Interstellar overview: Steven Wilson gets cosmic.
The ‘Overview Effect’: astronauts experiencing a psychological transformation after having visited space. Why was the idea so attractive to you?
“Well, they have this kind of cognitive shift in their own perspective on life and what’s important. And that can be a positive or a negative thing. Some people have had a very negative reaction to that. The idea seemed to lend itself to a more cinematic approach. So that then became, in my head: Wouldn’t it be interesting to write something longform? That was why I decided to go back to a more extended, ‘progressive’ kind of format.”
Andy Partridge wrote the lyrics for Objects Outlive Us. How did the collaborative process work?
“I thought to myself, Who writes about small-town Britain better than anyone else? Ray Davies and Andy Partridge. And I don’t know Ray, but I do know Andy. So I called up Andy and said, I’ve got a challenge for you. I want you to write some of your classic small-town England stuff, but I want you to contrast it with this kind of cosmic perspective. And, of course, he did a fantastic job. There was a little bit of to-ing and fro-ing. He’s particular. I think, like all very creative people, he has a certain idea about how he wants his ideas to be realised, as I do too. But I found him a joy to work with.”