Bristol 02 Academy
Tuesday, 15 September 2026
The Nostalgia Factory was Voyage 35’s first released song which seems apt as this is a band built on nostalgic memories of former days. Voyage 35 is to Porcupine Tree as A Saucerful of Secrets is to Pink Floyd – i.e. a former member of a band, Colin Edwin, subsequently forming a later band to play and explore the earlier material of the band in which he achieved success. Alongside bassist Edwin he has recruited the long-time live guitarist with Porcupine Tree, John Wesley, who is clearly very familiar with those songs. Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari, affectionately known as ‘Lef’, from Edwin’s other band O.R.k., is on keyboards and vocals, alongside fellow Italian Allesandro Vagnoni on drums, percussion and vocals. The Bristol 02 Academy audience eagerly anticipates this throwback to the legendary Porcupine Tree, but first the support act, Violeta Vicci.
VIOLETA VICCI
Violeta is a violinist inspired by Nature who has previously worked with Thom Yorke and Johny Greenwood of Radiohead, Elbow, Steeleye Span, Bat for Lashes and Sigur Rós. She transports the 02 Academy crowd into ethereal landscapes, with beautiful back projections. She explains that she uses field recordings, including the sound of water and birds, woven into her music. Skilfully using a loop pedal and other effects Violeta also vocalises wordlessly to atmospherically convey sound pictures. She concludes her enjoyable set with a more uplifting finale, soundtracking beautiful Swiss mountain and lake scenery which she helped film herself.
VOYAGE 35
An eerie synth drone introduces us to the unmistakable guitar fanfare riff of Even Less which John Wesley ripples out with great style. The guitar has a gritty texture which matches Wesley’s gruff intense vocals, punctuated with enormous bass notes from Edwin. It is an impressive opening to the set, fading away with impenetrable numbers recited by a woman on a mysterious ‘Numbers Station’. They keep up the momentum with Waiting (Phase One), the first of quite a few songs from 1997’s Signify album. Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari (let’s just call him ‘Lef’ henceforth!) takes over the lead vocals and Wesley infuses this swaggering piece with some great wah-wah guitar.
Voyage 35 really delve into one of the ‘deeper cuts’, harking right back to 1992’s On the Sunday of Life, with a spasmodic and percussive version of And the Swallows Dance above the Sun. Colin Edwin tells the crowd that he has heard some questioning ‘Is this Trip really necessary? I believe it is!’ and then they launch into a crunching version of Signify on which Wesley excels. A groove laden version of Up the Downstair rolls in on a hypnotic bed of Edwin’s bass and Vagnoni’s fluid drumming, illustrated by the images of exploding irises, provided by the projectionist and original Fruit Salad Lights from the early days of Porcupine Tree. The atmosphere darkens considerably with a dramatic and sinister rendition of Sever, sung with a real edge by Vagnoni.
The Signify album songs continue with Dark Matter, which is absolutely sublime on the original album. Voyage 35 present it with more power and a little more friction, and thereby lose some of the original version’s chilling coolness… to be fair it is probably my favourite Porcupine Tree piece, so it was always going to be difficult capturing the magic that imbues every note of that song. However, to be fair, Voyage 35 are no empty tribute band robotically copying original versions note for note – they take songs from Porcupine Tree’s back catalogue and add their own twist and perspective on the piece. Therefore, their rendition of Dark Matter is adorned with a simply stunning guitar solo from Wesley, as the imagery of the burning piano on the box set Stars Die repeatedly plunges into a lake.
The Nostalgia Factory is another nugget dating right back Porcupine Tree’s earliest days, but Voyage 35 make it their own with a brilliant psychedelic, wah-wah drenched trip. Vagnoni and Lef handle the bizarre vocals whilst Wesley indulges us with a freaky, fizzing guitar solo, illustrated by beautiful butterfly images. Edwin’s legendary bass introduces a piece he co-wrote with Steven Wilson, Hatesong, their antidote for sentimental love songs, from 2000’s Lightbulb Sun. Lef vocalises with a snarl over this staccato and sinister piece. Wesley’s strafes the mid-song with a coruscating guitar solo, underpinned with some powerful drumming from Vagnoni… before it subsides back to end on Edwin’s stark bass.
If you had asked this reviewer prior to this gig to choose a dream setlist from the early days of Porcupine Tree I would have virtually written this setlist, and this is exemplified by one of the heights of this gig, their version of Porcupine Tree’s dreamy homage to Pink Floyd, The Sky Moves Sideways, where my love for that band commenced back in 1995. Voyage 35 pull this off with aplomb, embroidered with a groovy bass and suitably lithe drumming, capped off with another brilliant textured wah-wah guitar solo, as images of the classic red British telephone box float across the background. The graceful beauty of Fadeaway features yearning vocals from Wesley floating across a gentle sonic landscape – a thing of beauty (and another personal favourite).
Of course, a band called ‘Voyage 35’ simply have to play the trippy gem Voyage 34, and they take the 02 Academy on a psychedelic journey into Inner Space, and with the crowd swaying trance-like Wesley then sends us into orbit with a fantastic guitar solo – truly outstanding, and the crowd loves it. The instrumental rollercoaster of Not Beautiful Anymore taps into the great energy of the crowd for the first encore with thunderous bass and drums underpinning some great guitar. To bring this voyage to a close they inevitably embark upon the ancient psychedelic Radioactive Toy, which rolls along regally with the crowd chanting the chorus.
In the original Voyage 34 song the narrator concludes that in 33 previous LSD trips ‘Brian’ had ‘never had a bummer and every one of them was a delight, but on Voyage 34 he finally met himself coming down an Up Staircase and the encounter was crushing…’ – well, I can reliably inform readers here that Voyage 35 was an absolute live transcendental delight and certainly NOT a ‘bummer’!
Colin Edwin announces that a fan in Europe has suggested they were a ‘Time Machine going backwards AND Forwards’ – exploring songs from the earlier days of Porcupine Tree, but with a band giving them an extra twist for contemporary audiences. Next time they are on the road make sure to jump aboard that Time Machine for a trip on Voyage 35!
[Photos by Leo Trimming]
SETLIST
Even Less
Waiting (Phase One)
And the Swallows Dance above the Sun
Signify
Up the Downstair
Sever
Dark Matter
The Nostalgia Factory
Hatesong
The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One)
Fadeaway
Shesmovedon
Voyage 34 (Phase One)
~ Encore:
Not Beautiful Anymore
Radioactive Toy
MUSICIANS
Colin Edwin – Fretless Bass
John Wesley – Guitars, Vocals
Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari (AKA ‘Lef’) – Keyboards, Vocals
Allesandro Vagnoni – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
LINKS
Voyage 35 – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram
