs with Porcupine Tree have been at major festivals and in arenas like Wembley Arena. Wilson has said that he would perhaps like to play the new album live in full surround sound at smaller venues in future, so this evening could be a foretaste of what is to come. Whatever happens in the future, this was a deeply moving, unique experience which will be hard to replicate elsewhere.