''The Harmony Codex'' is the seventh studio album by British 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 Corrosi ...

, released on 29 September2023 through

Virgin Music Group Virgin Music Group (VMG) is a global music distributor of independent record labels founded on 13 September 2022, and owned by Universal Music Group. History On 18 February 2021, Universal Music Group announced Virgin Music Label & Artist Servi ...

Background

The record was first announced on 29 August 2023 with the release of lead single "Economies of Scale". Since then, the tracks "Impossible Tightrope", "Rock Bottom", and "What Life Brings" have been released as singles. The album is said to be "a genre-spanning collection that opens up like a musical puzzle box" and musically more complex than Wilson's previous album. Along with the release of the standalone record, also released was a three-disc limited edition featuring a collection of bonus tracks under the name ''Harmonic Distortion''.

Recording

Steven Wilson supposedly worked on the album "in a studio tucked inside a garage of a North London townhouse", piecing together the tracks with remote help from collaborators

Ninet Tayeb Ninet Nati Tayeb (; born 21 October 1983), professionally known as Ninet, is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model, actress, and reality television judge on ''Rising Star (Israeli TV series), Rising Star: Israel''. She is reg ...

Craig Blundell Craig Blundell (born 18 July 1973) is a British drummer, who has toured with Steven Wilson and Steve Hackett. He was a member of progressive rock band Frost* from 2009 to 2019 and again from 2022 till the present. He is also been a member of the ...

, Adam Holzman,

Jack Dangers Jack Dangers (born John Stephen Corrigan, 11 January 1965) is an English electronic musician, DJ, producer, and remixer best known for his work as the primary member of Meat Beat Manifesto. He lives in San Francisco. Career Prior to founding ...

, and

Sam Fogarino Samuel Joseph Fogarino (born August 9, 1968) is an American musician who is the drummer of the band Interpol. He has played in bands such as the Holy Terrors, Gus, the Wahoos, Napoleon Solo, the Ton-ups and the Last Night. Biography Fogarino b ...

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals , acoustic guitar ,

ARP 2600 The ARP 2600 is a subtractive synthesizer first produced by ARP Instruments in 1971. History Developed by a design team headed by ARP namesake Alan R. Pearlman and engineer Dennis Colin, the ARP 2600 was introduced in 1971 as the successor to ...

audio feedback Audio feedback (also known as acoustic feedback, simply as feedback) is a positive feedback situation that may occur when an acoustic path exists between an audio output (for example, a loudspeaker) and its audio input (for example, a microphon ...

, bass guitar ,

celesta The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...

, Cobalt 8 synthesizer , electric guitars , electric piano , harp ,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, horn ,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

, Moog

Arpeggiator A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

, Moog Sub 37 synthesizer , percussion , piano ,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

, Prophet-6 synthesizer ,

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

, Solina Strings , strings ,

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...

, voices Session musicians * Adam Holzman – Rhodes piano , piano , DFAM loops ,

Modular synthesizer Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analog control voltages, ...

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...

solo ,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

organ * Ben Coleman – violin *

– drums ,

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock music, rock, popular music, pop, jazz, an ...

, percussion * David Kollar – lead guitar , ambient guitar *

David Kosten David Kosten, better known by his stage name, Faultline is a British DJ, and producer. Career He has produced the largely instrumental debut ''Closer, Colder'' and the follow-up ''Your Love Means Everything'', which featured guest vocals fro ...

– programming *

Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British bassist. He has worked with artists including Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Gary Moore, Madonna, Peter Cetera, Michael Jackson, the Smiths, Robert Palmer (singer), Robert Palmer, Echo & the Bunnymen, T ...

– bass guitar *

– electric beats , programming *

Jason Cooper Jason Toop Cooper (born 31 January 1967) is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Cure since 1995. Biography Cooper was born in London and grew up in Bath, Somerset, Bath. His father, an employee of Virgin Records, gave him a cop ...

–

tom drum A tom drum (also known as a tom-tom) is a cylindrical drum with no snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, thoug ...

