Bloc Party's brand new single, 'Mercury', (which may or may not feature on the third album) is out now! Go here for the full tracklisting and pick up all the tracks for a special fan price here. Is that Russell's tousled blochead on the front cover? If you've forgotten what the song sounds like, and/or want to be thoroughly creeped out by some Mighty Boosh-style apes, check out the video.
The brand new Bloc single, 'Mercury', got its world premiere on BBC Radio 1 tonight! It's not out until August 11th, but you can stream the full track here.
According to Kele, the album is still a work in progress, currently being recorded with both Paul Epworth and Jacknife Lee, the producers of their first two albums. However, he hopes it'll be out towards the end of the year.
First impressions of the new track? It starts out with an electronically-treated Kele acapella, before a pumping half-Tong, half-robot beat kicks in. The verse is reminiscent of a more upbeat Where Is Home?, whereas the chorus is a squelchy-bassed monster. In the final minute or so, an organic, tribal beat suddenly kicks in, before a meandering brass section bring the track to a huge climax.
What do y'all think? Bloc Party + brass section - guitars = happy times? Or is the awesome production masking a slightly sub-standard tune? One thing's for sure...Russell and Gordy went AWOL during its recording!
'A Weekend In The City' gets re-released by Wichita tomorrow to include 'Flux' (at track 10 between 'I Still Remember' and 'Sunday'). Buy it as a standalone CD, or with a DVD featuring all four videos from 'AWITC' plus a video of Bloc Party's recent Reading Festival set. (Paid members of 'Marshals' candownload the Reading video for free here).
Bloc Party's stopgap single/Eiffel 65 moment, 'Flux', is finally released tomorrow (Monday 12th November) on CD, 7" vinyl and 12" vinyl...go here for the full tracklistings. Also, don't forget, this week's NME (out Tuesday in London, Wednesday elsewhere) comes with an exclusive free 4-track 'Flux' remix EP. What's more, the CD will also allow access to a special webpage, featuring:
Bloc Party video diary from Iceland Airwaves
Exclusive photo gallery of Bloc Party in Iceland
Download of the 'Flux' video
Free U-Myx of 'Flux'
2 exclusive remixes
Plus, the chance to get tickets for a secret UK Bloc Party gig on 10th December!
You can pre-order the magazine here. It looks like they will ship internationally, so this is your best bet for getting hold of the magazine if you're not in the UK!
This week's NME with mountains of Bloc Party freebies
Pre-order Bloc Party's new single, 'Flux', herefor £1.86 to get it a day before the official release, at 12:01am on Sunday (11th November). Pre-orderees (pre-orderers? pre-orderists?) will also immediately receive 'On' (Principle Participant Legs Mix), an exclusive version of the album track. Nice.
Members of 'Marshals'...go here to get your hands on 'Flux' for 40p. Techno-indie goodness for the price of a Mars Bar!
Check out the full 'Flux' tracklisting below! Pre-order CD2 and the two vinyls for £4 from here (CD1 will come free with the 14.11.07 issue of NME, as previously revealed).
CD1 (free with NME, out 14.11.07) 1. Flux (JFK Remix) 2. Flux (Punx Soundcheck 'Tenebrae' Remix) 3. Flux (Metal On Metal Remix) 4. Flux (GoodBooks Magnetism Mix)
CD2 (12.11.07) 1. Flux (single version) 2. Flux (Live at Madison Square Garden) 3. Emma Kate's Accident
Clear 7" vinyl (12.11.07) 1. Flux (single version) 2. The Once And Future King
Clear 12" vinyl (12.11.07) A. Flux (extended version) B1. Flux (12" instrumental version) B2. Where Is Home? (Burial Mix)
Bloc Party will be giving away their new single, 'Flux', free with NME on November 14th! The magazine will come with CD1, whilst CD2 will be released conventionally in shops on November 12th. NME's version of 'Flux' will feature three exclusive remixes and special packaging with space for CD2.
Kele on 'Flux':"We wanted to write a real high-energy euphoric dance tune, something you would hear at Trash or Trade. So instead of writing a huge guitar dance track we thought we'd go the whole way. We're anticipating people will shriek and say "What have Bloc Party done?" and "Where are the guitars?". But I think it's good to challenge your listeners."
Also, Kele is on the cover of the week's NME, along with a bunch of other artists supporting the 'Love Music Hate Racism' campaign. The issue comes with a free CD featuring a previously unreleased Bloc Party remix...'Where Is Home' (Diplo Remix Featuring Skepta) and you can also download a second CD of free tracks on NME.com!
The brand new Bloc Party single, 'Flux', out November 12th, was posted today on the band's MySpace page...listen to the full track here. The video, directed by Ace Norton, is coming soon! Here's a photo from the shoot:
Bloc Party's brand new single, 'Flux', made its radio debut tonight! To listen to it, go here and fast-forward 22 minutes. To say it's a departure for the band would be understatement of the century...'Flux' is a Bloc Party song at heart, but masked by a euphoric, 1990s euro-disco production and vocodered vocals (good example/bad example). It's a brave move, and most of the fan feedback is positive so far (join the debate here). Coming to a club near you very soon...it's going to sound awesome.
