The Harmony Codex
The Harmony Codex is the seventh studio album by British musician Steven Wilson, released on 29 September2023 through Virgin Music Group.
Background
The record was first announced on 29 August 2023 with the release of lead single "Economies of Scale". Subsequently, the tracks "Impossible Tightrope", "Rock Bottom", and "What Life Brings" were released as singles.The album is said to be "a genre-spanning collection that opens up like a musical puzzle box" and musically more complex than Wilson's previous album.
Along with the release of the standalone record, also released was a three-disc limited edition featuring a collection of bonus tracks under the name Harmonic Distortion.
Recording
Steven Wilson supposedly worked on the album "in a studio tucked inside a garage of a North London townhouse", piecing together the tracks with remote help from collaborators Ninet Tayeb, Craig Blundell, Adam Holzman, Jack Dangers, and Sam Fogarino.Personnel
- Steven Wilson – vocals, acoustic guitar, ARP 2600, audio feedback, bass guitar, celesta, Cobalt 8 synthesizer, electric guitars, electric piano, harp, Hammond organ, horn, Mellotron, Moog Arpeggiator, Moog Sub 37 synthesizer, percussion, piano, programming, Prophet-6 synthesizer, Rhodes piano, Solina Strings, strings, theremin, voices
- Adam Holzman – Rhodes piano, piano, DFAM loops, Modular synthesizer, Moog synthesizer solo, Wurlitzer organ
- Ben Coleman – violin
- Craig Blundell – drums, hi-hat, percussion
- David Kollar – lead guitar, ambient guitar
- David Kosten – programming
- Guy Pratt – bass guitar
- Jack Dangers – electric beats, programming
- Jason Cooper – tom drum
- Lee Harris – psychedelic guitar
- Nate Wood – drums
- Nick Beggs – Chapman Stick
- Niko Tsonev – guitars, lead guitar
- Nate Navarro – fretless bass, bass guitar
- Nils Petter Molvær – trumpet
- Ninet Tayeb – vocals, guitars, backing vocals
- Pat Mastelotto – drums, percussion
- Rotem Wilson – voices
- Samuel Fogarino – drums
- Theo Travis – flute, saxophone, duduk
- Aaron Sterling – drums
- Adam Holzman – piano
- Ben Coleman – violin
- Doug Petty – keyboards, strings arrangements
- James Dean Bradfield – guitars
- Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals
- Nate Navarro – bass guitar
- Nicky Wire – bass guitar
- Roland Orzabal – keyboards, programming
- Sean Moore – drums
- Steven Wilson – production, mixing (recorded music)|mixing]
- Adam Holzman – mixing
- David Kosten – additional production, mixing
- Josef E-Shine – additional production
- Loz Williams – production, engineering
- Manic Street Preachers – production, engineering
- Dave Eringa – remixing
- Jack Dangers – additional production, remixing
- Interpol – remixing
- Roland Orzabal – additional production
- Mark Ayres – production
- Matt Colton – mastering
- Carl Glover – design, photography
- Hajo Müller – photography