* Lee Harris – psychedelic guitar *

Nate Wood Nate Wood (born October 3, 1979) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist. He has performed with Wayne Krantz, Kneebody, Tigran Hamasyan, Louis Cole, The Calling, and Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders. Background Nate learned to p ...

– drums *

Nick Beggs Nicholas Beggs (born 15 December 1961Larkin, Colin (1997) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 270-271) is an English musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and the Chapman Stick; he is a member of the Mute Go ...

– Chapman Stick * Niko Tsonev – guitars , lead guitar * Nate Navarro –

fretless bass A fretless bass is an electric bass guitar whose neck lacks frets and thus is smooth like traditional string instruments, and like the neck of an acoustic double bass. While the fretless bass is played in all styles of music, it is most common in ...

, bass guitar *

Nils Petter Molvær Nils Petter Molvær (), also known as NPM (born 18 September 1960), is a Norwegian jazz trumpeter, composer, and record producer. He is considered a pioneer of future jazz, a genre that fuses jazz and electronic music, best showcased on his most ...

– trumpet *

– vocals , guitars , backing vocals *

Pat Mastelotto Lee Patrick Mastelotto (born September 10, 1955) is an American rock drummer and record producer. He has been a member of King Crimson, Stick Men, Mr. Mister and O.R.k., as well as working as a session drummer with XTC, The Pointer Sisters an ...

– drums , percussion * Rotem Wilson – voices * Samuel Fogarino – drums *

Theo Travis Theo Travis (born 7 July 1964) is a British saxophonist, flautist and composer. He is a member of Soft Machine which he joined in 2006 while the group was still using the "Legacy" suffix and was a member of Gong from 1999 to 2010. Biography Tra ...

– flute , saxophone ,

duduk The duduk ( ; ) or tsiranapogh (, meaning "apricot-made wind instrument"), is a double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood originating from Armenia. Variations of the Armenian duduk appear throughout the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the ...

Session musicians on ''Harmonic Distortion'' *

Aaron Sterling Aaron Sterling (born July 9, 1980) is an American drummer, producer, engineer, and session musician who lives in Los Angeles and Nashville, Tennessee. The son of professional musicians, Sterling grew up in Texas and Nashville, before moving to L ...

– drums * Adam Holzman – piano * Ben Coleman – violin * Doug Petty – keyboards , strings arrangements *

James Dean Bradfield James Dean Bradfield (born 21 February 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. His cousin Sean Moore is a ...

– guitars *

Mikael Åkerfeldt Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt (; born 17 April 1974)Mikael Åkerfeldt
, Op ...

– vocals * Nate Navarro – bass guitar *

Nicky Wire Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. Prior to the group, Wire studied politics ...

– bass guitar *

Roland Orzabal Roland Jaime Orzábal De La Quintana (born 22 August 1961) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and author. He is the guitarist, co-lead vocalist, main songwriter, co-founder, and only constant member of Tears for Fears. ...

– keyboards , programming * Sean Moore – drums Production * Steven Wilson – production, mixing * Adam Holzman – mixing * David Kosten – additional production , mixing * Josef E-Shine – additional production * Loz Williams – production ,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

– production , engineering *

Dave Eringa David James Eringa (born 30 July 1971 in Brentwood, Essex, Brentwood, Essex) is an English people, English record producer, sound engineer, and mix engineer. Biography He has had a long-standing association with Manic Street Preachers. His ea ...

– remixing * Jack Dangers – additional production , remixing *

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

– remixing * Roland Orzabal – additional production *

Mark Ayres Mark Ayres is an electronic musician, composer and audio engineer. Ayres studied music and electronics at Keele University. He also worked as a sound engineer at TV-am between 1982 and 1987. As a television composer, he became known for providi ...

– production *

Matt Colton Matt Colton (born 30 March 1975) is an English mastering engineer and member of the mastering group of the Music Producers Guild. He has mastered recordings for artists such as Muse, Coldplay, James Blake, George Michael, Hot Chip, Gary Nu ...

– mastering * Carl Glover – design, photography * Hajo Müller – photography

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmony Codex 2023 albums Albums produced by Steven Wilson Spinefarm Records albums Steven Wilson albums Virgin Records albums 2020s concept albums