From Drowned in Sound:
Bloc Party vocalist Kele Okereke was subjected to a racist attack at the weekend, by former Sex Pistols screamer John 'Johnny Rotten' Lydon and members of the one-time punk hero's entourage.
Okereke was attacked at the Summercase Festival in Barcelona on Saturday night; he was left shaken and with bruising to his face, cuts on his face and body, and a burst lip.
The attack, according to reports, was unprovoked. A witness commented that Lydon and company were at the festival "acting like a gang of racist thugs".
Trouble flared when Okereke asked Lydon backstage at the festival if he'd ever consider reforming Public Image Ltd, as the Bloc Party singer is a big fan of the seminal post-punk outfit fronted by Lydon. The former I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here contestant grew aggressive, suggesting that Okereke had a "black attitude", and that was a problem in some way.
The story goes that then Okereke was punched and kicked by Lydon's crew, albeit not Lydon himself, while Ricky Wilson of Kaiser Chiefs and Yannis Philippakis of Foals attempted to fend off the attackers. Security broke up the fight and Spanish police were duly informed. Okereke made a statement to UK police once home.
Over 50 people witnessed the Barcelona attack - alongside members of Foals and Kaiser Chiefs were Mystery Jets, Neon Neon and Har Mar Superstar, all of whom saw what unfolded. Of the attack, Okereke has stated:
"It's not an issue of the physical assault, even though it was an unprovoked attack. It is the fact that race was brought into the matter so readily. Someone as respected and as intelligent as Lydon should know better than to bring race into the equation, or socialise with and encourage those who hold such narrow-minded attitudes. I am disappointed that someone I held with such high regard turns out to be such a bigot."
BlocParty.net wishes Kele a speedy recovery from his injuries.
Edit: Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals singer) has confirmed that the attack was unprovoked...read more.
Edit #2: Members of Foals were also injured in the fight...click here to read the news article.
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¶ 1:39 PM 14 comments links to this post
Tune in to Zane Lowe's show on BBC Radio 1 tonight after 7pm GMT to find out what this is all about (the premiere of a new single? Album announcement?). You can listen online here.
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View lots more note-perfect drum covers here!
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¶ 9:43 PM 9 comments links to this post
Then why not buy these Bloc Party themed condoms for the BP fan who has everything, spotted in the official merchandise shop. The most tenuously linked band merchandise ever...?! Coming soon (possibly), "Tonight make me unstoppable", "It will be hard, my love" etc...
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¶ 3:00 PM 10 comments links to this post
The chosen budding Nick Broomfields will be given a MiniDV handheld camera for the night and a single 60 minute tape, access to the venue and photo pit (during the gig), and an interview with one member of the band.
Winners MUST already have tickets to the gig of their choice - please read all terms and conditions below before entering.
- Entrants must have tickets to the gig they choose to film.
- The camera is property of Bloc Party and must be returned in good working order on the night of the gig.
- The original tape and contents filmed are owned by Bloc Party. Winners will have access to the footage after it is edited in a digital format.
- Footage will be edited in keeping with the original story / pitch in so far as the footage allows.
- Travel and other expenses will NOT be covered.
- Bloc Party / the venue reserve the right to revoke access to the venue, camera, competition prize and band if winners act inappropriately, so don't mess about.
- The competition is open to Marshals members only.
- The competition closes on 02.12.07: no entries will be accepted after that date.
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¶ 5:38 PM 1 comments links to this post
In trying to attract a notable headliner to play a gig at his Sixth Form, Magnússon secured Bloc Party for a show at Flensborgarskóli school in Hafnarfirði in suburban Reykjavik, Friday 19th October. And for the band - who the following night topped the bill at the festival down the road – it was an opportunity to play to hundreds of kids who wouldn’t otherwise be old enough to be allowed in to their gig.
Arriving to school-girl screams, singer/guitarist Kele Okereke made a brave stab at an Icelandic welcome before the band began the ambient opening of 'Song For Clay (Disappear Here)'. The foursome wore excited but bemused smiles throughout a stellar eighty minute set, made all the more enjoyable by the local kids throwing some truly bizarre dance moves.
