|
Bloc Party are an English indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Russell Lissack (lead guitar), Gordon Moakes (bass guitar, synths, backing vocals, glockenspiel), and Matt Tong (drums, backing vocals). Their brand of music is said to have been drawn from such bands as The Cure, Joy Division, Sonic Youth,[title=Bloc Party: Biography] and in their more recent work, Radiohead.
The band was 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".
In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named 'Indie Album of the Year' at the 2006 PLUG Awards, which honour indie music.[title=PLUG 2006 Nominees/Winners] That year, the record was also certified platinum in the UK. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy. The band are currently on hiatus as of October 31st 2009.
HistoryFormation 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 Reading Festival and decided to form a band.[title=Kele Okereke: 21st century boy ] Bassist Gordon Moakes joined after answering an advert in NME, and drummer Matt Tong joined after an audition.
title="Banquet"
sample box end
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. They then released their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics. 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 BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labelling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for the show. The buzz generated off the back of the single led to another release, "Banquet/Staying Fat", this time through Moshi Moshi Records, and to the eventual signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004.
Silent Alarm (2004–2006)
Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, was released in February 2005 and was met with universal critical acclaim.[title=Silent Alarm by Bloc Party ] It was voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart before being certified platinum.[title=Bloc Party - UK Chart positions Note: Search for "Bloc Party".][title=Platinum Awards Content ] The first single from the album, "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", made the top 5 on the UK Top 40 chart.
The band received good reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of Silent Alarm.[title=Live : Archive ] In early 2006, they finished their tour with sold out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley.
During July 2005, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer Paul Epworth. The songs were released as single with a B-side, titled "Two More Years", to coincide with the band's October 2005 UK tour. The tour was also accompanied by a re-issue of Silent Alarm, which included "Two More Years" and former single "Little Thoughts" as bonus tracks. A remix of "Banquet" by The Streets, as well as a music video for the song, were included in the "Two More Years" single. Bloc Party also contributed the track "The Present" to the Help!: A Day in the Life compilation, the profits of which benefited the War Child charity.
A Weekend in the City (2006–2008)Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee. It was released in February 2007, although it was leaked in November 2006.
]
The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart.[title=Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Bloc Party ] 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 number 20. In October 2007, it was announced that Bloc Party would release a new single, "Flux", on 13 November—ahead of their end of year gigs. The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee, was very different from previous singles released by the band.
The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend In The City was on 5 February 2007, in Reading,[title=Live : Archive ] and was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music. On 20 May 2007, Bloc Party headlined on the In New Music We Trust stage at the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend in Preston. They also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth on 7 July 2007 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, the band played sets at T in the Park and Oxegen 07 that same weekend, as well as Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festivals later in 2007. 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 5 August.
Intimacy (2008–2009)"Mercury", the first single from Bloc Party's third album Intimacy, was played as an exclusive on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 7 July 2008,[title=Radio 1 - Zane Lowe tracklisting archives ] before being uploaded to the radio station's website fifteen minutes later.[title=Bloc Party unveil surprise new single on radio ] The song had a similar electronic sound to the previous single, "Flux".[title=Bloc Party unveils new single on BBC radio ] The exclusive had followed a countdown timer which had replaced the band's entire website for three days prior to Lowe's radio show. Many fans were angered by the stunt. After the first play of "Mercury", Okereke stated that previous producers Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth would be working on the new album.[author=Tom Thorogood ] It was also revealed that the single was to be released on 11 August 2008.[title=Bloc Party talks touring, crisps ]
The band announced the rush-release of Intimacy in a webchat with fans on 18 August 2008. From this date, the album became available for pre-order, in a variety of formats: a high-quality MP3 digital download to be delivered on 21 August 2008, and a physical CD release on 27 October 2008. "Trojan Horse", a track from the album, was made available to stream exclusively through NME.com.[title=Bloc Party to release new album this week] On 20 August 2008, the band added further album tracks, "Signs" and third single "One Month Off", as well as "Trojan Horse", to their MySpace profile. On August 23–24, the band played sets at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, second highest on the bill after headliners The Killers.[title=BBC - Reading and Leeds Festivals 2008 - Bloc Party] A similar set followed a week later on 30 August 2008, when they played a headline set at the Hydro Connect Music Festival in Argyll, Scotland.[title=Hydro Connect: Day 2 review: Bloc Party]
During the autumn of 2008, the band went on a short tour of North America, which included an appearance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto on 6 September 2008, as well as the band's first ever American college show at Syracuse University.[title=Syracuse-born band Ra Ra Riot to open Juice Jam 2008 Sept. 7 on SU campus, along with rapper Talib Kweli and headliner Bloc Party] They made their live return to the UK on 30 September 2008 with a special gig in London as part of Q Awards: The Gigs. They also played the Glasgow date of MTV2's and Topman's "Gonzo on Tour" on 19 October 2008.[title=The Gonzo on Tour 2008: Bloc Party + Magistrates] On 8 September 2008, Bloc Party announced that their next single, "Talons" would be released on 20 October 2008. The song was not part of the pre-order album, but would feature on the full album physical CD release.[title=Bloc Party reveal new non-album single - exclusive] It was made freely available to fans who had already purchased the download-only album, following the song's first play on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show.[url=www.blocparty.com/news.php?newsID=357] Following the digital release of Intimacy, Bloc Party announced that they would embark on a UK tour, their first since December 2007.[url=www.blocparty.com/news.php?newsID=364 ] In January 2009, the band formally announced the tour, due to take place in October 2009, and dubbed "Bloctober". An album of remixes of all tracks on Intimacy, entitled Intimacy Remixed, was released on 11 May 2009.
