Bloc Party

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This article is about the English indie rock band. For the political term, see Bloc party.

Bloc Party
Bloc Party performing live in 2019. From Left to Right: Lissack, Okereke, Harris, and Bartle
Background information
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active1999–present
Labels
Spinoffs
Members
Past members
Websiteblocparty.com

Bloc Party are an English

London in 1999 by co-founders Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, sampler) and Russell Lissack (lead guitar, synthesizers). Their first four albums all featured Gordon Moakes (bass) and Matt Tong (drums), who have since left the band. Their current lineup also contains Louise Bartle (drums, percussion) and Harry Deacon (bass, synthesizers). Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music
.

Upon their formation at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack, the band 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 Alex Kapranos a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices".

In February 2005, the band released their debut album

platinum in Britain. 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
which entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight and number eighteen on the Billboard 200.

The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects. They reunited in September 2011, and shortly thereafter released their fourth album, Four, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number three. In 2013, Bloc Party released their third EP titled The Nextwave Sessions in August; the band then began an indefinite hiatus to continue with their respective side projects. The band's fifth studio album, Hymns, the first to involve Justin Harris (bass) and Louise Bartle (drums), was released on 29 January 2016. Their sixth studio album, Alpha Games, was released on 29 April 2022. On 21 July 2023, they released the High Life EP. Bloc Party have sold over 3 million albums worldwide.[1]

History

Formation and rising popularity (1999–2004)

Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke first met in 1998 in London. 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.[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, 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, 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. He also notes that the name was not explicitly driven by politics, but rather it "looked, sounded, seemed fine so we went with it."[4]

"Banquet"
"Banquet" was Bloc Party's first and only release by Moshi Moshi, and is typical of their early indie rock style.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

In November 2003, Bloc Party had their track "The Marshals Are Dead" featured on a compilation CD called The New Cross released by

Banquet/Staying Fat", this time through 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,

Pioneers", whilst failing to repeat this success, still managed to reach the UK top 20.[14] The animated video for "Pioneers," made by the Shoreditch-based Minivegas design agency,[16] was top of the NME video charts for four weeks. NME tagged them as "art-rock" at that time but the band felt it was too limited.[17]

The band received positive reviews from critics in the United States and they toured there heavily in the 18 months that followed the release of Silent Alarm.[18] In early 2006, they finished their tour with sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Miami and Berkeley.[18] The album went on to sell more than 350,000 copies in North America and over a million worldwide.[15] After this success, the established electronic group, The Chemical Brothers, soon collaborated with Okereke for "Believe", a track on their Push the Button album.[19] An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm had also been released at the end of August 2005 in the UK.[20] This remix album, entitled 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.[21]

During July 2005, Bloc Party recorded two new tracks with Silent Alarm producer

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.[24] 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.[25]

A Weekend in the City (2006–2008)

Bloc Party's second album, A Weekend in the City, was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee.[26] It was released in February 2007,[27] although it was leaked in November 2006.[28] It became available for download on the UK iTunes Store before the physical release, and reached the number 2 spot on the UK Albums Chart.[29] The album also reached number 2 on the Australian and Belgian charts,[30][31] and debuted at number 12 in the Billboard 200, with 48,000 copies sold.[32] The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January,[33] and became the band's highest charting single in the British Top 40, reaching number 4.[34] In the buildup to the release of the album, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe aired a live set by the band from Maida Vale studios on 30 January 2007, featuring a mix of old and new songs.[35] On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through Bloc Party's official MySpace page.[36]

Bloc Party at The Brixton Academy, London, UK. October 2005.

The next single, "I Still Remember", was Bloc Party's highest charting American single, peaking at number 24 on the Modern Rock Chart.[37] 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.[38] 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.[39] The electronic song, also produced by Jacknife Lee,[40] was very different from previous singles released by the band.[41]

The band's first gig following the release of A Weekend in the City was on 5 February 2007, in

BBC Electric Proms. The set included songs from both Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City along with the first British live performance of "Flux".[51]

Intimacy (2008–2009)

"Mercury" was released as the first single from Bloc Party's third album in August 2008.[52] Again produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth, Intimacy was rush-released later that month, with the album available to download 3 days after an announcement in August 2008. Later in the month the band played second on the bill at the Reading and Leeds Festivals[53] before headlining the Hydro Connect Music Festival in Argyll, Scotland.[54]

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, as well as the band's first ever American college show at Syracuse University and an appearance at the 2008 edition of MTV Video Music Brazil, their first concert in South America, which was negatively received due to the band choosing to mime their performance.[55] 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.[56] A follow-up single, "Talons" was released in October 2008. The song was not part of the pre-order album, but did feature on the full album CD release[57] and was made freely available to people who already purchased the download-only album.[58] An album of remixes of all tracks on Intimacy, Intimacy Remixed, was released in May 2009.[59] The band undertook their first UK tour since December 2007 in October 2009,[60] dubbing it "Bloctober".[61]

One More Chance and hiatus (2009–2011)

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 was on an indefinite timescale.[62] A new single, "One More Chance", was released in August 2009. The song did not appear on Intimacy and was produced by Jacknife Lee. After this, the group went on a hiatus, with the members unsure as to whether they would carry on.[63]

During this period of hiatus Lissack revived his project

The Boxer, in June 2010. Produced by Hudson Mohawke and XXXChange, its release was preceded by the single "Tenderoni".[67][68][69] Rumours throughout 2011 suggested Okereke had left the group to focus on solo work, though these were denied by other band members.[70][71]

Four and The Nextwave Sessions (2011–2013)

Bloc Party performing songs from Four at HARD Summer 2012.