Watch Bloc Party performing 'Flux' at New York's Madison Square Garden yesterday:
Somehow, amongst the relentless touring in support of 'A Weekend In The City', Bloc Party have found time to record a brand new single! 'Flux', previewed recently on the current US tour, will be released on November 12th, backed by 'Emma Kate's Accident' on the CD and live favourite 'The Once And Future King' on the 7" vinyl. 'Flux' was recorded by Jacknife Lee, during the band's week in the studio after Reading and Leeds. Listen out for the track on Xfm's Music:Response show after 7pm tomorrow!
Edit: You can also hear 'Flux' on tonight's (October 4th) Zane Lowe show from 7pm on BBC Radio 1. American fans can also watch the band perform the track live on 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' tonight.
Hot off the press...according to this very short bulletin on Video Static, Bloc Party have just booked a shoot with video director Ace Norton...also confirmed on the director's personal website. The track they're shooting is titled 'Flux', so it looks like Bloc Party are already setting their sights on releasing new material, with just the three singles lifted from 'A Weekend In The City' so far. There's no official news of a brand new single yet, but BLOG PARTY will keep you posted!
P.S. Bloc Party played a brand new song at Covington's Madison Theater a couple nights ago, featuring Gordy on synths...please send in your setlists if you were there!
Edit: The new song played in Covington last Wednesday was indeed 'Flux'...and, yup, there's already a decent quality recording up on YouTube!
The third single to be taken from 'A Weekend In The City', 'Hunting For Witches', is released today! Available across three physical formats, plus download, the single comes backed by a plethora of b-sides (including the never-before-heard track, 'Cavaliers and Roundheads')! Click here for full details.
P.S. Apologies for the recent lack of postage...BlocParty.net is currently taking a much-needed summer mini-hiatus (hiatusette?). Normal service to be resumed shortly!
As previously confirmed, 'Hunting For Witches' will be released as a UK single on July 9th and, as per usual, the release will come backed by a handful of extra songs to appease the appetite of hungry Blocheads. B-sides this time around are the semi-new tracks 'Secrets' and 'Rhododendrons' plus a brand spanking new track, 'Cavaliers and Roundheads'!
As if that wasn't enough, the release also includes a live version of 'Hunting For Witches' recorded at the recent Bristol Academy gig and a download package featuring remixes by Fury666, Crystal Castles and Dave Pianka (who's previously remixed 'This Modern Love').
[edit] Here's the confirmed tracklisting:
CD
1. Hunting For Witches
2. Cavaliers And Roundheads
3. Uniform (James Rutledge Remix)
7" vinyl one
1. Hunting For Witches
2. Rhododendrons
7" vinyl two
1. Hunting For Witches (Live At Bristol Academy, 07/02/07)
2. Secrets
And on a 'Hunting For Witches' tip...here's Kele and Gordy explaining the making of the track:
As expected, the third single to be lifted from 'A Weekend In The City' will be 'Hunting For Witches', the edgiest (and best?) track on the album. The release is pencilled in for July 9th and this is already generating some controversy, being so close to the second anniversary of the London bombings which the song references. Stay tuned for the full tracklisting and video details...
In other Bloc news, the band will be making some special instore appearances on their upcoming US tour:
29.05.07 - Orlando, Florida - Park Ave CDs @ 6pm (DJ set and meet & greet)
31.05.07 - Atlanta, Georgia - Criminal Records : 6pm (DJ set and meet & greet)
Also, check out some live videos from London's Brixton Academy here (this doesn't seem to be available for UK users though, sorry!)
'I Still Remember' entered the Official UK Singles Chart at number 20 yesterday, making it Bloc Party's sixth top 20 single in a row (just). Also, 'A Weekend In The City' has been given a new lease of life, jumping up from 58 to 26 in this week's album chart. 163,250 copies of the album have now been sold in the UK since its release in February...huzzah!
The third single from 'AWITC' looks likely to be 'Hunting For Witches'...the band filmed the video for it last week, so keep posted for more info!
If you only download one of the new tracks, get 'Cain Said To Abel' and learn the bridge lyrics off by heart...pure genius!
Discipline, discipline, disappearing / Echoing, echoing, exiting / Disappearing, discipline, disappearing / Nothing there, nothing works, nothing matters / Every time, every time, I look over / Everything, everyone, every time / Family, family, shredded by / Liberty, liberty, literally
You can be, you can be, you can see / Eventually, literally, instantly / History, history, disappearing / Echoing, echoing, exiting / You look up, you look over, you can see it / Disappearing, disappearing, instantly / Literally, literally, telling them / They'll be different / They'll be special / They'll be better!