In all, then, not your average gig; an Icelandic school got its most memorable evening and Bloc Party won over 150 new fans for life.
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¶ 8:02 PM 4 comments links to this post
Some quick-fire news bulletins...
This coming Sunday (July 1st), Bloc Party play at Poland's Heineken Open'er Festival and, according to this article, they'll be joined onstage by Polish rapper O.S.T.R. for one song. (Thanks to Wojciech for the info!)
Prince, Smashing Pumpkins, Justin Timberlake and Arvo Pärt are some of the artists on Kele's decidedly eclectic iPod playlist. Click here to read Kele's explanations as he goes through his playlist on shuffle.
Stay tuned for more songs from Russell's side-project, 'Pin Me Down', in the near future! According to a post on their Myspace, a track called 'Fightsong' has just been completed and, even more excitingly, Russell has recently purchased a Kaoss pad. Look out Jonny Greenwood!
Labels: Collaborations, Random, Tour
¶ 4:04 PM 2 comments links to this post
Bizarrely, a new mobile phone game based around Bloc Party's 'Banquet' has just been released. 'Rock 'n' Blocks' is the game, and it sees you matching blocks before they clog up the screen, triggering the song's trademark interlocking guitar riffs as you play. The most fun a Bloc Party fan can have, or the most ridiculous idea for a game ever? You decide!
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Gordy Moakes, bassist in some band called Bloc Party, became an honourary member of the RAWK glitterati last night as he joined Biffy Clyro onstage during their support slot for Bloc Party at Milan Alcatraz! Gordy took to the stage for the track 'Now I'm Everyone', adding some glockenspiel and lead guitar to the mix. Is there no end to this man's talents?
The tour continues tonight in Lyon, followed by a few dates on the Iberian Peninsula before the band return home for Radio 1's Big Weekend. There's no long break though...Bloc Party jet off a week later for another stint in the US before festival season begins. They should win some kind of award for 'Hardest Working Indie Band'.
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¶ 10:08 AM 1 comments links to this post
Have a good one! Love from all the users of BlocParty.net x
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¶ 4:58 PM 10 comments links to this post
Beef between bands: an inevitable result of artistic differences, or a quick way for publishers to sell a few more magazines? Are Oasis really that overrated, or was 'Don't Look Back In Anger' a bit of a tuuune?
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¶ 2:47 PM 4 comments links to this post
On the second night of Bloc Party's two night stint in Los Angeles earlier this week, Final Fantasy (a.k.a. Owen Pallett, violin-looping genius) welcomed Kele onstage to join him in a rendition of Mariah Carey's 'Sweet Fantasy'! This was a bit of a one-off; a special treat for everyone at Final Fantasy's last night supporting Bloc Party. Unfortunately, no bootlegs have surfaced yet, but there's a short video clip on YouTube here!
Also, the lovely people over at Say Anything Syndrome are currently hosting a whole bunch of Final Fantasy covers, including a different recording of 'Sweet Fantasy' (sans Kele). If anyone happened to record the Los Angeles version, please send it in this general direction!
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¶ 10:41 PM 1 comments links to this post
Maybe one day...Sonic Youth and The White Stripes made it anyway!Drawn by Nattalia Alonso (Matt Groening eat your heart out)
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From the excellent website that is Global Cool:
Kele Okereke from Bloc Party believes the money the Government intend on spending on Trident would be better invested in the fight against climate change.
Bloc Party are among a battalion of music acts, including Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Damon Albarn, Razorlight and Jarvis Cocker, who have signed up to a campaign to “choose peace and justice, not nuclear weapons and war.”
CND recently projected a ‘No Trident Replacement’ logo on the House of Commons, and tomorrow (24th February) an anti-nuclear power march will kick-off at Speakers’ Corner in Central London at midday before rounding off in a rally on Trafalgar Square later in the afternoon.
Okereke, frontman of the much lauded East London four-piece, said: “Climate change is clearly the greatest security threat we face. A £76 billion investment in tackling it would change the world for the better. £76 billion on replacing Trident will bring us closer to catastrophe.”