Bloc Party started writing material for a fourth album in 2011,

The Hunter.[74] The group stated they intended to release a new album in 2012.[75] In May 2012, Bloc Party announced Four,[76][77][78] which was released on 20 August 2012, after being made available to stream in its entirety for over a week preceding release. The album was recorded with Alex Newport, who had previously worked with At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta, in New York City. Bloc Party released "Octopus" that July and later released another single entitled "Day Four".[79] The band released "Kettling" on 12 November 2012, followed by "Truth" on 25 February 2013. Four peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number 36 on the Billboard 200.[80]

The band debuted new material during their 2013 North American tour, including "Children of the Future" at Rams Head Live!, "Ratchet" at The Pageant, "Montreal" at the Ogden Theatre and "X-cutioner's Song" at Mr. Smalls Theater in Pittsburgh.[citation needed] Lissack later confirmed the band's plans to release a new EP in "northern hemisphere summer". He told Marc Zanotti of Australian website MusicFeeds that the new material was "not like a continuation of the record we've just made, it's a completely separate thing [...] the next step; the next progression".[81] "French Exit" was given its debut live performance at Crystal Ballroom on 24 May.[citation needed] Some of the new material would feature on The Nextwave Sessions, an EP announced on 25 June and for release on 12 August via Frenchkiss Records.[82]

Hiatus and line-up changes (2013–2015)

During the summer tour of 2013, drummer Matt Tong left the band.

!K7's Tapes mix series, released under the Bloc Party name.[86] In September 2014, Okereke stated that Bloc Party were working on a fifth album.[87] In March 2015, bassist Gordon Moakes tweeted he had parted ways with Bloc Party.[88] Following the departure of their former members, Okereke and Lissack started to work on new songs on their own in late 2014.[89]

At the time, the departures of Moakes and Tong were shrouded in rumour and innuendo. Okereke alluded to drugs being an issue on multiple occasions, after he had to intervene during a Bloc Party performance. He told The Guardian: "There's a song where somebody makes a mistake and … well, I guess Gordon makes a mistake. And I say something to him, and he kind of responds, and I realised at that point that this was as far as our relationship was gonna go. I've never interfered with anyone's performance before, and I thought that if that was the state of our relationship, it felt fitting that this should be our last show together."[90] Before the article was published Okereke told NME that "I can tell you it was about someone doing cocaine and someone not being into it. That's all I'm gonna say."[91] Before publication Okereke contacted The Guardian to address his comments to NME saying the 'someone' he referenced was a person around the band, not actually in the band: "This then led to a big argument and that's the situation," he says. "I don't want people to think Matt and Gordon were cokeheads, and that's why we had to lose them. And I don't want their families thinking that."[90]

Bloc Party unveiled their new line-up at two intimate gigs in the Los Angeles area (19 August 2015 at The Glass House in

better source needed] These shows also included the first performances of two new songs called "Eden" and "Exes" according to the setlist.[96][97]

Hymns and Silent Alarm Live (2015–2019)

Bloc Party performing in 2015.

In a performance at Maida Vale, Bloc Party gave "The Good News" its live debut; hours later, "The Love Within" was featured as "Hottest Record in the World" by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. Okereke revealed the band's upcoming fifth album is set to be titled Hymns.[98][99][100] The album's release was later confirmed on social media as 29 January 2016.[101]

Later in 2016, the band released the standalone single 'Stunt Queen' to mark their performance at the Hollywood Bowl, which Okereke claimed was a "significant milestone" for the band.[102] It marks some of the first new material that featured Justin and Louise as co-writers.

March 2018 saw the band announce a series of shows touring their 'Silent Alarm' album which would be played in full.[103] Due to the success of this short tour, Bloc Party announced further dates in 2019 again playing tracks from the whole of their debut.[104]

Alpha Games and The High Life EP (2020–present)

On 22 January 2020, Okereke announced on his personal social media accounts that Bloc Party had begun writing a new album.[105] On 22 September 2021, Bloc Party posted to their official Twitter account a sneak peek of the tracklist/recording progress of their soon to be released sixth studio album.[106]

On 23 November 2021, Bloc Party released the first single "Traps" off their sixth studio album Alpha Games. The album was released on 22 April 2022.[107][108] A second single "The Girls Are Fighting" was released on 26 January 2022 and the responding music video was released on 28 January 2022.[109] On 25 February 2022, the third single "Sex Magik" was released.[110] A fourth single, "If We Get Caught", was released on 24 March 2022.[111]

