BLACKFIELD

Blackfield originated from a partnership uniting multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson, frontman of Porcupine Tree, with the polarizing Israeli pop artist Aviv Geffen. Years of shared respect preceded their 2000 meeting, initially arranged to plan live shows; common enthusiasm for landmark rock records from the 1960s and 1970s soon prompted them to write the project’s inaugural track. Another twelve months passed before they gathered again inside a Tel Aviv facility, where an intended EP expanded across eighteen months of intermittent composition and tracking, eventually yielding the self-titled debut on Koch Records in early 2005 after repeated postponements. A follow-up, Blackfield II, emerged in 2007 following a concentrated six-month recording window. The same year brought the concert document NYC: Live in New York City on DVD, later issued in combined CD/DVD format in 2009. As Wilson’s external obligations grew, songwriting responsibilities shifted increasingly toward Geffen, a change signaled by the 2011 release Welcome to My DNA. With Wilson prioritizing his solo work, his involvement on the 2013 album Blackfield IV was limited to that of occasional contributor; issued that August, the record included guest vocals from former Mercury Rev singer Jonathan Donahue and Suede’s Brett Anderson, aligning more closely with Geffen’s own pop-leaning solo material while its sweeping string sections preserved echoes of the 1960s psychedelia that had shaped Wilson’s progressive explorations. Wilson appeared on the accompanying European dates in 2014 before withdrawing from the enterprise. In 2015, however, announcements confirmed that Geffen and Wilson had resumed collaboration with producer Alan Parsons on material for Blackfield V. Although a December 2016 release had been anticipated, the album surfaced in January 2017. After a short hiatus spanning the next three years, the group returned in 2020 with its sixth studio effort, For the Music, this time centered on Geffen’s songwriting and production.