Incredible Expanding Mindfuck, commonly abbreviated as I.E.M., was a solo project by
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 Corrosio ...
(the lead of British 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 ...
). Its work was mainly influenced by
Krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...
and experimental music from the 1960s and 1970s.
Background and history
I.E.M. is seldom discussed in any depth by Wilson in interviews and the album packaging provides very little information. The name "Incredible Expanding Mindfuck" is an in-joke referring to early Porcupine Tree promotional material (in which Porcupine Tree was given an entirely fictional 1970s history and in which the Incredible Expanding Mindfuck was mentioned as a related project).
Wilson's work with I.E.M. is in part a continuation of the experimental psychedelic sound which he initially mastered with Porcupine Tree before steering the band towards a more mainstream rock direction with the ''
Stupid Dream
''Stupid Dream'' is the fifth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It was first released in March 1999, and then re-released on 15 May 2006 due to the band's rising popularity on major record label Lava Records with thei ...
'' album. He has also cited "the cosmic jazz of artists like
Sun Ra
Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...
" as an influence on the music.
I.E.M.'s work is more experimental in nature than that of Porcupine Tree, and is almost entirely instrumental. Almost all instruments on I.E.M. recordings are played by Wilson (although other contributors have included former
Bark Psychosis
Bark Psychosis are an English post-rock band/musical project from east London formed in 1986. They were one of the bands that Simon Reynolds cited when coining "post-rock" as a musical style in 1994, and are thus considered one of the key ban ...
drummer Mark Simnett).
The first I.E.M release was a
self-titled album on Porcupine Tree's original record label
Delerium Records
Delerium Records was a British independent record label, that specialised in psychedelic music and which existed from 1991 to 2003, and was notable in promoting the careers of bands including Porcupine Tree, Ozric Tentacles, Kava Kava (band), ...
in 1996. It was followed by a limited-edition single called ''
An Escalator to Christmas''. Further releases have occasionally followed, with little fanfare or direct promotion.
I.E.M.'s most recent release of entirely new music was in 2001 (although 2005's compilation album ''
I.E.M. 1996-1999'' included some previously unreleased material). The project has increasingly taken a back seat to Wilson's other projects, most notably to
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 ...
,
Blackfield
Blackfield is a collaborative music project by the English musician and founder of Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, and Israeli rock singer Aviv Geffen. Together, six albums have been released under the moniker. The first two records, ''Blackfi ...
and
Bass Communion
''Bass Communion'' is a solo project of English musician Steven Wilson, best known for his lead role in the rock band Porcupine Tree. Records released under the name "Bass Communion" are in an ambient or electronic vein - lengthy drone-heavy ...
, but also to
No-Man
No-Man are an English art pop duo, formed in 1987 as No Man Is an Island (Except the Isle of Man) by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson. The band has so far produced seven studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes ...
, then to Wilson's recent solo release ''
Insurgentes'' (which itself contains developments of some of the ideas Wilson has previously explored with I.E.M.) and continue to another five Wilson's solo release.
A 4-CD boxset featuring ''I.E.M.'', ''An Escalator to Christmas'', ''Arcadia Son'' and ''I.E.M. Have Come for Your Children'' was released on ToneFloat records in June 2010. Limited to 2,000 copies, the boxset is described as "both an homage and a final farewell to I.E.M". Each CD is packaged in its own Japanese-style mini LP sleeve within a hardback slipcase box. It also includes a 60-page booklet designed by Carl Glover.
Discography
*1996 - ''
I.E.M.''
*1999 - ''
An Escalator to Christmas''
*2001 - ''
Arcadia Son''
*2001 - ''
I.E.M. Have Come for Your Children''
*2005 - ''
I.E.M. 1996-1999''
*2010 - ''Complete I.E.M.''
References
External links
I.E.M. pageI.E.M. at last.fmToneFloat Records
{{Steven Wilson
British experimental musical groups