In October 2022, it was announced Bloc Party would be supporting Paramore during their 2023 UK and Ireland tour,[112] as well as their North American tour as announced the following month.[113] During the tour's London stop, Okereke duetted with Hayley Williams on a cover of the band's song "Blue Light".[114]

On 21 June 2023, Bloc Party announced a new EP titled The High Life EP, which was released a month later on 21 July.[115] It was preceded by the singles "High Life" and "Keep It Rolling", the latter of which featuring KennyHoopla, which were released on 21 April 2023 and 2 June 2023 respectively.[116][117] Justin Harris did not participate in the EP's recording, with bass and keyboard parts instead handled by Skindred's Daniel Pugsley.[118] Later in 2023, Harris was officially replaced by Palace bassist Harry Deacon.[119]

In June 2024, the band released a stand-alone single entitled "Flirting Again".[120] On 22 November 2024, Bloc Party officially released A Weekend In The City: B-Sides. The demos and b sides had been available online for years previously, sometimes referred to as "Another Weekend in the City", but had never seen an official release. The same day, the band removed the album from streaming, stemming from audio quality concerns.[121] They were re-released on 20 December 2024.[122]

Musical style

Kele Okereke

Bloc Party's musical style has been described as indie rock,[123][124] post-punk revival,[125] post-Britpop,[126] alternative rock,[127] art punk,[128] art rock,[129] dance-rock,[130][131] and alternative dance.[130] Early on, Bloc Party's sound was shaped primarily by American alternative rock bands Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer.[124] Other influences included the Chemical Brothers,[132] Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and the Smiths.[2] Both Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack have been influenced by Britpop acts, particularly Blur, though Okereke also cites Suede and particularly their album Dog Man Star as an inspiration.[133][134] Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero".[135] Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene,[136] yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four.[28]

To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other

string arrangements.[140]

With the release of "

loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements.[143] Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in an interview, Okereke said that the band was starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may have been the way fourth album was headed.[144] 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."[145]

Members

Current members

Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
Bloc Party - Southside Festival 2019 8888 - 1.jpg
 Kele Okereke 1999–present
  • lead vocals
  • rhythm guitar
  • sampler
  • electric piano
 all releases
Bloc Party - Southside Festival 2019 8883 - 2.jpg
 Russell Lissack
  • lead guitar
  • synthesiser
  • programming
Bloc Party - Louise Bartle (45384199014).jpg
 Louise Bartle 2015–present
  • drums
  • percussion
  • backing vocals
 all releases from Hymns (2016)[a] to present
Harry Deacon - 20 Years of Bloc Party at Crystal Palace (cropped).jpg
 Harry Deacon 2023–present
  • bass guitar
  • synthesiser
  • backing vocals
 none to date

Former members

Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
Bloc Party 2009.5.29 006.jpg
 Gordon Moakes 2002–2015
  • bass guitar
  • backing and occasional lead vocals
  • keyboards
  • synthesiser
  • electronic drums
  • glockenspiel
 all releases until The Nextwave Sessions (2013)
Bloc Party at United Palace Theatre 31-March-2007 (442049307).jpg
 Matt Tong 2002–2013
  • drums
  • percussion
  • backing vocals
HarryStylesWembley170623 (25 of 93) (52982073847) (cropped).jpg
 Sarah Jones 2013 (touring only)[146] none
Bloc Party - Justin Harris (46108100061).jpg
 Justin Harris 2015–2023
  • bass guitar
  • synthesizer
  • backing vocals
  • The Love Within EP (2016)
  • Hymns (2016)
  • Silent Alarm Live (2019)
  • Alpha Games (2022)
Skindred Full Force 2023 33.jpg
 Daniel Pugsley 2023[147] The High Life EP (2023)[148]

Timeline

Discography

Main article: Bloc Party discography

Studio albums

Awards and nominations

Bloc Party awards and nominations
Totals[b]
Wins1
Nominations13
Note
  1. ^ Bartle provided only uncredited backing vocals to Hymns, with her first album with the band as a fully-fledged member being Alpha Games.
  2. ^ Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.

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,[149] and were also up for the 'Best Alternative Act' category at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards.[150] In 2006, Bloc Party were nominated for another NME Award, this time in the 'Best British Band' category.[151] They were also shortlisted for three PLUG Awards: 'New Artist of the Year' in 2005,[152] and 'Artist of the Year' and 'Live Act of the Year' in 2006.[153] 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.[154]

Their debut album Silent Alarm was nominated for the 2005

New Pantheon Music Award (Shortlist Music Prize),[156] the 2006 NME Awards,[151] and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where "Helicopter" was also up for 'Best Music Video'.[153] The record won the award for 'Best Indie Rock Album' at the 2006 PLUG Awards.[153] At the 2008 NME Awards, "Flux" was nominated in three different categories: 'Best Track', 'Best Video' and 'Best Dancefloor Filler'.[157]

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