Blackfield
Blackfield | |
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Background information | |
Origin | United Kingdom, Israel |
Genres | Art rock,[1] pop rock,[2][3] alternative rock, progressive rock[3][4] |
Years active | 2001–present |
Labels | Atlantic Records Snapper Music |
Members | Aviv Geffen Seffy Efrati Tomer Z Eran Mitelman |
Past members | Steven Wilson Chris Maitland Daniel Salomon |
Blackfield is a collaborative music project by the English musician and founder of Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, and Israeli rock singer Aviv Geffen. Together, they have released three albums under the moniker: Blackfield and Blackfield II as equal partners, and Welcome to my DNA with Geffen taking a more dominant role. A fourth studio album, titled Blackfield IV was released on August 26, 2013, with Wilson taking an even more passive role. Later Wilson announced he is departing from the band after a short European tour in February 2014.[5]
History
Collaborative era
Blackfield I (2000-2005)
Geffen, a fan of Porcupine Tree and Wilson, invited the band to play shows in Israel in 2000. He struck up a friendship with Wilson, leading to the two musicians recording together. Geffen performed backing vocals on two tracks on Porcupine Tree's In Absentia album, "The Sound of Muzak" and "Prodigal". Geffen, interested in growing a fanbase outside of Israel, approached Wilson about starting their own project, which would become Blackfield. Originally planned as an EP for a 2001 release, it eventually evolved into a 2004 self-titled full-length recording.[6] Wilson provided lead vocals on all but two songs, and played guitar or piano on every song except "Scars", which had instrumentation provided by Geffen's band "The Mistakes.[7] "
Outside of Israel, the band has received constant comparison to Porcupine Tree, Wilson's most popular project. In response, Wilson has explained:
...Porcupine Tree would never be so focused on the art of a 3 minute pop song, which I believe. Blackfield is all about the art of a great tradition pop song of verse-chorus-verse-chorus. Porcupine Tree has never been about that, although we have fraternized a little bit with the art of pop music. Porcupine Tree has always been more about horizontally complex long pieces and the album is an overall piece rather than lots of little pieces... Aviv is not a big fan of heavy music and he is not a big fan of long pieces so immediately the meeting point had to be somewhere where we were both focused on short melancholic songs.[8]
In early 2004 the band debuted live on a couple of promotional TV performances in Israel. This line-up featured drummer Chris Maitland (drummer of Porcupine Tree from 1993 to 2002), who was replaced by Tomer Zidkyahu, for a European tour that followed in the Autumn of 2004.
Their first self-titled album was released in Israel and Europe in 2004, and the United States in 2005.
Blackfield II (2006-2008)
While the band's first album was created over a relatively long period of time, the follow-up album, Blackfield II, was created in one short burst of activity.[9] Wilson and Geffen worked on their respective projects throughout the end of 2005, but in early 2006 Wilson moved to Israel for six months to work on the album.[9] Wilson performed lead or co-vocals on all tracks except "Miss U", which Geffen performed all vocals on.[10] The album was released in February 2007 in Europe and March 2007 in the United States. In the same year, keyboardist Daniel Salomon left the band to continue his successful solo career. Salomon was replaced by Eran Mitelman, former keyboardist for popular Israeli hard rock band HaYehudim.
The band also recorded a live CD/DVD combo, titled Blackfield - Live in New York City while touring in support of Blackfield II, in March 2007.[11]
In a 2008 interview, Wilson discussed Blackfield's future at the time, stating "I think we’re going to tentatively start working on some new songs and that’s as far as we’ve got regarding planning. I think there almost certainly will be another record. As with No-Man and my other projects, there’s no reason to stop doing them as long as the music keeps flowing."[12]
Geffen-led era
Welcome to my DNA (2009-2011)
In January 2009, to promote his first English-language European release, Geffen went on a small tour of Europe with the Blackfield live band, including Wilson being billed as a special guest. Half of the set consisted of songs from the then yet to be released first English language solo album by Geffen while the rest was a selection of Blackfield songs. Wilson would also appear on three tracks from the album.