It is not the first time the singer, whose band is lined up to appear at this summer’s Live Earth event, has spoken out about climate change. Global Cool caught up with him at last summer’s V Festival where he said: “Global warming is something that I’m very worried about right now and I don’t want future generations… my children to be in a situation that’s uninhabitable, that’s for sure. In 10 years time the planet will be irreversibly changed unless we do something about it now.”
So remember kids...play it cool!
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¶ 6:47 PM 15 comments links to this post
Bloc Party have designed a couple of exclusive T-shirts for 'Whatever It Takes', a unique project which gathers artwork from '21st Century Leaders'. These artworks are then printed on ethically produced clothing, wristbands, and stationery, which are sold to raise money for the artist's chosen cause.
The T-shirts designed by Bloc Party go on sale on February 16th, and £9.40 will go to Unicef for each T-shirt sold.
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¶ 11:22 AM 4 comments links to this post
This week Bloc Party edit NME.com. They're putting up their favourite videos and tracks, running competitions and, best of all, the whole of last week's Bristol Academy gig is available to stream...watch it now.
For more information on NME.com's 'Bloc Party week', click here. ¶ 5:33 PM 1 comments links to this post
Kele made a minimix for Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show last Friday featuring:
Justin Timberlake – 'SexyBack'
Madonna – 'Get Into The Groove'
Salt & Pepper – 'Push It'
New Order – 'Blue Monday'
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – 'Y Control' (Tommie Sunshine's Brooklyn Fire re-touch)
Bloc Party – 'Banquet' (Phones Disco edit)
The Cure – 'Boys Don’t Cry' (Fiction)
Guilty pleasures galore!
Listen here, along with a short interview (fast-forward one hour in) or download here (thanks to Epo from AND). ¶ 10:53 PM 0 comments links to this post
For those who still need to buy presents, or want to get early dibs on the albums scheduled for release in 2007, BlocParty.net has teamed up with Insound to give you a 10% discount on your holiday purchases.
(Valid until 14/01/07)
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¶ 9:23 PM 1 comments links to this post
Matt Tong suffered a collapsed lung following Bloc Party's performance in Atlanta last night. He was taken to hospital after their support slot for Panic! At The Disco at the HiFi Buys Amphitheatre.
According to a statement from the band: "Doctors at the hospital in Atlanta say Matt is in a comfortable condition and not in any danger. He will however be staying in hospital for at least the next three days for observation and it's not clear at this stage when Matt will be fit to resume performing."
This means that Bloc Party will definitely miss the next four shows on the Panic! At The Disco tour: Charlotte Cricket Arena (10.11.06), Washington Patriot Center (11.11.06) and New York Madison Square Garden Theatre (13.11.06, 14.11.06).
Stay tuned for news about the rest of the tour.
Get well soon Matt...our thoughts are with you and we all wish you a very speedy recovery x
Update: Matt actually hurt himself before the gig, and so played the whole show with a collapsed lung. That's stamina for you! Well-wishers can send flowers/Lucozade/cards/drumsticks to him at:Labels: Random
¶ 11:59 AM 34 comments links to this post
First off, apologies for the lack of Bloc Party in this post. I try to keep posts on non-Bloc subjects to a minimum, but this is something which I think warrants a mention!
Remember, remember the 4th of November...a huge event called 'I Count' is happening in London on Saturday 4th November which hopes to make a bigger bang than Bonfire Night the following evening. There'll be street bands, entertainment, films and speakers from 1pm - 3pm in Trafalgar Square, and various marches throughout the day. The event will bring together thousands of people who care about the precarious state of our planet, with the aim of applying some serious political pressure.
This will all take place on the eve of critical international climate talks in Nairobi, Kenya. And just over a week later, it is hoped that the Queen will announce the introduction of a climate change bill. This could make year-on-year cuts in carbon dioxide - which is the main cause of climate change.
You don't have to be a global warming expert to turn up, or a tree-hugging hippie...just come as you are and bring your family and friends along for a day out in London. Hopefully see you there! The I Count website has much more information.
