This article is about the English alternative rock band. For the Canadian political party, see Bloc Québécois. Bloc Party are an English indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke on vocals and rhythm guitar, Russell Lissack on lead guitar, Gordon Moakes on bass guitar and Matt Tong on drums. Their brand of indie rock has been compared to bands such as The Cure, Blur, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and Joy Division.citation needed
The band formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer Alex Kapranos a copy of their demo, "She's Hearing Voices", which was later released as a single.
In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It would be critically acclaimed and make NME's Album of the Year list.[1] The album was certified platinum in the UK a year later. The band built on this success with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, in 2007. The album reached a peak of #2 in the UK and #12 in the Billboard 200.
History
Formation and rising popularity (1999–2004)
Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in Essex. Lissack had attended Bancroft's School, while Okereke attended Ilford County High School, then Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green for sixth form. They bumped into each other again in 1999 at the Reading Festival and decided to form a band.[2] Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition.[2] After going through a variety of names, such as Union, Superheroes of BMX, The Angel Range and Diet, the band settled on Bloc Party in September 2003, a play on block party.[3] The band has said that the name was not intended to be an allusion to the Soviet Bloc or the Canadian political party Bloc Québécois. However, the band's bassist, Gordon Moakes, said on the group's official Internet forum that it was more a merging of the eastern "Blocs" and the western "parties", in the political sense. Moakes notes that the name was not driven by politics, but rather it "looked, sounded, seemed fine so we went with it."[4]
In November 2003, Bloc Party had their track "The Marshals Are Dead" featured on a compilation CD called The New Cross released by Angular Recording Corporation.[5] They then released their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics.[6]
The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and gave a copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to both lead singer Alex Kapranos and Radio One DJ Steve Lamacq.[7] Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labeling the track "genius",[8] and invited them to record a live session for the show.[9] The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another single, "Banquet" being released by Moshi Moshi Records,[10] and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004.[11]
Silent Alarm (2004–2006)
Bloc Party’s Lissack and Okereke on stage in Cardiff in October 2005
Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was met with critical acclaim.[12][13][14] It was voted by NME critics as the 2005 album of the year,[15] and reached #3 on UK album charts before being certified platinum.[16][17] The first single from the album, "So Here We Are", made the top 5 on UK charts.[16] Further singles "Banquet" (which reached #13 in NME's "Top 50 singles of 2005"), "Helicopter", and "Pioneers", whilst failing to repeat this success, managed to reach the UK top 20.[16] The animated video for the single "Pioneers", made by the Shoreditch based Minivegas design agency[18] was number one in the NME video charts for 4 weeks.
The band were met with good reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed.[19] In early 2006 they finished their tour with sold out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley.[19] The album went on to sell more than 350,000 copies in North America and over a million worldwide.[17] After the success of this album, the established electronic group The Chemical Brothers soon collaborated with Okereke for "Believe", a track on the Brothers' Push the Button album.[20] An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm was released at the end of August in the UK.[21] This remix album, Silent Alarm Remixed, retained the album's original track list and includes remixes from the likes of Ladytron, M83, Death from Above 1979, Four Tet and Mogwai.[22]
During July, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth. The songs were released as an EP titled Two More Years.[23] The released of the EP was accompanied with a re-release of Silent Alarm, which included "Two More Years" along with former single "Little Thoughts". "Two More Years" was later released to coincide with their October 2005 UK tour.[24] The single format contained a remix of "Banquet" done by The Streets, for which a video was also recorded.[25]
The band also contributed the track "The Present" to the Help!: A Day in the Life compilation, the profits of which benefited the War Child charity.[26] In 2005, their album track "Like Eating Glass" was used on the soundtrack of low-budget horror film, Cry Wolf,[27] and was remixed for use on Activision's skateboarding game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.[28]
A Weekend in the City (2006–2008)
Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee.[29] It was released in February 2007,[30] though it had was leaked in November 2006.[31] It was released on the UK iTunes store before the physical release, and reached the number two spot in the Official UK Chart.[32] The album reached number two on the Australian and Belgian charts,[33][34] and debuted at #12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold.[35] The first single, "The Prayer", was released on January 29,[36] and became the band's highest charting single in the UK Top 40, reaching #4.[37] In the build up to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set from the Maida Vale studio featuring a mix of old and new songs, on his evening radio show on January 30, 2007.[38] On February 1, 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through the band's official MySpace page.[39]
