Blackfield is a collaboratorive music project led by Israeli rock singer Av… Read Full Bio ↴Blackfield is a collaboratorive music project led by Israeli rock singer Aviv Geffen. Together with the English musician Steven Wilson, 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. With the release of Blackfield IV in 2013, Wilson is taking an even more passive role, acting only as a contributor and mixer, and played his last live show with Blackfield in April 2014.

Current band members are drummer Tomer Z, bassist Seffy Efrati, and keyboardist Eran Mitelman. Former band members include Chris Maitland (replaced by Tomer Z, 2004) and Daniel Salomon (replaced by Eran Mitelman, 2007).

Collaborative era:
Formed after a meeting in 2000, the partnership blossomed into a cross-cultural collaboration called Blackfield.

Aviv had discovered Porcupine Tree in the mid ‘90s and followed their career development. In 2000 he invited the band to perform some concerts in Israel and met with Steven in London to discuss working together. Before long they had collaborated on the first Blackfield song. In 2001 the two met in a studio in Tel Aviv with the intention of recording a one-off EP.

The results of the session were so impressive however, that the EP was cancelled and the decision was made to continue writing and recording a full length album. Over the next 18 months the pair fitted in Blackfield writing and recording sessions whenever they could between their other commitments and finally in October 2003 the debut album was complete.

The collaborative songs alongside songs written by each separately brought a unique meeting of cultures, which resulted in the self titled album, which was hailed at the time as 'hypnotically effective' (Classic Rock) and ‘another strike of genius from Steven Wilson’ (Eclipsed).

Blackfield II arrived in February 2007. The pair’s return was greeted by an equally enthusiastic media response with Clash describing it as ‘a lush but soulful mix of separate cultures, deep sounds and touching lyrics,’ and CMU proclaiming it as ‘simply another complete triumph from the duo.’

Geffen-led era:
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. 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. 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 and supported by a European and North American tour following a kickoff concert in Israel. However, several concert dates were cancelled due to the death of Wilson's father in May 2011.

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. However, in January 2012, Geffen has announced his intentions to release a fourth Blackfield album by May 2012. 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."

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.

On January 29 and January 30, both Geffen and Wilson were in the studio working on vocals and guitar for the fourth album. 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". 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." 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.

On June 14, 2012, Geffen announced he was in the final mixing stages of the album with Wilson.

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."

At the end of November 2012, Geffen stated that he roughly aims for an April 2013 release time frame. 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.

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 track, "Pills", taken from the fourth Blackfield album.

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.

Glow
Blackfield Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I show the scars
Of every fear and doubt
I hurt myself
To let the darkness out
Hurt...

The days go bye
And nothing brings me joy

The glow was strong
When I was a boy
But it's gone...

And the glow
It goes
So slow
It goes

Cracks appear
And passion sleeps away
Colors fade
And turns to shades of gray
Fade away...

And the glow
It goes
So slow
It goes

If you knew the man I used to be
Please hold me under the sea
Or scratch my arms 'till they bleed

Save me
Will you help me to feel ... the glow?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Blackfield's song "Glow" are a deep expression of emotional pain and desperation. The singer shows the scars of every fear and doubt and hurts themselves to let the darkness out. They feel a deep sense of hurt and the days go by without bringing them joy. The glow, which was once strong when they were younger, has now disappeared. The singer describes cracks appearing and passion slipping away, with colors fading to shades of gray. They are lost and seeking help to feel the glow again.

These lyrics describe the struggle with depression and anxiety. The singer feels trapped in their own mind, unable to escape the darkness that is haunting them. They are willing to do anything to feel alive again, to feel the glow that they once had as a child. The use of the metaphor of colors fading and turning to shades of gray shows how the world has lost its vibrancy and how the singer has lost their connection to it. The chorus repeats the line "the glow, it goes so slow, it goes," emphasizing the slow and painful nature of depression.

The last stanza of the lyrics is the most poignant. The singer pleads with someone to help them feel the glow again. They are willing to do anything, even to be harmed, if it means they can feel something. This shows the desperation and hopelessness that often accompanies depression.

Line by Line Meaning

I show the scars
I reveal the marks left by my past regrets and uncertainties

Of every fear and doubt
Those scars are evidence of my every apprehension and hesitation

I hurt myself
I inflict physical harm on myself

To let the darkness out
As a means of releasing the negativity and pessimism that resides within me

The days go by
Time passes too swiftly

And nothing brings me joy
I'm unable to find happiness in anything

The glow was strong
There was a radiance that emanated from me

When I was a boy
During my childhood years

But it's gone...
That brightness has disappeared

And the glow
That same radiance

It goes
It fades away