The Playing Fields

The Biography: from there to here

The germination of the band starts with Stephen Bland from Enfield, North London. As a teenager, he organized and performed with several group incarnations in Canterbury, while serving time at the university, booking bands and promoting clubs. After many false starts, Steve formed a band with brother, Michael Bland, and childhood friend to both, Jeff Baskett. They forged a unique sound, dark, intense pieces fixed with beautifully melodious song-writing. Mike took the lead vocals, Steve harmonies, both brothers duelling on guitar while Jeff played bass, sorted computer samples, and ate sugary plastic on the side.

In 2004/5 the band honed their performance skills in live gigs. The songs developed in complexity and with a harder rhythmic drive. An acoustic version of their song Valley of Salt was featured on BBC TV's Hustle. Originally the lyrics came from Stephen's poetic prose, both brothers editing and splicing from this so