Former Porcupine Tree bassist Colin Edwin has a busy time ahead of him, with O.R.k., Fractal Sextet, Gaudi Kosmisches Trio and more. He took a pause to tell Prog about the musical journey that’s got him to where he is today.
Where’s home?
The former mill town of Apsley, part of the post-war suburban experiment that is Hemel Hempstead.
What’s your earliest prog memory?
I grew up in a musical family, but it was a prog-free house. I was introduced to Gong at about 14 while on holiday – I met a slightly older hippie guy who passed me his headphones and played me A Sprinkling Of Clouds. It was another world compared to anything else I’d heard at that point.
What was your first prog album?
Led Zeppelin’s Presence, on cassette from the local Our Price. I was at a party and someone had put it on full blast in the early hours as everyone was crashed out in the living room, wasted. I bought the album the next day. Still love it.
And the latest?
Koenji Hyakkei’s remaster of Nivraym. Excellent Japanese Zeuhl.
First prog gig?
Daevid Allen, just prior to rebooting Gong in the mid/late 80s, when he had an all-female backing band. As I recall, the gig was a mix of folky numbers, glissando ambience, performance art, poetry, and at one point an acoustic version of Flying Teapot. But I might have misremembered a few things, for obvious reasons...
And the most recent?
Japanese band Goat (JP), on one of their very rare trips to London. I don’t know if they qualify as prog but they certainly test the outer boundaries of music. Their performance was super-intense, otherworldly and mind-blowing.
What’s the best prog show you ever saw?
Magma at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco [May 30, 1999]. I was there with Porcupine Tree, and seeing Magma live for the first time was 100 per cent more of an involving experience than listening to any of their many excellent albums. Kind of a revelation to me at the time.
Your latest prog discovery?
Former Magma bassist Bernard Paganotti’s solo album, Paga [1985], and also his earlier band, Weidorje.
What’s your guilty musical pleasure?
Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On The Bedpost Overnight?) by Lonnie Donegan.
Outside of music, what are you into?
I spend an inordinate amount of time messing about with plastic analogue fisheye cameras. It started as a way to get myself walking about while on tour. The results are often useless, but the good pictures are unique in an amazing way. The front covers of both Twinscapes albums were fisheye camera pictures of mine.
What’s a good read?
The Magus by John Fowles. The second time I read it I realised I’d missed so much – it was much deeper than I’d first thought. The film version is unbelievably dire, though.
Ever had a prog-related date?
Years ago, my then girlfriend – now wife – and I went to see the Ozric Tentacles, and she really liked it. But it was in no way instrumental (no pun intended!) in our getting together.
Who’s your prog hero?
Tim Smith. I’m constantly reminded how truly amazing and unique Cardiacs were. Great musicians, fantastic songs and all done with warmth and humour.
What’s the most important piece of progressive music?
King Crimson’s 21st Century Schizoid Man. An enduring classic that broke a few moulds and still sounds fresh.
The prog muso you’d most like to work with?
Captain Beefheart. Embarrassing mid-career attempts at commercial success aside, he possessed a particularly unrestrained imagination and a totally eccentric, unrepeatable form of creativity. I’ve read Drumbo’s [Beefheart drummer John French’s] book – I’d have lasted about five minutes in The Magic Band.
Which prog album gets you in a happy mood?
Mr. Bungle’s Disco Volante. It’s a wild ride throughout and full of twisted humour. Sonically fascinating and in a class all of its own.
Your favourite prog album cover?
Exmagma’s Goldball [1974]. It’s just a picture of the band in front of their instruments, but the music is exactly like you’d hope and expect to hear from what you see on the cover.
What are you up to at the moment?
A few things I’ve been working on will be appearing before the end of the year: Fractal Sextet, whose album Sky Full Of Hope is due on a resurrected RareNoise; Torpedo Forward, the debut album of Gaudi Kosmisches Trio, best described as ‘krautrock meets psychedelic dub’; and lots of new upbeat material from O.R.k., where we’re playing with a harder edge than ever before. I’m excited about it all.
