Bloc Party Guitarist Readies Dance Album

Seems like guitarist Russell Lissack is really enjoying his time off from Bloc Party. Contrary to his main gig’s oft-dramatic leanings, his latest project, Pin Me Down, which teams Lissack with New York singer Milena Mepris, is pure electro-pop sunshine. Bloc Party announced last year the band would be taking a lengthy break after three albums and tons of touring.

Pin Me Down layers Mepris’ hooky vocals over Lissack’s driving guitar riffs and heavy electronic beats, creating a catchy, danceable groove a’la Little Boots. The band, which recorded separately (Mepris in New York and Lissack from the road) traded music and lyrics via e-mail.

The duo’s first single, “Cryptic,” was released earlier this year, and they recently made a new song called “Time Crisis” available for download. Expect a full album later this year.

Kele Okereke to release solo album to Bloc Party

Working on a solo album Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke is reportedly, according to producer Hudson Mohawke. BBC Radio in an interview 1Xtra's Benji B, Mohawke mentioned a forthcoming collaboration with Erykah Badu "… and I'm also kinda doing a little bit of stuff for Kele from Bloc Party's solo album as well".
Mohawke – a DJ whose real name is Ross Birchard – also said Okereke is "doing a record" with "one of the guys" from Baltimore club duo Spank Rock. It's not clear whether Mohawke means an album or just one track, though producer Alex Epton, aka Armani XXXchange, is widely reported as the Spank Rocker in question. XXXchange has previously remixed songs by Thom Yorke, Beck, Lady Sovereign, Santigold and others, as well as producing Amanda Blank and the Kills.
Though Okereke's solo work has not been formally announced, the project has been widely speculated since Bloc Party revealed plans for a band hiatus. "I definitely don't think this will be the last you'll hear of the people who make up Bloc Party," drummer Matt Tong said in October. "Kele is an insatiable workaholic so you'll definitely hear from him again." The group currently wrapped up a UK tour and have only one more date scheduled, 19 November in Osaka.

Former Bloc MP elected as Longueuil mayor

Former Bloc Québécois MP Caroline St-Hilaire was elected mayor of the city of Longueuil on Montreal's South Shore on Sunday, ousting a party that has been in power for 27 years.
Hilaire, leader of the Action Longueuil Party, defeated Jacques Goyette — recently the chairman of the city's executive committee.
Goyette had succeeded outgoing Mayor Claude Gladu at the helm of the Parti Municipal Longueuil.
In a speech to supporters, St-Hilaire called her election a victory for democracy, and promised to put the city on the "road to ethics, integrity and transparency."
St-Hilaire will have a minority on city council, with the Parti Municipal Longueuil having won 16 of 26 seats.
The former Bloc MP and daughter of the late Longueuil city councillor Jean St-Hilaire called on members of the opposition party and mayors of de-merged municipalities on the South Shore to work with her "to restore harmony at the agglomeration [council]."
Other South Shore results
Boucherville: Jean Martel succeeds outgoing Mayor Francine Gadbois.
Brossard: Challenger Paul Leduc defeated incumbent Mayor Jean-Marc Pelletier.
Châteauguay: Nathalie Simon succeeds Mayor Sergio Pavone, who did not seek re-election.
The agglomeration council oversees the management of shared services in the region.
In an interview with CBC's French language service, St-Hilaire said she would also work with the provincial government to "clean house" in municipal politics.
She said the political class has a "collective responsibility" to regain the public's confidence.
St-Hilaire will have a minority on city council, with the Parti Municipal Longueuil having won 16 of 26 seats.

BLOC PARTY: BLOC PARTY'S TONG HINTS AT DEPARTURE

BLOC PARTY's drummer MATT TONG has hinted he will not return to the band following its upcoming hiatus because he's considering 'trying something else for a while'.
The hitmarkers Helicopter are set to take a break at the end of the year (09), following months of promoting their third album, Intimacy. And although Tong is convinced his bandmates will almost definitely be involved with music during their time out from Bloc Party, he confesses he isn't so sure what lies in store for him.He says, "I definitely don't think this will be the last you'll hear of the people who make up Bloc Party. Kele (Okereke) is an insatiable workaholic and creating is something he is so connected to, so you'll definitely hear from him again, along with Russell (Lissack) and Gordon (Moakes). As for me, I don't know, I wouldn't mind trying something else for a while."

Bloc Party Play: Victoria Hall in Hanley

THE awesome Bloc Party will be playing at the Victoria Hall, Hanley, for one night only tonight (Wednesday).
The band is now in its 10th year, but they released their debut album that there was only four years ago, Silent Alarm, to critical acclaim.
Their most current album along with song, Intimacy, they will be playing a number of top tracks such as Flux and The Prayer.
They have been nominated for more than a dozen awards, but have won only one for Best Indie Rock Album in the 2006 PLUG Awards for Silent Alarm.

Bloc Party dates and Brand New Single

This year out earlier, album of the bands debut has already been hailed as one of 2009's great reaching, and currently finished runner up in Drowned in Sound's alternative Mercury award the Neptune Music Prize. Personally invited have been grammatics to play main support on Bloc Party's 23 date 'Bloctober' tour, kicking off on 2nd October.

Live Dates

8th October - City Hall, Hull (w/ Bloc Party)

10th October - Academy, Sheffield (w/ Bloc Party)

11th October - Academy, Leeds (w/ Bloc Party)

12th October - Engine Shed, Lincoln (w/ Bloc Party)

14th October - Victoria Hall, Stoke (w/ Bloc Party)

15th October - Academy, Birmingham (w/ Bloc Party)

16th October - Centre, Newport (w/ Bloc Party)

18th October - Arena, Llandudno (w/ Bloc Party)

19th October - University, Liverpool (w/ Bloc Party)

20th October - Academy, Bristol (w/ Bloc Party)

22nd October - Hall For Cornwall, Truro (w/ Bloc Party)

23rd October - Pavilion, Plymouth (w/ Bloc Party)

24th October - Centre, Brighton (w/ Bloc Party)

26th October - Cliffs Pavilion, Southend (w/ Bloc Party)

27th October - Corn Exchange, Cambridge (w/ Bloc Party)

28th October - Rock City, Nottingham (w/ Bloc Party)

30th October - Rivermead, Reading (w/ Bloc Party)

31st October - BIC, Bournemouth (w/ Bloc Party)

Genre joy Bloc Party's

Bloc Party don't worry about their fans' opinions.
The pair say they are glad to change genres with every album they release as they always want a new challenge, even at the risk of alienating their supporters.
Asked about the effect the change in sound has on their fan base, bassist Gordon Moakes said: "That kind of thingworry was doesn't us.
"We've been conscious of that from when we were demoing. We come from a place of not needing to do what we've done before we've been talking about from day one. You might say we are no bigger a post punk band but why do what we've already done? That's how we've ended up where we are recently."
Despite an extensive back catalogue, the pair are always striving to give the best performance possible when they play live and scraps to make life easy for themselves.
Gordon added to the North Wales Chronicle newspaper: "I think in a way we've gone out of our way in how we attack our recording and how we then interpret that for the live stage. One of the most important things is how we play that music instead of pre combining it into a hard drive.
"I know it mean for me a lot for me to be honest about how we replicated tracks, I didn't just need to let the backing track go, I needed to find an actual way of going that. That has been an interesting journey. I have learned a lot learned to play some instruments better. It's a bit of a non sequiter, but someone said if you're not learning you should quit. That's a nice analogy to put into music."