The Harmony Codex

The Harmony Codex is the seventh studio album by British musician Steven Wilson, released on 29 September 2023 through Virgin Music Group.

Background

The record was first announced on 29 August 2023 with the release of lead single "Economies of Scale". Since then, the tracks "Impossible Tightrope", "Rock Bottom", and "What Life Brings" have been 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.

Track listing

Personnel

• Steven Wilson – vocals (tracks 1–6, 8–10), acoustic guitar (tracks 2–4, 8), ARP 2600 (tracks 1, 4, 7), audio feedback (track 9), bass guitar (tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 10), celesta (track 8), Cobalt 8 synthesizer (tracks 4, 5, 7, 10), electric guitars (tracks 2, 4–6, 8, 9), electric piano (track 9), harp (tracks 4, 5), Hammond organ (tracks 2, 4, 10), horn (track 10). Mellotron (track 9), Moog Arpeggiator (track 10), Moog Sub 37 synthesizer (tracks 2, 4–9), percussion (tracks 2, 6), piano (except track 9), programming (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 8–10), Prophet-6 synthesizer (tracks 5, 7, 8), Rhodes piano (track 4), Solina Strings (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8–10 and track 9 on Harmonic Distortion), strings (tracks 3–7, 10), theremin (track 9 on Harmonic Distortion), voices (track 3)

Charts

References