In April 2010, Geffen and Wilson got into studio to begin writing the follow-up to Blackfield II.[13] However, this time, all songs, with the exception of the track "Waving", were written by Geffen, as Wilson had been concentrating on his second solo album, Grace for Drowning, at the same time.[14][15] Wilson only performed lead vocals on five of the eleven tracks, but provide backing or co-vocals on several other tracks. Their third album, Welcome to my DNA, was released on the 28th of March 2011[16] and supported by a European and North American tour following a kickoff concert in Israel.[17] However, several concert dates were cancelled due to the death of Wilson's father in May 2011.[18][19]
Blackfield IV (2012-present)
After touring for Welcome to my DNA was completed, Wilson confirmed that with Blackfield, like the majority of his other projects, he himself had no particular plans for the future, but the project wasn't necessarily over either.[20] However, in January 2012, Geffen has announced his intentions to release a fourth Blackfield album by May 2012.[21][22] This prompted Wilson to announce that his role would continue to lessen, with Wilson acting only as a contributor and mixer. Wilson said of the band's future:
...just to clarify news elsewhere of a new Blackfield album coming this year – please note that this time my involvement will be as a contributor rather than a member. I will still be mixing the album, and maybe sing on a couple of Aviv’s songs (there will be other guest singers I understand), but with my complete blessing Blackfield is now under his sole curatorship, a process which really began with Welcome to My DNA"[21][23]
Wilson later admitted that it was his own idea for Geffen to take over the project, because Wilson wanted to concentrate on his solo career and Porcupine Tree in 2012 and 2013, while Geffen wanted to do another Blackfield album right away in 2012, and Wilson felt guilty about holding him back.[15]
On January 29 and January 30, both Geffen and Wilson were in the studio working on vocals and guitar for the upcoming, currently untitled, fourth album.[24][25] Wilson stated that he will contribute lead vocals to only one song, but is also contributing "a bunch of guitar parts" and "arranging backing vocals".[15] Despite his lessened role, he still said that he was "protective of the Blackfield legacy", and that the next album would "still sound like a quintessential Blackfield album."[15] One of the guest vocalists that Wilson had alluded to before, was revealed to be Vincent Cavanagh of the band Anathema, who recorded vocals for a track.[26]
On June 14, 2012, Geffen announced he was in the final mixing stages of the album with Wilson.[27]
In a September 2012 interview with Discord Magazine, Wilson reiterated his stance with Blackfield, stating:
I won’t say producing [the fourth album], I am only helping [Geffen], a bit of singing, guitar, mixing whatever it takes but I am not going to tour, it’ll be too much, I’ll kill myself, would just run myself to the ground. I won’t tour Blackfield anymore but I will do anything to keep the name going...I just don’t think that writing the kind of style that Blackfield make is where I am at right now.[28]
At the end of November 2012, Geffen stated that he roughly aims for an April 2013 release time frame.[29] Wilson confirmed that he sang and played guitar on several tracks, but "much less than before", that Geffen was able to get "a bunch of great singers to contribute to the record, some of whom are quite well known", and that the album would be the first that Geffen would consent to be mixed for surround sound.[30]
On February 25, 2013, Wilson released his third solo album, The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories), of which some copies contained a compilation sampler disc of music done by artists under record label Kscope; one track was a new Blackfield track, "Pills", taken from the new album.[31][32]
On June 9, 2013, it was announced that the fourth album would officially be titled Blackfield IV, and its release date would be August 26, 2013.[33]
The band will tour in support of the album in February 2014,[34] with Wilson being present for all performances.[35] On January 29, 2014 Wilson announced he is quitting the band after the European tour, due to his increasingly tight schedule with his solo career and upcoming projects.[5]
Musical style and influences
Geffen has described the band's sounds as
"I don’t think it’s prog really, it’s...very melodic...but it’s not prog. I don’t allow Steven to play more than two minute solos. He respects that. Blackfield is everything, it’s metal, it’s prog, it’s pop. Blackfield sounds so special because it’s a really odd collaboration. I’m not coming from the prog scene, I’m coming from the indie rock, pop scene."[36]
Geffen states that while he enjoys mixing different musical sounds, he refuses to incorporate rap music into the band's sound, stating "I hate hip hop...We won’t do a shitty pop song."[36]
Influences for the band include Jim Morrison, Radiohead, King Crimson, Genesis, and Pink Floyd.[36]
Cross-overs
There has been some overlap between Blackfield and Geffen and Wilson's other projects. The songs "Scars," "Cloudy Now," "Glow," "1,000 People," "Epidemic," "End of the World" and "Zigota" had originally been written by Geffen in Hebrew before being translated into English and adapted by Blackfield, even if they hadn't all been released on his recordings yet. On the other hand, the song "Christenings" was originally conceived during Wilson's writing sessions for Porcupine Tree's 2005 release Deadwing, but was released on Blackfield II instead. Additionally, the track "Feel So Low", off of Porcupine Tree's 2000 release Lightbulb Sun, was re-recorded by Blackfield and added to the record, LP-only version of Blackfield's self-titled album.[7] In this version, Geffen sings the first verse in Hebrew.
