Two years back and forth on the London-Tel-Aviv flight path, a mutual artistic curiosity, and a close friendship are the components that gave birth to Aviv and Steven's Blackfield project.
Aviv Geffen, a highly successful solo artist and outspoken (not to mention controversial) peace campaigner, with a string of gold albums in his own country, discovered the music of Steven's band Porcupine Tree in the mid 90's 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 the idea. Something clicked and before long they had already collaborated on the very first Blackfield song. In 2001 the two met in a studio in Tel Aviv with the intention of recording a one-off EP. So pleased were they and the record company with the results however, that the EP originally scheduled for release in 2001 was cancelled and the decision was made to continue writing and recording with the aim of completing a full length LP. 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 album was complete.
The collaborative songs alongside songs written by each separately brought a unique meeting of cultures, which resulted in a sophisticated, melodic and melancholic rock album.
The 10 track album was first issued by Helicon/Universal in Israel in February 2004 and spawned two huge hit singles in "Hello" and "Pain". The success of the album meant that the next step to making Blackfield a live band could be taken, and in February a 5 piece band version of Blackfield made their debut by performing on several prime time Israeli TV shows.
In the meantime an international release for the album was arranged through Snapper Music in the UK, and the album was issued in August to phenomenal reviews in Europe and America, many hailing it as a masterpiece and an instant classic. Aviv and Steven undertook a major promotional campaign and the live band played two special concerts to launch the album, one each in their two home towns of Tel Aviv and London. The Blackfield album looks set to be one of the most important releases of 2004.
