photo: Alistair Peck
Innerviews has an in-depth interview with bass player Colin Edwin, best known for his work with Porcupine Tree (1993-2011), but also a member of experimental acts like Ex-Wise Heads, Metallic Taste of Blood, and currently busy with O.R.k. He is a sonic explorer, always finding new ways to supply far more than just a bottom end - check out his Hebdomadal collection to get an idea of his out-of-the-box approach.
Edwin is an avid collaborator who reached out on the internet to make music together, and keep himself busy (and sane):
I really missed interacting with musicians on a physical level, but I was able to work in my own space and collaborate with people online. God knows what the pandemic would have been like without the Internet. It would have been impossible. We would have all gone mad. So, the pandemic reaffirmed the value of live interaction. Live performance is what drew me to music in the first place. There’s a sort of magic there.
Throughout the pandemic, I was grateful I could continue collaborating with people online. We got the O.R.k. album done while were stuck in all sorts of places. It was the only thing I had to look forward to, without any gigs or trips planned.
While music has been devalued over the years and become ubiquitous, it remains a conduit. We bond with people over music. It’s something to discuss and move forward with. It brings everything back to a really basic social function in a way. That holds true for a lot of music, especially the Ukrainian stuff. Their folk music is a fundamental part of their lives. Some of it’s for weddings and harvests. Inna once sang me a spring song. It has to be sung in a high pitch to bring on spring so the crops will grow. Music has a life function there. It makes you think about the whole fabric of life. It’s something I’ve reflected on while I’ve been trapped during the pandemic.
