Showing posts with label bloc party frontman Kele Okereke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bloc party frontman Kele Okereke. Show all posts

Friday, 13 August 2010

Kele Okereke Prefers New York City to London, Bloc Party


Bloc Party's second album, 'A Weekend in the City' despite creating the definitive soundtrack for post millennial London life, the group's frontman Kele Okereke is ready for a fresh start in another global metropolis, New York City."I like it there," Okereke tells Spinner over drinks during a recent promo tour. "I like the people, I like the conversations I have and I like the food. "You can be anything you want in New York."Having mixed his currently released debut solo album, 'The Boxer,' in the Big Apple, the Liverpool born Okereke found he enjoyed the city's relaxed atmosphere much more than that of English capitol. "I've lived in London since I was eight years old and I've done everything a young person would do there," the singer, whose lyrics have referenced his own experimentation with cocaine and ecstasy, explains. "I think there's a actual veil of coldness in London that permeates how people interact with each other and I don't like that at all. That's something specific to the UK your default setting is to be suspicious of things and strangers, whereas everyone I've met in New York is laid back."Before he packs up his earthly belongings though, an international tour the singer will set out that begins Aug. 27 in Paris and includes a stop at his prospective new home on play New York City's Webster Hall on Sept 8.

Friday, 6 November 2009

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.