With regard to live performances, Blackfield has performed Porcupine Tree's "Waiting" and "Feel So Low", as well as covering Alanis Morissette's "Thank U," which Wilson had previously recorded solo for his own Cover Versions series.[11]
Members
- Current members
- Aviv Geffen – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards (2001–present)
- Seffy Efrati – bass guitar (2004–present)
- Tomer Z – drums, percussion (2004–present)
- Eran Mitelman – piano, keyboards (2007–present)
- Former members
- Steven Wilson – vocals, guitars, keyboards (2001–2014)
- Chris Maitland – drums, percussion (2001–2004)
- Daniel Salomon – piano, keyboards (2004–2007)
Discography
Studio albums
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BEL (Vl) [37] |
BEL (Wa) [38] |
FRA [39] |
FIN [40] |
NLD [41] |
SWI [42] |
POL [43] |
UK [44] | ||
2004 | Blackfield
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
2007 | Blackfield II
|
— | — | — | — | 78 | — | 19 | — |
2011 | Welcome to My DNA
|
— | 100 | 185 | 47 | 31 | 64 | 10 | 139 |
2013 | Blackfield IV
|
98 | 47 | 65 | — | 28 | 74 | 8 | 95 |
"—" denotes a release that did not chart. |
DVDs
Year | Title | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
NLD [45] | ||
2007 | Live in New York City
|
30 |
Singles
- 2003: "Hello"
- 2003: "Pain"
- 2004: "Blackfield"
- 2004: "Cloudy Now"
- 2007: "Once"
- 2007: "Miss U"
- 2007: "My Gift of Silence"
- 2011: "Waving"
References
- ^ http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/b/blackfield-st2005.shtml
- ^ "Blackfield reviews, music, news". sputnikmusic. 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ a b "CD Blackfield - IV, BACKGROUND MAGAZINE Review". Backgroundmagazine.nl. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ Review by Adam Greenberg. "Blackfield II - Blackfield | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ a b Wilson, Steven. "Blackfield European tour remainder". StevenWilsonHQ. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
- ^ "Blackfield Biography". Starpulse.com. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ a b Mikesell, Michael. "Blackfield: self-titled". PopMatters. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ Alex McCann. "Porcupine Tree - Interview @ Designer Magazine". Designermagazine.tripod.com. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ a b "Blackfield Biography". Poprockbands.com. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Cd & Dvd Reviews". DPRP. 2007-03-09. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ a b Conaton, Chris. "Blackfield: Live in New York City". PopMatters. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ "No-Man - Positive momentum". Innerviews. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Israeli rocker Aviv Geffen conquers Berlin - Haaretz Diary Newspaper". Haaretz. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
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(help) - ^ "Review: "Blackfield: Welcome To My DNA" – Sea of Tranquility – The Web Destination for Progressive Music!". Sea of Tranquility. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Steven Wilson - Art as a mirror". Innerviews. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Steven Wilson". Burningshed.com. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Porcupine Tree Frontman Steven Wilson Cancels Several Blackfield Shows Due To Family Death". SMNnews.com. 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Blackfield.org". Blackfield.org. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Steven Wilson, The Progressive Music Legend, Talks To Stereoboard About His Solo Work (Interview P2)". Stereoboard. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ a b "– Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson Resource » New Blackfield album to be released in May 2012!". Starsdie.com. 2012-01-03. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ https://twitter.com/#!/avivgeffen/status/153993171641171968
- ^ "Steven Wilson opts out for new Blackfield album | DPRP News Blog". Dprp.net. 2012-01-03. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ "– Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson Resource » Steven Wilson & Aviv Geffen will be in the studio for Blackfield IV tomorrow!". Starsdie.com. 2012-01-28. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ "– Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson Resource » Steven Wilson & Aviv Geffen working with Anathema's Vincent Cavanagh on Blackfield IV!". Starsdie.com. 2012-01-31. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ "Twitter / blackfieldband: To all our Blackfield fans just". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ "Steven Wilson: The Definitive Interview". Discordmagazine.com. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ "Twitter / blackfieldband: BF4 should be out around". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ "Steven Wilson - Past presence". Innerviews. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ Reviews, Media (2013-07-25). "All Media Reviews: Blackfield - Blackfield IV (2013)". Allmediareviews.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ "– Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson Resource » Blackfield return with 'Pills' taken from 'Blackfield IV'". Starsdie.com. 2013-03-03. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ "Kscope". Burningshed.com. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ "First show of Blackfield's 2014 tour announced | Blackfield - Official Website". Blackfieldmusic.com. 2013-11-21. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ "Blackfield - Uploads vanaf je telefoon". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ a b c "Aviv Geffen on inspirations, why he restricts Wilson's solos and his hatred for hip hop". Terrorizer. 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
- ^ "Blackfield discography". ultratop.be/nl/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
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(help) - ^ "Blackfield discography". ultratop.be/fr/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
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(help) - ^ "Blackfield discography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
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(help) - ^ "Blackfield discography". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
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(help) - ^ http://www.dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=blackfield&cat=a
- ^ "Blackfield discography". hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
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(help) - ^ http://olis.onyx.pl/listy/index.asp?idlisty=827&lang=en
http://olis.onyx.pl/listy/index.asp?idlisty=372&lang=en
http://olis.onyx.pl/listy/index.asp?idlisty=660&lang=en - ^ http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/130907cluk.txt
http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/110409cluk.txt - ^ http://www.dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp?cat=d&year=2007&date=20071027
External links
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