Featuring the instrumental and songwriting talents of Porcupine Tree's STEVEN WILSON and arguably Israel's most celebrated and controversial musician AVIV GEFFEN, BLACKFIELD are a band with lengthy track records who attract both devotion and derision.
Geffen is famous for being the last person to embrace Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin before he was gunned down literally yards away from where Geffen stood at a Tel Aviv Peace Rally in 1995. Inevitably, such events make for big music and the duo's eponymous "Blackfield" album is a weighty, sombre and intriguing record. Steven Wilson spoke to W&H about the pair's friendship, the making of "Blackfield" and what it's really like to operate as a musician in the Middle East.
Steven takes our call when the band appear to be rehearsing and part of our time chatting is punctuated by the sounds of gear being shifted around and noises off. But Steven's very open and friendly, and we press on successfully.
Steven, from what I've read about yourself and Aviv, you've had a kind of mutual attraction in terms of musical appreciation and had been following each other's careers for a while before you hooked up. When was the first time you encountered Aviv's music?
"Well, actually, it wasn't entirely 2-way," Steven confesses.
"Aviv was a really big Porcupine Tree fan and he contacted us about maybe coming to play in Israel. I mean, you have to understand Aviv's profile is huge in Israel and he attracts major attention....we're talking girls fainting in the street kinda stuff."
Really? I have to say I'm not entirely clued into the Tel Aviv scene...
"Yeah, he's the man," continues Steven.
"But we loved Israel straight away when we went with Porcupine Tree. It was a great experience, and Aviv and I really connected as people on that first trip over. It's inevitable that when two people who are songwriters get together and become friends that songs tend to come out of that situation...."
And that's how Blackfield began?
"Yeah, it all came together very organically. And we still pursue our other interests as well. I mean, I'm still doing Porcupine Tree -it's going from strength to strength. We're just finishing mixing a new album at present."
Nice one. But to get back to the pre-Blackfield days, is Aviv still haunted by the events of the day when Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated? Is it something he can talk about these days?
"Oh yeah, he'd be happy to speak to anyone about it," replies Steven, quite openly.
"I mean, he's a big peace campaigner himself and his whole creative impulse is tied up in that. Which is why he was performing at the Peace Rally in 1995 to begin with! He's flatly refused to serve in the Military there which - believe me - is a really big deal. Aviv's whole life is tied up in politics."
For the uninitated (like me, until recently) Geffen is the son of respected Israeli poet Yehonatan Geffen and the nephew of Moshe Dayan and President Ezer Weizman, so he commands major clout even before his artistic achievements are taken into account. He's received death threats too. Do these sort of things continues to dog him?
"Yeah, and he's become an icon because he's unafraid," says Steven with a mixture of pride and surprising matter-of-factness.
"But yeah, he has to go around with a bodyguard in Israel. It's serious. I mean, I should emphasise he's hugely popular with 97% of the population or whatever, but there's always the dangerous 3% who hate him - and I mean hate him - and they are out there too."
Sheesh. But while Aviv may be used to this super-real situation, surely you've found the Middle East difficult to deal with as an outsider? What's it like to operate as a musician in Tel Aviv on a regular basis?
"It's great, actually," replies Steven without hesitation.
"I mean, we get the wrong idea about Isreal over here. I call it CNN syndrome. The news coverage makes you think all of Israel is like the West Bank and is a disaster area, which is entirely false. There haven't been any suicide bombings for over a year or anything like that in Tel Aviv. On a daily basis, Tel Aviv is a very happy, vibey city. It's really creative and a positive place to live and work."
He pauses to think for a moment.
"Actually, " he continues, "the only time I've encountered anything threatening at all is when I've been out and about with Aviv and he's had abuse hurled at him by his detractors, which can be unpleasant obviously. But it's a rare occurrence."
OK, well let's get back on track with what you've achieved sonically from this situation. You wrote and recorded the songs comprising the "Blackfield" album slowly over the two-year period 2001 -2003. With your other commitments, was it difficult for the two of you to concentrate on this project alone?
"No, but it's becoming more difficult now, scheduling time to do all the promotional work we need to do with the album," Steven admits candidly.
"Before now it wasn't a case of having to find time because there weren't any expectations or pressure on us to get the record finished, y'know? We only sorted a deal for the record after it was completed (it's released by Snapper Music in the UK - ed)."
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"So," he continues. "It was relaxed in that I have a lot of friends in Isreal now and I'd go out and spend some time recording and Aviv would also come over to the UK and we'd work here quietly as well. No deadlines, no hassle. The recording process was quite sporadic and the direction of the record came together quite slowly."
How would you define the Blackfield sound?
"Oh, lush, classy, melancholic, a big sound. We had earlier songs but they didn't fit with the mood of the record, so they fell by the wayside gradually."
Yes, I can see what you mean, not least in terms of melancholia. Some of the tracks ("Open Mind" and "Summer" spring to mind) have big, anthemic choruses, but there's an underlying sadness. Is that inevitable, do you think, considering the things you've both experienced over the years?
"I think it's something that comes with us both being very aware individuals," says Steven definitely.
"We're both known for spacious, dreamy, melancholic music. Personally speaking, it's always emotional, melancholic songs that speak to me the most about my life.."
Very Morrissey-esque..
"Mmm," ponders Steven.
"But in our songs, we write about things that affect everyone, like the breakdown of realtionships and our music is usually based on personal exprience, so we hope it's something everyone who hears us can relate to."
Right. Certainly the album is strong and mature as and entity. Some of the songs, like "Scars", for instance, sound compex in terms of arrangement. Like it has loops and a drum'n'bass interlude, all tied together by a big, soaring chorus. Are you big studio buffs?
"Well, yeah, we're big into production and producers," considers Steven.
"You're right about "Scars", it's quite complex and difficult to reproduce live, and we use backing tracks sparingly live, we have to at times. But we've no problem with that. For instance, we're big fans of people like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson, so we have no problem in using 30 tracks instead of three (Laughs)"
The sleevenotes suggest "The Mistakes" perform the music on "Scars", though? What's that all about?
"Ah, well The Mistakes are actually Aviv's band in Isreal," Steven reveals.
"Though I think it translates better in Hebrew!"
We touched on live performance. Are gigs an essential part of the Blackfield plan?
"Yeah, I mean we play all the songs from the album live," he says.
"We have a couple more tunes we do as well, though getting a lengthy set together is problematic at present because we only have a limited number of songs written for the band. However, we also plan to include Porcupine Tree and some of Aviv's solo work depending on where we're playing, so it'll be a satisfying set."
I'm intrigued by the idea of Blackfield itself. In the album's title track, the "Blackfield" sounds like an ominous place. Is there such a place in reality?
"Yes, it's based on a real place near where I grew up," says Steven, though he doesn't elaborate.
"I mean, I wrote that one, and I should stress my songs both are and AREN'T autobiographical. Elements come from my own experience, family, friends, books etc. I call it filtering inputs to make something unique as an output. My whole approach is based on mixing up a whole load of images and events and using artistic licence, and "Blackfield" itself is typical of that approach."
Cool. Well, we're running out of time, but before you go, tell us which songs you feel captured everything you wanted on the new album?
"I'm really proud of several," considers Steven.
""Lullaby" is one, and I'm very fond of "Summer" and the last track "Hello." The last especially encapsulates everything I like."
Really?
"Yeah," he laughs. "It's epic, OTT and hugely ambitious. Just the kind of thing the music industry usually hates us for."
And amen to that, right?
"Absolutely," he laughs again. "It's good to be a thorn in the side."
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