The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at #24 on the Modern Rock Chart.[40] The band released their third single "Hunting for Witches" with an accompanying video clip in August 2007. The single became their only ARIA Chart entry, peaking at #20.[41]
In October 2007 it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on November 13—ahead of their end of year gigs.[42] The track was also produced by Jacknife Lee,.[43] Flux, an electronic song, was highly different to previous singles released by the band.[44]
The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend In The City was on February 5, 2007, in Reading,[45] and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music that night.[46] On May 20, 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend at Preston.[47] They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on July 7, 2007, at Wembley Stadium.[48] Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend,[49][50] as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals.[51][52] Bloc Party announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in August 2007, which would include a special appearance at the Splendour in the Grass Festival on August 5.[45] On September 17, 2007 they recorded a set for the PBS show Austin City Limits,[53] a day after playing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival,[45] and on October 27, 2007, the band performed a set at London's Roundhouse with the Exmoor Singers, a London based choir, as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend In The City along with the first UK live performance of "Flux".[54]
Third studio album (2008–present)
The screen displayed on Bloc Party's official website following the countdown.
"Mercury", which is to be the first single from the upcoming third album, was played as an exclusive on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on July 7, 2008,[55] before being uploaded to the Radio 1 website fifteen minutes later.[56] The exclusive followed an ominous countdown timer which replaced the band's entire website for three days, which ended with a link to the Radio 1 website at the time of Lowe's radio show. Many fans were expecting a release of new material over the internet,[57] with some being angered by the reality of the stunt.[58] The song has a similar electronic sound to the previous single, "Flux",[59] with Zane Lowe labelling the song as the "hottest track in the world".[55] During the first play of "Mercury" on Radio 1, Kele was in the studio with Zane Lowe, and stated that Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth will be producing the new album.[60] It has also been revealed that the single is to be released on August 11, 2008.[55] The video was unveiled along with the single.[61] Bloc Party has also announced that along with the full "Mercury" single that will come on CD with 3 remixes, on 12" vinyl with an extended and instrumental version and on 7" vinyl with the b-side "Idea for A Story."
Following the revelation of "Mercury", Bloc Party's third studio album is expected to take an experimental, electronic direction,citation needed despite Kele suggesting this would not be the case,[62] having said that the sound will have the "rawness" of Silent Alarm, but the "experience" of A Weekend in the City.[63] Several new songs have been written for the new album, including single "Mercury" and another entitled "Ion Square".[64] In a live webchat in July 2008, Kele stated that the new album was in the process of being written and recorded, and that "it doesn't sound like anything we've done before and I'm really excited about it". He also suggested the album would probably not be released until 2009,[64] although in an interview with NME, guitarist Russell Lissack said that it may well come out this year, unless they "scrapped it and started over". Kele also told Lowe on Radio 1 (subsequent to the webchat) that the album would be released "[hopefully] at the end of this year".[56]
Musical style
Bloc Party claim that their variation of spiky guitar rock draws on influences such as The Cure, The Jam, Blur, The Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, The Smiths, Pixies, Manic Street Preachers, Joy Division, Mogwai and Gang of Four.citation needed[31] Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene,[65] yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four.[31] To achieve their unique guitar style, numerous delay effects pedals are implemented.[66]
During the recording of the second album, the band suggested it would contain "some truly R'n'B styled beats, a song where [Tong] and [Moakes] play drums simultaneously [and] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness",[67] as opposed to their typical indie rock sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode and Björk.[68] Some of the most noticeable changes are the songs have come more layered and less raw. With the release of "Flux", Bloc Party's style has become even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. For the third album, Tong has said, "I think our new stuff is going to be a lot less textured than the last record. I think the third studio incarnation of Bloc is going to be a bit like the rawer earlier Bloc, but with experience." They are working with producer Paul Epworth again and have revealed to NME magazine that they would like their third album to be released this year.[69] In their new single, "Mercury", Bloc Party even further distanced themselves from the traditional guitar band set-up, experimenting with dark electronic sounds and trumpets.[59]
Discography
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References
External links
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