Kele - On the lam

Oh no.  Kele's gone Hoopster.  Time to get him out of Brooklyn.
And I will not make a selfish plea for another Silent Alarm.  Nope.  Won't do it.

Anyway . . .the voice modulation in this song is extra weird when you can actually see him singing it.

Kele - Tenderoni

Tenderonibykeleokereke

Here it is, folks!
Bloc Party frontman, Kele Okereke's debut solo single.

Did I take a deep breath before pressing play?  Maybe.
Was I afraid that Kele's new found out-ness was gonna lead him to unleash the (literally) gayest album since Mika?  Possibly.

My thoughts:  Not too shabby!  I don't know how much I'd actually jam it, but I'm not mad at it.  Good enough for a first single.  He's gonna get all sorts of dude lovin' off of this one.  Ha!

Kele Okereke Announces Solo Album

Bloc Party's lead singer has announced that his first solo album, The Boxer, will be released on June 21.
No songs yet, so who know what this thing is gonna sound like.
Rest assured, I will have said jams ASAP and will share them when they drop.

Pin Me Down - Time Crisis

Is this song good?  No.
But that's not the point.

The regulars in this dojo know that I'm a huge Bloc Party fan.  Pin Me Down is the new band of Russel Lissack, BP's generally silent guitarist...and some chick that sounds quite unfortunate.  A quick listen to this thing, and the strong influence of the wrong end of Bloc Party's discography is pretty clear.  All this time, I thought it was Kele that was on the bad techno shit.  Dead wrong on that one.  This song makes my bones cry.

Kele Okereke: I Am Koko

(Image via The Mirror)

FYI, the (former?) Bloc Party frontman has started a blog.

The End of Bloc Party? Kele Going Solo?

Rumors have been bubbling for months that the boys of Bloc Party have been (at the very least) considering a split.  For good?  Temporary?  Who knows.

Kele was quoted in the summer on Aussie radio, saying:

“It’s weird, we’re out of contract now so... we might take a year off, we might take three years off.... you know we might never make a record again or we might head straight back in and do a record," he said.  "We’ll see how we feel come the end of this touring cycle."

Then came this from drummer, Matt Tong:

"We definitely need to have a break and gain a bit of perspective on life outside of the band. Hopefully if we do reconvene at some point in the future we'll be refreshed and have so many ideas to bring to what it is we do.

"I definitely don't think this will be the last you'll hear of the people who make up Bloc Party. Kele is an insatiable workaholic and creating is something he is so connected to so you'll definitely hear from him again along with Russell and Gordon also.

"As for me I don't know, I wouldn't mind trying something else for a while."

(via Strangeglue)

Now, it seems we have confirmation that Kele will, in fact, be the first member to branch out.  Info coming from producer Hudson Mohawk (via BBC1) that:

Im kinda… it hasn’t been finalized yet, but I’m also kinda doing a little bit of stuff for Kele from Bloc Party’s solo album as well. He’s doing a record with one of the guy’s from Spank Rock, so possibly gonna be doing some stuff for that.

If you aren't familiar with Spank Rock, head this way.   YEAH...not a very likely combination, is it?  However, this DOES answer the "Who was it in Bloc Party that was turning it into an electro band" questions.  Although, this song with Tiesto may have already answered that definitively.

Fingers crossed, I guess.

UPDATE:  Since we're already here, lets head below the jump and jam some of what I think are some of the Bloc's most underrated jams.  Off-album jams, pre-Silent Alarm jams, that kinda thing . . .

Bloc Party - One More Chance (Alex Metric Remix)

I'm still not big on the original (like, AT ALL), but this right here ain't too shabby.
Have some.

Bloc Party - One More Chance

Yeesh.
I am now officially afraid for the future of Bloc Party.

Bloc Party - Ares (Villains Remix)

Ehhhhhh...I don't know.
These remixes aren't really doing it for me.