"One More Chance" (2009–present)In June 2009 it was announced that a new single, "One More Chance", would be released on 10 August 2009. The song did not appear on Intimacy and was produced by Jacknife Lee. It was played for the first time on BBC Radio 1 on 18 June. In an interview with Zane Lowe immediately following the premier playing of the song, Okereke said that he was in the studio but that he couldn't "tell you anything". In July 2009, Okereke stated that the band did not have a current recording contract and had no obligation or pressure to release a new album in the foreseeable future; he went on to suggest that the release of a fourth album is on an indefinite timescale. The future of the band was cast in doubt on the 15 October 2009, when Tong revealed to the BBC that the group were unsure whether they would carry on. In a recent interview with producer Hudson Mohawke, it was confirmed that Kele Okereke is finishing up a solo album. On 31st October 2009 the band played their final gig of the Bloctober tour at Bournemouth International Centre, home town of drummer Matt Tong. This was recognised as the bands last gig before going on hiatus.
Musical styleBloc Party's brand of spiky guitar rock draws on influences such as The Cure, Joy Division, Sonic Youth,[ Blur, and The Smiths.][ Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero". Okereke also cites Suede as a major influence, he says Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with. Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene,][ yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four.][title=What A Weekend in the City means for Bloc Party ] To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other effects pedals are implemented. During the recording of second album A Weekend in the City'', the band suggested it would contain "some truly R'n'B styled beats, a song where [1] and [2] play drums simultaneously [3] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness", as opposed to their typical sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk.[title=Bloc Party Plan Experimental "Radiohead" Like Second Album ] Some of the most noticeable changes between debut Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City are that the songs became more layered and less raw due to inclusion of string arrangements.[bandname=Bloc Party ]
With the release of "Flux," Bloc Party's style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music.[bandname=Bloc Party ] Even though the album is influenced by electronic music, the band still has not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in a recent interview, Okereke said that the band is starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may be the way fourth album is headed. However, Tong contradicted this, stating: "There's every chance we might go back to more orthodox arrangements or things that resemble a traditional band but I don't think we'll ever write songs like we did on Silent Alarm again."
Awards and nominations Bloc Party have had several nominations from a number of different awarding bodies during their recording career. The band themselves were nominated for 'Best New Artist' at the 2005 NME Awards, and were also up for the 'Best Alternative Act' category at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2006, Bloc Party were nominated for another NME Award, this time in the 'Best British Band' category.[title=ShockWaves NME Awards 2006: The Shortlist] They were also shortlisted for three PLUG Awards: 'New Artist of the Year' in 2005,[title=PLUG 2005 Nominees/Winners ] and 'Artist of the Year' and 'Live Act of the Year' in 2006.[ At the 19th GLAAD Media Awards in 2008, they were nominated in the 'Music Artist' category for their work on second album A Weekend in the City.]
Their debut album Silent Alarm was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. It was also nominated as 'Album of the Year' at three different ceremonies: the New Pantheon Music Award (Shortlist Music Prize), the 2006 NME Awards,[ and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where "Helicopter" was also up for 'Best Music Video'.]
DiscographyStudio albums- Silent Alarm (2005)
- A Weekend in the City (2007)
- Intimacy (2008)
Copyright Citations
This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Bloc Party
|
|
|