In related news, Bloc Party have recently earned some green points by being one of the first bands to make use of Europe's first solar powered recording studio, The Premises. "The idea of a solar powered studio has certainly raised a few eyebrows," says studio director Nathan Hale, "but it works brilliantly. We've been doing dry runs with bands like Bloc Party and the audio quality is phenomenal."
Finally (congratulations for reading this far), 'Wait A Minute' is currently being streamed on the YCNI:M MySpace page. You can also watch the video here (created by Type2error, the genius production team behind Bloc Party's original 'Helicopter' video).
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¶ 1:07 PM 2 comments links to this post
Ever harboured a desire to watch elfin dancers leap delicately to Bloc Party's jerky beats? Well, here's your big chance...
A new ballet production, titled 'Ballet Rocks', has been choreographed by English National Ballet’s Jenna Lee to music by Bloc Party. Directed by Elliot Naftalin with costumes created by leading designer Giles Deacon, the short film was commissioned to break down stereotypes about ballet.
Wayne Eagling, ENB artistic director, said: “We are striving to broaden the perceptions of ballet and nurture new talent. By working with musicians, fashion designers and new technology to create truly exciting and innovative new work, we hope to see ballet breaking through to a wider audience.”
The production will premiere on Sky’s Artsworld digital channel later this month. Does anyone have it?! It'd be really cool to get a recording of it put up on BLOG PARTY...
edit: 'Ballet Rocks' will be shown on Artsworld on Wednesday 20th September at 10pm to coincide with London Fashion Week. The dance film is set to Bloc Party's 'Banquet' and the programme also features a behind-the-scenes documentary revealing how the piece was created.
edit #2: Watch an interview with Jenna Lee, the choreographer of 'Ballet Rocks', on YouTube.Labels: Random
¶ 10:39 PM 4 comments links to this post
Hello everyone. My name is Kevin Greene and I am currently in the midst of a project to revamp BlocParty.net’s “tab” section. For anyone who doesn’t know, tablature is a method of transcribing music for an instrument (most commonly guitar and bass) using fret and string numbers rather than notes. Many of the tabs for Bloc Party’s songs under the “tab” section of the website are links to outside tab sites with generic names like “Ultimate Guitar”. I frankly find these sites to be terribly unreliable, especially for music as complex as Bloc Party’s.
I am a bass player by nature so my first goal is to get versions up of all the bass parts for Bloc Party’s songs, most likely including unreleased and old songs. The electric guitar aspect will be quite a bit more difficult and some songs I may just not be able to do at all, due to various effects on the guitars and the mix in general on Bloc Party’s album that often puts the guitar work in the background. More Information
So keep your eyes open for new accurate Bloc Party tabs!
To start you off:
'Banquet' bass tab
'Plans (Acoustic Version)' guitar tab
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¶ 10:53 PM 3 comments links to this post
This U.S. blog are currently offering up Bloc Party's set at last summer's Leeds Festival...follow the white rabbit.
Incidentally, GWFAS is BLOG PARTY's favourite blog...it's always a very enjoyable read and, unlike a lot of blogs who are all talk and no action, offers up copious amounts of mp3s and videos to feast upon. Other recent posts include a download of the complete Phones (Paul Epworth) remixography and a preview of upcoming indie flick, 'The Science Of Sleep' (directed by the genius that is Michel Gondry).
¶ 4:42 PM 1 comments
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All is quiet on the Bloc Party front at the moment, with the band locked away writing and demoing songs for the second album.
Here's a few news snippets to keep things ticking over:
Feist, J Mascis and Raising The Fawn have been added to the bill for Bloc Party's June gig on Olympic Island (part of Toronto Island). Broken Social Scene will also be playing.
It looks like Bloc Party's set at the Coachella Festival in 11 days time will be broadcast live online in the AT&T blue room, hopefully providing a chance to hear some of the new songs played under the Californian sun. I'll post up more details nearer the festival!
Finally, 'The Answer', an early Bloc Party track, appears on 'Transgressive Singles Collection: Volume 1', a CD/DVD compilation featuring past and present releases by Transgressive Records. (This is somewhat confusing as Bloc Party have never been signed to Transgressive, though co-founder of Transgressive, Tim, did used to run Trash Aesthetics, Bloc Party's first record label!)
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