Bowness Barbieri

Most well-known for his work in the duo No-Man, his long-running partnership with Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Bass Communion), Englishman Tim Bowness established himself throughout the '90s as a singer and musician with an ear for passionate and passionately wry music. His variety and range of musical interests, similar in scope to Wilson's own various explorations, resulted in a series of bands and joint efforts with friends covering everything from experimental, cutting-edge dance music to torch songs and progressive rock.

Since 2015's 'Stupid Things That Mean The World', Bowness has released two more solo albums (plus one with no-man and one with Peter Chilvers) and is now back with the third solo release 'Late Night Laments', so his sixth to date…

A collection of lush, atmospheric songs with a wide lyrical scope, Late Night Laments is the most intimate yet universal of Tim Bowness’s solo releases. Mixed by his long-term No-Man partner Steven Wilson and mastered by Calum Malcolm (The Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout), exceptional performances come from an impressive cast of supporting musicians including Richard Barbieri, Colin Edwin, Kavus Torabi, Melanie Woods, Tom Atherton and Evan Carson. Combining electronic soundscapes, acoustic instrumentation and unexpected rhythms, Late Night Laments is a tightly focused and emotionally charged entry in Bowness’s increasingly impressive solo catalogue. Contrasting with the sensuous beauty of the music, the frequently dark lyrical themes include meditations on generational divides, ideologically motivated violence, social exclusion, and a much-loved children’s author’s mental breakdown.

Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri, Mick Karn (JBK) - Playing In A Room With People (2001) {Medium Productions MPCD13}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 279 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 116 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 2001 Medium Productions | MPCD13
Experimental / Ambient / Atmospheric

I'm biased by the fact that I feel JBK can do no wrong musically, though their work does not always strike a chord with my personal moods, this album is an exception. The idea is a novel one, and the result, superb. Jansen-Barbieri-Karn performing live some of their best material. One can almost say it is like a live Japan album minus Sylvian on vocals, as they cover material from each of their own repertoires, including a Rain Tree Crow piece. From the pulsating electro-atmospheric opener "Walkabout" by Barbieri, ending with the downbeat track "Types of Ambiguity" by Jansen, every number is a gem and performed with the utmost of professionality and originality. Expect no less from this trio.

No-Man is a British duo formed in 1987 by Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree). The name No-Man was adopted in 1990 and first used on the self-released June 1990 single release, "Colours". Originally creating a sample-based proto-trip hop / ambient styled music, No-Man’s sound has become more organic, eclectic and band-oriented in subsequent years. Drawing from a diverse mix of Singer-songwriter, Post Rock, Minimalist, Progressive rock, Jazz, and Contemporary Ambient sources for inspiration, No-Man's sound is distinctive, yet difficult to categorise. On labels such as One Little Indian, Sony, Adasam and Kscope, the band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles / outtakes collections, most notably, 2006's career retrospective, "All The Blue Changes"…

Remastered in 2016 by Steven Wilson. Up the Downstair feels noticeably different in tone from On the Sunday of Life - the humor is nearly invisible, if present at all, and the focus is more explicitly up to date in keeping with Steven Wilson's long-stated belief that progressive music means incorporating the now instead of rehashing what progressive was. His singing is now more accomplished in turn - it sounds like he might have been taking a lesson or two from his No-Man partner Tim Bowness, but he has his own dreamy approach. His already accomplished studio work seems to have turned even more so with time, and the end result is a delicate, complex, and remarkable effort…