Voyage 35 - The Nostalgia Collective
By Pete Clemons
The link between Porcupine Tree and Coventry is a tenuous one but bear with me. The band played Antics club - formerly known as the Tic Toc during 1993 - on the bands very first tour. It was actually Porcupine Tree's third or fourth ever gig. Depends on if you include a Marc Radcliffe BBC radio session or not. Plus Coventry holds the distinction of being the only place where the band performed as a 3 piece.
Porcupine Tree's now 30 plus year history has taken its own story but began as a live band with Steven Wilson, Richard Barbieri, Chris Maitland - who left during 2002 and Colin Edwin - who remained with the band until they took a hiatus in 2010.
As Porcupine Tree grew more famous and took on a heavier direction, their earliest tracks were left behind. Edwin, and a dedicated team, decided to take a real risk by creating a band to play these classic songs again with a fresh approach.
Two years on from those initial thoughts and a band with the name 'Voyage 35' pays tribute to Porcupine Tree's famous 1992 ambient track, Voyage 34 and many others have just completed their debut tour. The set list focuses heavily on music from the early 1990s up to the 'In Absentia' era.
Voyage 35 does not just play the old songs al dente, they bring a full live band and authentic visual elements to every show. They even tour with the original psychedelic light show known as Fruit Salad Lights.
The Voyage 35 project started after bass player Colin Edwin reconnected with original drummer Chris Maitland and reminisced over the old mid-1990s recordings. They were reminded as to how good that early music was.
According to band co-founder Colin Edwin, Maitland remains a full-time working drummer, and his schedule lacked the required flexibility to commit to a full tour schedule. Instead, Alessandro Vagnoni, a band mate of Colin's from O.R.k. was recruited to handle full-time drum duties.
The O.R.k. Link continued when vocalist and keyboard player Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari (Lef) was drafted into the band.
Finally, former Colin Edwin approached John Wesley to join the project after they reconnected when Wesley provided guest guitar work for an O.R.k. Track. John Wesley joined Porcupine Tree as a touring guitarist and backing vocalist in 2002 during their In Absentia world tour. He stayed with the band for nearly a decade through 2010, performing in over 450 shows and contributing to albums like In Absentia and Fear of a Blank Planet.
Voyage 35 have released fresh studio takes of early gems like The Nostalgia Factory and Even Less to prepare themselves for the stage. The live set gives fans a rare chance to hear atmospheric, lesser-played tracks that have not been performed live in decades. And wow have they given them a new lease of life. Voyage 35 honoured the enduring material by interpreting classic tracks with a fresh modern energy.
Steven Wilson, who continues to push boundaries with his music, has also expressed full support for Voyage 35 project.
Just as impressive has been getting this project together in terms of geography and logistics. John Wesley is from Miami in Florida while both Alessandro and Lef reside in Italy.
In its formative years, as much as Porcupine Tree was a bedroom conception, it took the efforts of many others to springboard it into the music loving public's eyeline. And this tour was an incredible reminder just what a force Porcupine Tree had become. Booking agent Glenn Povey and his Circle Sky Agency ensured that the whole tour was an unconditional triumph and inspired thinking to actually do this.
A delighted manager, Richard Allen, and for whom the tour has far exceeded expectations mentioned after the tour 'A group effort that came together pretty much as planned. It was obviously meant to happen!'.
Richard continued 'We genuinely had no idea how it would do. We only had a hunch that there were fans out there who loved the early period of the band. I've said many times I wasn't really into what they did later although I respected it. Prog Metal was never my thing. It's good to know that those 12 years at the start are remembered because PT was a different animal back then as I'm sure those who never saw them now realise. Signify remains my favourite album and I have a soft spot for the first one not least the lyrics of the late Alan Duffy (RIP) It's a real shame Alan never got to see this tour'.
Finally, and back to the Coventry gig of 1993, I had a brief chance to say hi to Colin Edwin during the tour. His razor sharp memory remembered that particular evening. The memory brought back a wry smile and the comment 'how did we get away with that one'.
