please note: we realise that a heavy box like this (over 2 kilograms) costs a fortune to ship overseas, but for the occasion (and for the pre-order phase only), we have lowered the rates for the 2-5 kilogram section for both the airmail and registered airmail rates for non european customers.

A little update…..after last year was pretty much a year without any new music from me, I’ve been working very hard in the studio on various projects. Firstly, we finished mixing the incredible new Opeth album a few days ago, keep an eye on their website for details on that. Mikael and I also took the opportunity while he was here to finish writing our collaboration album – there’s still a lot of recording work to do, but this should definitely be out in early 2012. The new SW solo record is still on track for September release, and I think the next two King Crimson remixes (Larks Tongues in Aspic and Starless and Bible Black) will be out around the same time. I’m now working on new stereo and 5.1 mixes of another very famous 70′s progressive album for a deluxe reissue this year, can’t say more about that just yet. Last but not least, over the last year I worked on and off on a new Bass Communion album called “Cenotaph”, which is a kind of sequel to Ghosts on Magnetic Tape – news on when this will be released when I have it. I think that’s enough for now! Off on tour with Blackfield soon.

On 16th April is international record store day – many exclusive releases will only be available on that day from participating record stores. I’ve teamed up with Oceansize (RIP) to release our cover versions of Tim Smith songs on an exclusive split white vinyl 7 inch single. As well as supporting record stores the profits will go towards raising both awareness and money for Tim, who suffered a severe stroke in 2008. Note that for reasons beyond our control the single will only be available in participating stores in Europe, and it’s not available to buy online.

There are 2 tracks from the just released TF100 release on the Tone Float Soundcloud page – one of which I sing on, another of which I play keyboards on. This is a beautiful album of collaborations between all of the main artists that have released music on Tone Float during the last 10 years or so, and the presentation is gorgeous, being a 108 page hardback book featuring artwork and other ephemera from the first 100 Tone Float releases, with the album spread across 2 x 10 inch records. It’s limited to only 500 copies for sale, and quite reasonably priced (though expensive to post). Headphone Dust will get a few copies of the book version, please email if you’d like to reserve one (hd@swhq.co.uk) – I don’t know yet if there will be a CD release at a later date, but I hope so.

Cut Ribbon once again failed to make the cut – although the 12 tracks / 84 minutes of music I’ve selected for the main release is quite eclectic, it has in common a pretty organic feel, mostly inspired by the darker end of vintage progressive music and some movie soundtrack stuff (Morricone especially). The sound palette is made up of things like strings, choir, woodwinds, mellotron, organ, piano, fender rhodes, jazz drums, and warmer guitar tones, so the shiny metal attack of Cut Ribbon just doesn’t fit. But the track is all mixed and finished and sounds good, so I’ll find somewhere to release it. Definitely the album will come out on double vinyl too.

My second solo album is nearing completion. It will be in the form of 2 separate 40 minute albums released in the same 2 CD set, and will also come as a blu-ray with surround mix, high definition stereo and a lot of visual material (Lasse is already working hard on films for many of the songs, attached is a still from one of these we shot a couple of weeks ago to a song called “Index”). We’re also planning a special Insurgentes style hard back book edition with a full length bonus CD of additional material. A year in the making, this is without doubt my biggest project to date, perhaps my most ambitious and personal music, and with some phenomenal musicians and performances on it (drummer Nic France in particular is going to blow a lot of people away). We hope a website will launch around April/May to start previewing material, with the album scheduled for September. More soon….

• The new Blackfield album is out on 28th March, called Welcome To My DNA. A new Blackfield website has been launched with some sound samples and various tour dates in the UK, Europe and USA have been announced. You can pre-order the album here.
• A small collaboration with Sand Snowman has been recorded for the 100th release on Tonefloat records. “It takes the form of a deluxe cloth bound 108 page book vinyl edition, featuring many of the artists that have helped to define the ToneFloat sound over the last few years collaborating in different combinations.” It can be pre-ordered here.
• 28th February will see the release of a box set on Esoteric / Cherry Red documenting Delerium Records, the label set up by Richard Allen at the start of the 90′s to cater for Richard’s love of psychedelic music. Among the very first signings to the label were Porcupine Tree, who released 4 studio albums on the label between 1992-96. “The Last Daze of the Underground” is a 3 CD box set that includes the rare short version of “Radioactive Toy” (different intro and guitar solo), and the title track of Signify, as well as tracks from many of the other bands that released music on Delerium Records, and a detailed booklet containing the history of the label
• A Porcupine Tree iPhone/iPad app is in the works for Feb/March
• SW’s 2nd solo album will be released in September
• The rumoured collaboration between SW and Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt is finally due to be released near the end of this year.

You can also follow Porcupine Tree and Blackfield on their own Twitter accounts, in addition to the one for this blog.