''Blackfield II'' is the second studio album by

Blackfield Blackfield is a collaborative music project by the English musician and founder of Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, and Israeli rock singer Aviv Geffen. Together, six albums have been released under the moniker. The first two records, ''Black ...

. It was recorded in both

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and was released on 13 February 2007 in Europe and 6 March 2007 in the US.

We Put Out Records We Put Out Records is a record company that started as a vehicle for The Syndicate to release music from friends' bands that were without a record label. The Syndicate began as a radio promotion company but soon branched out into street marketing ...

launched
media site
relating to the US release of this record. "End of the World" is a cover of an older song in Hebrew, performed by Geffen and

Berry Sakharof Berry Sakharof ( he, ברי סחרוף, ; born 7 July 1957) is an Israeli rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. Sakharof is one of Israel's most popular and critically acclaimed rock musicians, and is often referred to as "the prince ...

. Hebrew versions of "1,000 People" and "Epidemic" were included in Geffen's album from 2006, " Im Hazman". A demo version of "Where Is My Love?" was released on the bonus disc of the limited edition of Blackfield's first album. "Christenings" was originally written for

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

's 2005 album ''

Deadwing ''Deadwing'' is the eighth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released in Japan on 24 March 2005, in Europe on 28 March, and in the US on 26 April. It quickly became the band's best selling album, although it was l ...

'' but was never released.

Richard Barbieri Richard Barbieri (born 30 November 1957) is an English musician, composer and sound designer. Originally a member of new wave band Japan (and their brief 1989–1991 reincarnation as Rain Tree Crow), more recently he is known as the keyboard ...

and

Gavin Harrison Gavin Richard Harrison (born 28 May 1963) is an English musician. He is best known for playing with the progressive rock bands Porcupine Tree (2002–2010; 2021–present), King Crimson (2008, and 2014–present) and The Pineapple Thief (2016� ...

are both featured on this track.

Track listing

All songs written by

Aviv Geffen Aviv Geffen ( he, אביב גפן, born 10 May 1973) is an Israeli rock musician, singer, songwriter and the son of writer and poet Yehonatan Geffen and Nurit Makover, brother of actress Shira Geffen, and an alumnus of Rimon School of Jazz and Co ...

except where noted.

Reception

'' ''Q'''': "... an album of mournful, one-paced rock, Geffen's infatuation with

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

very evident in the melancholy synth-string washes. Miss U is the standout, although the

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

-esque End of the World comes close."

Personnel

;Blackfield *

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, additional

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosio ...

s, additional keyboards, vocals * Daniel Salomon -

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Seffy Efrati Monica Sex ( he, מוניקה סקס; also spelled Monika Sex) is an Israeli alternative rock band. History Formation and ''Wounds and Kisses'' (1993–1995) The band was formed in 1992 in Tel Aviv, by Yali Sobol as vocalist and guitarist, Pete ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Tomer Z Tomer Zidkyahu (known under his stage name Tomer Z) is the drummer for the band Blackfield. He joined the band in 2004 after departure of the previous drummer Chris Maitland Chris Maitland (born 13 May 1964) is an English drummer. Maitland ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

;Vocal duties *

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 - Steven Wilson * lead vocals: 3 - Aviv Geffen * lead vocals: 6, 9, 10 - Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen ;Guest musicians * Ofer Meiri - additional keyboards and programming on "1,000 People" * Harel Ben-Ami - electric and acoustic guitars on "1,000 People" * Itamar Leshem -

french horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

on "1,000 People" *

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

and stylophone on "Christenings" *

- drums on "Christenings" * Daniela Pick -

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

on "Epidemic" * Eran Mitelman - electric piano on "My Gift of Silence" * String arrangements by Aviv Geffen, performed by The Downtown Session Orchestra, under the direction of Daniel Salomon. ;Production *Steven Wilson – producer, mixer *Reuven Schapira – recording engineer *Carl Glover – artwork, photography and design *Robin – band photography

Chart positions

* ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

(Middle Atlantic): #9 * Billboard Top Heatseekers (Northeast): #6 * Billboard Top Heatseekers: #31 * Billboard

Top Internet Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the '' ...

: #25

References

{{Authority control 2007 albums Blackfield albums