But in a way, the style of BP last album makes the song somewhat impossible to remix. What could anyone possibly do with them without making them worse? Add MORE electro bits? Doesn't seem to be working so far.

For contrast's sake, let's jam the original before we go...

Bloc Party - Better Than Heaven (No Age Remix)

Yyyyyyup.
I share this only because it validates what I thought last week:

I'm gonna say right now that it is 100% impossible for anyone to remix "Better Than Heaven" and improve it. Can't be done. If No Age pull it off, I will send them a congratulatory telegram and a stripper.

"Intimacy" Remixed

Just like after Silent Alarm, Bloc Party will be releasing a full remix LP of their latest album, Intimacy.

Above is the first "single", the Armand Van Helden take on "Signs".
It than not the most bugged out video you've seen this year?! I won't spoil the surprise . . .but if you're eating lunch while watching, I suggest you stop immediately.

Here's the tracklisting:
01 "Ares (Villains remix)"
02 "Mercury Herve is in Disarray remix)"
03 "Halo"(We Have Band Dub)"
04 "Biko (Mogwai remix)"
05 "Trojan Horse (John B remix)"
06 "Signs" (Armand Van Helden remix)"
07 "One Month Off (Filthy Dukes remix)"
08 "Zephyrus" (Phase One remix)"
09 "Talons" (Phones RIP remix)"
10 "Better Than Heaven (No Age remix)"
11 "Ion Square (Banjo or Freakout remix)"
12 "Letter To My Son" (Gold Panda remix)"
13 "Your Visits are Getting Shorter (Double D remix)"

Not that release dates matter any more, but it's set to drop on 5/11.
I'm gonna say right now that it is 100% impossible for anyone to remix "Better Than Heaven" and improve it. Can't be done. If No Age pull it off, I will send them a congratulatory telegram and a stripper.

Bloc Party - One Month Off

Bloc Party - One Month Off


Yup. That's the official video.

Ultra Music Festival

The Ultra Music Festival will be held in Miami on March 27-28. If this doesn't scream "drunken road trip", then I don't know shit. I've been looking for a reason to go back to SoFla, and this is as good as any. Check out the first confirmed acts announced today:

Bloc Party, Cut Copy, Santogold, Crystal Castles, Simian Mobile Disco, Hercules & Love Affair, Roni Size & Reprazent, the Presets, Busy P, the Ting Tings, Deadmau5, and Tiesto.

C'mooooooooooooon!!!! We gotta go!

Bloc Party

Because I love taunting my friends with the fact that I saw Bloc Party for free and they didn't.
It's just the kind of sweetheart I am,

"Hunting For Witches" Live

More footage from the show you should have gone to, but didn't for some insane reason.

Remix Artist Collective - RAC Vol. 1

The fine folks at Stereogum are offering up a "bit of fried gold" for free. Portuguese remixificator, Remix Artist Collective has put together a SERIOUSLY outstanding collection of remixes for some of my favorite jams.


The fun doesn't end there, my friends. RAC's website has a shitload of other great songs that he's worked over, including a 4 song set called Nintendo vs. Sega, which is exactly what you're thinking it is.

Pics and Vids From the Bloc Party Show

If you're a fan, and you weren't there . . .you have my deepest sympathies. It was a free show, but the Bloc damn sure didn't treat it like one.

After the Show It's the Afterparty . . .

"Amazing" Baby?

In case you were wondering who was opening for Bloc Party tomorrow night, it's these dudes, Amazing Baby. One of those "we're from Brooklyn" bands. Yeah . . .sure you are.

To put it mildly, I won't be getting to Roseland Ballroom any earlier for these guys.

Bloc Party - Talons

The 2nd single from Intimacy.

If you're smart, you pre-ordered the album and got your digital copy last month (unlike the poor fools who are waiting for the CD release in October). If so, you might wanna check your e-mail, because there's a copy of this song waiting for you.

Oh yeah . . .I have the details for the free show I mentioned earlier. Hit me up, son(s)!