Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

Comprising 10 tracks that range from ballads and anthems to all- out industrial noise assaults, the dark, cinematic and richly textured album represents two years' worth of creative output and numerous recording sessions worldwide in studios from Mexico City to Japan and Israel.

While Wilson is a member of several bands including Blackfield, No-Man and Bass Communion, he explained that "when I began writing these songs, I quickly realised that they would be best suited to an album under my own name. It was an intuitive, almost unconscious writing process that resulted in a kind of poetry of melancholy."

Wilson recruited a stellar cast of guests to work on the album including bassist Tony Levin, drummer Gavin Harrison and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, alongside Japanese Koto player Michiyo Yagi, British guitarist Sand Snowman and jazz flautist and saxophonist Theo Travis.