Biography

Producing a cinematic Art Rock music with diverse influences drawn from Dream Pop, Prog Rock, Post-Rock, Mimimalism, Electronica/Ambient, and Chamber Jazz, no-man is a British band formed out of the creative partnership of Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson, who met and began writing together in the Summer of 1987.

Initially a trio featuring violinist Ben Coleman, the name no-man was first used on the self-released June 1990 single Colours (later reissued on cult Liverpool label Probe Plus), which was awarded Single Of The Week in Melody Maker, Sounds and Channel Four teletext, and led to the band being signed to publisher Hit And Run and One Little Indian Records.

Since 1990, on labels such as One Little Indian, Sony/Epic 440, Adasam and Kscope no-man has so far produced six studio albums, two live albums and a number of singles / outtakes collections, most notably 2006’s career retrospective, All The Blue Changes.

Over the years the band has worked with Robert Fripp, Ian Carr (Nucleus), Mel Collins, Pat Mastelotto, Bruce Kaphan (American Music Club), Colin Edwin, Gavin Harrison, Theo Travis, the trio of Jansen, Barbieri & Karn (ex Japan / Rain Tree Crow) and others.

press quotes

"Conceivably the most important English group since The Smiths..." - Melody Maker

"Britain's most underrated sorrowful sonic architects." - Uncut

"Can easily be measured with the best work of similarly unclassifiable acts like Japan and Talk Talk..." - OOR Magazine

"The power of great pop." - D.D.D.

"It's hard to say why they affect me this way - the biting melodies? The sheer bliss of the arrangements? the way you simply can never tell where a track is going until it's already gone and you can only just sit there smiling while a shiver runs up yer spine? God knows. All I know is I love them and they deserve so much more recognition than they've achieved to date." - The Beat Factory

"Trippy tunes mingling with deliciously black humour are the fare here. Bowness and Wilson see the world through dark lenses coated with juxtaposition and irony... Like a chameleon changing colors, no-man transforms itself into a different band in each song with natural ease." - Innerviews

"Jaw -droppingly gorgeous... Unmistakably genius, unmistakably no-man." - The Artist Shop

"no-man's landscape is one of tenderly stroked violins, breathy passions, subdued disco beats, art, death, empty shags in suburban railway stations, decaying English stately homes and grandiose waltzes accompanied by the lonely ghost of 'Stranded'-era Roxy Music. And it is very, very wonderful." - Melody Maker

"no-man's land isn't just wild (opera) at heart, it's also very fucking weird on top, and you should go and buy it. Now." - Hot Press

"Just as their name implies, they make music that floats towards a place where core identities dissolve." - The Wire

"Talented dream popsters weaving whispered vocals, violins, funky guitars, synths and dancebeats into some of the most sexy, summery, thoughtful and exotic tunes that ever nibbled your ear." - The Big Issue

"A group that soar arrogantly and gracefully over musical boundaries as naturally as breathing." - Progress

"Essential listening for anyone interested in the possible futures of new music where all boundaries dissolve in a pure love of sound." - I.E.