''Bass Communion'' is a solo project of English musician

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corro ...

, best known for his lead role in the rock band

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

. Records released under the name "Bass Communion" are in an

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

or electronic vein - lengthy drone-heavy compositions. They come about as experiments in texture made from processing the sound of real instruments and field recordings. Bass Communion's albums have often featured collaborations from other musicians, including

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Theo Travis Theo Travis (born 7 July 1964 in Birmingham, England) is a British saxophonist, flautist and composer. He is best known for being a member of Soft Machine which he joined in 2006 while the group was still using the "Legacy" suffix and for being ...

, Bryn Jones (also known as

Muslimgauze Muslimgauze was the main musical project of Bryn Jones (17 June 1961 – 14 January 1999), a British ethnic electronica and experimental musician who was influenced by conflicts and history in the Muslim world, often with an emphasis on the Isra ...

), and

Vidna Obmana Vidna Obmana (stylized vidnaObmana on many album covers) is a pseudonym used by Belgian composer and ambient musician Dirk Serries. The name ''Vidna Obmana'', a phrase in Serbian, literally translates to "optical illusion" and was chosen by Serr ...

History

''Bass Communion'' has origins in Steven Wilson's earliest work as a musician. Taking influence from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

artist such as

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineu ...

Klaus Schulze Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and The Cosmic Joke ...

Conrad Schnitzler Conrad "Conny" Schnitzler (17 March 1937 – 4 August 2011) was a prolific German experimental musician associated with West Germany's 1970s krautrock movement. A co-founder of West Berlin's Zodiak Free Arts Lab, he was an early member of Tanger ...

, Wilson, along with childhood friend Simon Vockings, formed the group ''Altamont'' in 1983. Wilson and Vockings experimented with primitive analog synthesizers, recording the performances live, without the use of multitracking. These recordings were compiled on the tape ''Prayer for the Soul'' in September 1983 and released on the Acid Tapes label, then run by future

Imaginary Records Imaginary Records was an independent record label based in Heywood, Greater Manchester, England, which specialised mainly in indie rock and post-punk. It was started in 1985 by Alan Duffy, known for his lyrical contributions to Porcupine Tree's ...

boss, Alan Duffy. By the 1990s, Wilson began to notice an increasing amount of music inspired by the same experimental artists who inspired ''Altamont''. Hearing artists such as

Paul Schutze Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

and

Biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be ...

, Wilson felt that it was an ideal time to revisit experimental electronic music. The first self-titled Bass Communion album, often referred to as

Bass Communion I ''I'' (or ''Bass Communion I'') is the first studio album released by British musician, songwriter, and producer Steven Wilson under the pseudonym Bass Communion in 1998. It was reissued in December 2001 through Hidden Art record label. The b ...

, was released in April 1998.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' I'' (1998) * '' II'' (1999) * ''

III III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

'' (2001) * ''

Ghosts on Magnetic Tape ''Ghosts on Magnetic Tape'' is the name of the fourth studio album released by British musician, songwriter, and producer Steven Wilson under the pseudonym Bass Communion. It was created primarily from processing 78rpm records and piano sources. ...

'' (2004) * ''

Indicates Void ''Indicates Void'' is the fifth studio album released by British musician, songwriter and producer Steven Wilson under the pseudonym Bass Communion, and was limited to 300 12-inch LP copies in handmade sleeves, 100 copies in a silver sleeve, 100 ...

'' (2005) * ''

Loss Loss may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Loss'' (Bass Communion album) (2006) * ''Loss'' (Mull Historical Society album) (2001) *"Loss", a song by God Is an Astronaut from their self-titled album (2008) * Losses "(Lil Tjay son ...

'' (2006) * ''

Pacific Codex ''Pacific Codex'' is the name of the seventh studio album released by British musician, songwriter and producer Steven Wilson under the pseudonym Bass Communion. The album consists of two discs containing the title track mixed in stereo in a ...

'' (2008) * ''

Molotov and Haze ''Molotov and Haze'' is the eighth studio album released by British musician, songwriter and producer Steven Wilson under the pseudonym Bass Communion. The album consists of four tracks, and, according to Steven Wilson's website, is divided ...

'' (2008) * ''

Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrast (vision), contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts ...

'' (2009) * ''

Cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

'' (2011) * ''And No Birds Sing'' (2021)

Remix albums

* '' Bass Communion (Reconstructions and Recycling)'' (2003) * '' Jonathan Coleclough / Bass Communion / Colin Potter'' (2003)

Compilations

* ''

Atmospherics In marketing, the term atmospherics is used to describe the discipline of designing commercial spaces. Atmospherics was coined by Philip Kotler in a 1973 article in the Journal of Retailing.Kotler, P. (1973). Atmospherics as a marketing tool. Jour ...

'' (1999) * '' Untitled (Bass Communion Box)'' (2014) * ''Remixed by BC: 2003-2009'' (2019)

Singles and EPs

* ''Vajrayana'' (2004) * ''

Dronework ''Dronework'' is an EP by Bass Communion, one of Steven Wilson's side projects. It consist of single title track. The CD-R was originally available as part of the Twenty Hertz Droneworks series as Drone Works #6. It was withdrawn in December 200 ...

'' (2005) * ''Haze Shrapnel'' (2008) * '' Headwind/Tailwind'' (2009) * ''Litany'' (2009) * ''Sisters Oregon'' (2017)

Collaborations

* ''

Bass Communion V Muslimgauze Bass Communion V Muslimgauze is a CD of remixes of Muslimgauze material by Bass Communion. Additional remix material was released on ''Bass Communion V Muslimgauze EP''. This material was written, played and recorded in 1996–97. The final m ...

'' (1999) * '' Continuum 1'' (2005) * '' Continuum 2'' (2007) * '' Bass Communion / Pig - Live in Mexico City'' (2008) * ''Bass Communion/Freiband'' (2017) * ''Precision Surgery Inversions'' (2018)

Remix albums

*'' The Continuum Recyclings, Volume One'' (2006) *'' The Continuum Recyclings, Volume Two'' (2010)

References

External links

Bass Communion PageBass Communion
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Bass Communion at last.fmBurning Shed Records
{{Authority control English electronic music groups Soleilmoon artists Drone music groups

History

Discography

Studio albums

Remix albums

Compilations

Singles and EPs

Collaborations

Remix albums

See also

References

External links