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All Music Guide:
Most well-known for his work in the duo No-Man, his long running partnership with Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Bass Communion), Englishman Tim Bowness established himself throughout the 1990s as a singer and musician with an ear for passionate and passionately wry music. His variety and range of musical interests, similar in scope to Wilson's own various explorations, resulted in a series of bands and joint efforts with friends covering everything from experimental, cutting edge dance music to torch songs and progressive rock.
Bowness, born and raised in Warrington in Cheshire, first became interested in music during his childhood in the mid-'70s, while the end of that decade saw him completely taken by a wide variety of influences. Peter Hammill was a particular favorite, while others included Robert Wyatt, David Bowie, and Nick Drake, with a strong and continual interest in what Bowness describes as "obsessive singer/songwriters" -- Scott Walker, Nico, Kevin Coyne, and Tim Buckley are other examples. In interviews, Bowness has also mentioned everything from classic disco and post-punk efforts to his parents' own collection of classic crooners, notably Frank Sinatra. Finding himself in a dead-end civil service job when he was 18, Bowness began singing initially to bring some of his poetry to life and proceeded from there to regular musical work.
Bowness' work in the 1980s found him putting his interests into practice via a number of different bands, starting with the Manchester-based group Still and continuing through Always the Stranger and After the Stranger. The turning point was 1986 -- Bowness, now singing with the group Plenty, was contacted by Wilson to see if an After the Stranger track could be added to a compilation he was assembling. This in turn led to longer conversations and visits, resulting in the formation of No Man Is an Island, later becoming No-Man.
From then on, Bowness has created a slew of often amazing releases in many different areas. Besides No-Man, his most notable efforts include Samuel Smiles, a self-described ambient folk band that began in 1991 but first released albums in 1999, and Darkroom, initially a Samuel Smiles side project that expanded into its own definite sphere, exploring drum'n'bass, techno, and minimalism. A collaboration album with former Japan (and Porcupine Tree) keyboardist Richard Barbieri, Flame, appeared in 1994, while another wholly new group, Henry Fool also formed. On top of all that, there's an unreleased duo album between Bowness and Samuel Smiles/Henry Fool member Peter Chilvers, while Bowness himself has recorded a large amount of solo material which may surface one day as well. It's a busy life, perhaps, but compared to so many uncreative non-entities who wait two or three years between dull albums, there's little doubt Bowness is on many levels in a class by himself.
Wikipedia:
Tim Bowness (born 29 November 1963, Stockton Heath, Cheshire, England) is a singer/songwriter primarily known for his work as part of the band No-Man, a long-term project formed in 1987 with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson.
Music career
In addition to recording albums with No-Man (for record labels such as One Little Indian, Sony/Epic and Kscope), Bowness has appeared on recordings by Italian artist Alice, OSI and guitarist David Torn.
In 1994, he recorded a collaboration album with Porcupine Tree/Japan/Rain Tree Crow keyboard player Richard Barbieri, called Flame.
Additionally, Bowness has been a core or floating member of several other bands. He has sung for German electronic band Centrozoon and British electro-improvisers Darkroom on the more vocal-orientated projects performed and released by each group. He is the lead singer and guitarist for Henry Fool and also sings for Memories of Machines and Anglo Estonian Jazz band, Slow Electric. He was singer (and occasional second guitarist) for Samuel Smiles between 1992 and 2000. Bowness also has a longstanding duo collaboration with Ely-based multi-instrumentalist Peter Chilvers (with whom he has worked in Samuel Smiles and Henry Fool). Mostly based around voice and keyboards (predominantly piano), this project has produced one album, 2002's California, Norfolk.
Following years of collaborations, Bowness' debut solo album, My Hotel Year was released on the One Little Indian label in 2004. The album continued to make use of Bowness collaborators both old and new (featuring Roger Eno and Hugh Hopper amongst others).
Recent activity has included guest appearances with Italian band Nosound and Norwegian groups White Willow and The Opium Cartel.
In 2009, Bowness co-wrote and co-produced Talking with Strangers, an album by former Fairport Convention singer, Judy Dyble, which also features Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Simon Nicol, Jacqui McShee and Julianne Regan (amongst others).
Featuring performances from Robert Fripp, Peter Hammill, Julianne Regan and others, Warm Winter, the debut album by Memories of Machines, was released on the Mascot label in April 2011.
The self-titled debut album from Slow Electric is due to be released on the Panegyric label in October, 2011.
Business
In 2001, Bowness co-established the online record label and store Burning Shed with Peter Chilvers and Pete Morgan.
