No-Man
| No-Man | |
|---|---|
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Art rock, ambient, trip hop, dream pop |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels |
One Little Indian Snapper Music Kscope Epic Records Resurgence/Voiceprint 3rd Stone Ltd. Materiali Sonori Burning Shed Headphone Dust |
| Associated acts |
Porcupine Tree King Crimson Robert Fripp Japan Rain Tree Crow Darkroom Henry Fool Samuel Smiles Blackfield IEM Nosound |
| Website | no-man.co.uk |
| Members |
Tim Bowness Steven Wilson |
| Past members | Ben Coleman Stuart Blagden |
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 latter also of Porcupine Tree). 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). The band was once lauded as "conceivably the most important English group since The Smiths" by Melody Maker music newspaper.
Originally creating a sample-based proto-trip hop/ambient/electropop-styled music, No-Man has pursued a more organic, diverse and band-oriented sound 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 musical style is distinctive yet difficult to categorise.
Steven Wilson originally launched the band in 1986 as a solo project called No Man Is An Island (Except The Isle Of Man), recording an instrumental track called "From A Toyshop Window" which blended progressive rock with synth pop. In 1987, he linked up with singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist and keyboard player Tim Bowness, who at the time was singing with Liverpool-based art-pop band, Plenty
Bowness and Wilson continued working together on recording sessions for the next two years. Violinist Ben Coleman joined the project after becoming involved with recording sessions in late 1988. The band established a four-piece live line-up in 1989 by adding guitarist Stuart Blagden (who had previously played with Bowness in the Manchester-based band, Still).
No Man Is An Island released their debut single, a waltz time ballad called "The Girl From Missouri", on Plastic Head Records in mid-1989. The band was disappointed with the single and soon disowned it. Subsequent band evolutions saw flirtations with aggressive synth-pop (on the "Swagger" cassette EP) and the departure of Blagden (who would later become a jazz and Latin music player).
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