Welcome to My DNA

Welcome to My DNA
Studio album by
Blackfield
Released28 March 2011
RecordedThroughout 2010
StudioNo Man's Land (Hemel Hempstead)
Sarm West Studios (London)
Pluto, Tel Aviv
Bardo, Tel Aviv
Length39:35
LabelKscope
ProducerSteven Wilson, Aviv Geffen, Trevor Horn
Blackfield chronology
Blackfield II
(2007) 		Welcome to My DNA
(2011) 		Blackfield IV
(2013)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Reflections of Darkness[2]
Sea of Tranquility[3]
Sputnikmusic[4]

Welcome to My DNA is the third studio album by Blackfield, a musical collaboration between Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen. It was released in Europe on 28 March 2011, and released in the US on 19 April 2011, as a digi-book CD and heavyweight vinyl limited to 2000 individually numbered copies.[5]

Background

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Almost all of the songs were written by Geffen, as Wilson had been working on his second solo album, Grace for Drowning, at the same time.[3] The album's title, Welcome to My DNA, was meant to reflect Geffen's taking over creative control for the band.[6] The musicians worked on the material together in studios in England and Israel.[7] It marked the first time they used a real orchestra in recording.[8] All tracks were produced by Wilson and Geffen, except for "Oxygen", which was produced by Trevor Horn.[9] "Zigota" is a reworking of the track of the same name on Geffen's 2002 solo album Memento Mori.

The album's first and only single was "Waving", which received a music video on 21 March 2011[10] and a formal single release in the US on 11 April.[11] but did not chart on any charts. However, the opening track, "Glass House", acted as a promotional single and was made available to download prior to the album's release.[10][12]

Reception

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The album has received generally mixed reviews. AllMusic described the album as "neo-progressive Pink Floyd-meets-Tears for Fears", though conceded that "the music aims toward a majestic simplicity that it sometimes achieves".[13] Reflections of Darkness stated it was "...a sophisticated and diverse pop/rock album and highly recommended".[2] Sea of Tranquility also praised the album, stating that it was the band's "...most diverse, experimental, and textured release".[3] Praise was given to Wilson for his production on the album[14][15] and his solo contribution to the album "Waving".[3]

Other reviewers were more critical. PopMatters stated that "...despite some signature characteristics of Blackfield that are present on DNA, Wilson’s choice to step back and let Geffen dominate the show had ramifications on the identity of the project itself...The old waters are beginning to run only faintly through."[16] Many critics also panned the limited and weak lyrics in some tracks, most notably Geffen's track "Go to Hell".[3][4][17][16]

The record peaked at No. 139 on the UK Albums Chart.[18]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Aviv Geffen except "Waving" by Steven Wilson

No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."Glass House"Wilson2:56
2."Go to Hell"Geffen3:03
3."Rising of the Tide"Wilson, Geffen3:47
4."Waving"Wilson3:54
5."Far Away"Wilson2:47
6."Dissolving with the Night"Geffen, Wilson4:06
7."Blood"Geffen, Wilson3:17
8."On the Plane"Wilson3:41
9."Oxygen"Geffen3:04
10."Zigota"Wilson, Geffen5:04
11."DNA"Wilson, Geffen3:56
Total length:39:35

Personnel

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Band[19]
  • Steven Wilson – vocals, guitars, keyboards, string arrangements on "Waving" and "Dissolving with the Night"
  • Aviv Geffen – vocals, guitars, keyboards, string arrangements on all tracks except "Waving"; "Dissolving with the Night" co-arranged with Wilson
  • Eran Mitelman – piano, keyboards
  • Seffy Efrat – bass
  • Tomer Z – drums

Guest musicians[20]

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References

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  1. ^ Ruhlmann, William (28 March 2011). "Welcome to My DNA review". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  2. ^ a b "CD Review: Blackfield – Welcome to My DNA". Reflectionsofdarkness.com. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Review: "Blackfield: Welcome to My DNA" – Sea of Tranquility – The Web Destination for Progressive Music!". Sea of Tranquility. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Blackfield – Welcome to My DNA (album review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Steven Wilson". Burningshed.com. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Coma Divine - PorcupineTree Italian Fan Site".
  7. ^ "Welcome to Blackfield's official website". Blackfield.org. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Mały Leksykon Wielkich Zespołów – Interview with Aviv Geffen (Blackfield)". Mlwz.ceti.pl. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  9. ^ Welcome to My DNA (CD liner). Blackfield. Kscope. 2011. kscope167.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ a b "Home". NME.
  11. ^ Goldin, Dan (29 March 2011). "(delivering good rock music since 2008): Blackfield's "Welcome to my DNA" Now Available, New Video + Tour Dates". Exploding in Sound. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  12. ^ "Kscope". Burningshed.com. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  13. ^ "Welcome to My DNA - Blackfield | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  14. ^ Bloody-Disgusting.com (28 March 2011). "BD Music News – Album Review: Blackfield 'Welcome to My DNA'". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  15. ^ Boyd, Glen (26 April 2011). "Music Review: Blackfield – Welcome to My DNA". seattlepi.com. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  16. ^ a b "Blackfield: IV | PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013.
  17. ^ Ruhlmann, William (28 March 2011). "Welcome to My DNA – Blackfield". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  18. ^ "UK Chart Log" (TXT). Zobbel.de. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Blackfield – Welcome to My DNA". Metal Storm. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  20. ^ "Blackfield - Welcome to My DNA". Discogs (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 March 2017.
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