Also, Recordstore are offering all three formats plus two extra remixes ('Sebastian Remix' and 'The Chap Remix') for £5 (or £3 without the remixes). Lovely jubbly.
'I Still Remember' gets a release date The second UK single to be taken from 'A Weekend In The City' will be 'I Still Remember', released through Wichita Recordings on April 9th. Check back soon for formats and b-sides.
'I Still Remember' was also released as a download-only single in the US in January.
'The Prayer' enters the charts at #4! 'The Prayer' sits at a very impressive #4 in this week's Official UK Singles Chart, making it Bloc Party's most successful single to date (above 'So Here We Are', which made #5 back in February 2005). A whopping 18,500 of you bought it during the week!
P.S. Another new track can be streamed online...visit MTV Canada to listen to 'The Once And Future King'!
'The Prayer' entered this week's Official UK Singles Chart at #13on downloads alone, so buy it now to push it even higher next week!
If you don't live in the UK, or prefer to keep things digital, download the single (including the brand new tracks: 'England', 'We Were Lovers' and 'Version 2.0') for the bargainous price of 77p per track here.
'I Still Remember' video premiere The new video for 'I Still Remember', the first US single to be taken from 'A Weekend In The City', premiered today on MTV2 and MTVu. Directed by Aggressive, the video takes place on an eventful train journey. It's a world away from the video for 'The Prayer'; the dingy, druggy ambience being replaced by a shimmering feast for the senses (well, sight and hearing anyway) which should earn Bloc Party a lot of recognition Stateside. Watch: 'I Still Remember' video
I will out-shop them all Bloc Party know how to satisfy the completists...recordstore.co.uk is currently offering a special pre-order deal for the new single, 'The Prayer'. For £7 you get all three formats, two digital tracks and a Collectors Box (shown below) to store all the 7" singles from the new album. You can also go box-less for £5.Details of 'The Prayer' were announced on BLOG PARTY a couple weeks ago, right here. There will be New! Tracks! across the formats: 'We Were Lovers' and 'England', plus a mysterious entity known only as 'Emma Kate's Accident' or 'Version 2.0' (depending where you read)...more info when available.
'The Prayer' video Watch the brand new video for 'The Prayer' over on the BBC Radio 1 website now! Shot at Café 1001 in Shoreditch, East London, this is Walter Stern's first video in several years. He's previously directed seminal promos for The Verve's 'Bittersweet Symphony', Massive Attack's 'Teardrop' and The Prodigy's 'Breathe'.
So does it meet Walter Stern's usual high standard? That girl swallowing the guy's face is a bit freaky...
'The Prayer' Bloc Party release 'The Prayer' on January 29th 2007 via Wichita Recordings. It'll be available on CD, two 7" vinyls, and as a download bundle with exclusive remixes.
7" two(WEBB118SX) A. The Prayer B. Emma Kate's Accident
Exclusive remixes of 'The Prayer' will include a reworking by the hotly tipped Parisian DJ, Para One, a perfect drum and bass production from the UK’s Break & Silent Witness and a dirty roller from new UK duo Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Bloc Party have also announced an extra tour date to take place on 24th January 2007 at The Old Fire Station in Bournemouth, Matt's hometown. Tickets are available now from Marshals.
Tonight make me unstoppable Here's your first chance to (legally) hear the new Bloc Party single, 'The Prayer', released on January 29th next year. Zane Lowe played the track in the 'Hottest Record in the World' slot on his BBC Radio 1 show tonight, so listen again and fast-forward 15 minutes in.
In fact, the listener response was so positive that Zane played the song again just before the end of the show. Wowzers. For those who've still not heard 'The Prayer', prepare to be slightly shocked. It's Bloc Party, but not quite as we know them. Think Busta Rhymes and the cast of 'Stomp' pulling shapes to a soundtrack of chanting monks. It's crunktastic stuff, boasting an almighty chorus ('anthemic' would be understatement of the century) and an unplayable guitar solo courtesy of Mr. Lissack.
'The Prayer' (fast-forward 15 mins...link only valid for one week)
edit: you can also stream 'The Prayer' from here and here!
'Helicopter' remix single released in the U.S. on 21.02.06 This 'Helicopter' remix single is the first in a series of 'Connect The Dots' releases where some of the world's most famous DJs and bands re-work a track by an established or upcoming artist on the indie rock scene.
It'll be released by Dim Mak Records on CD and high quality 12" inch vinyl on February 21st 2006. Both formats feature two brand new remixes:
'Helicopter' - Diplo Remix: M.I.A.'s DJ slows down the song, keeps the intro riff and adds a warm, bouncy synth backing to the original vocals.
'Helicopter' - Weird Science Remix, featuring vocals from Peaches: the Weird Science duo (Steve Aoki of Dim Mak and Blake Miller of Moving Units) give the track a funky 80's feel, complete with cowbell! Now there's an idea for the second album...!
The CD version also includes the Whitey remix (previously released on 'Silent Alarm Remixed') and the original album version of the track.
'Two More Years' chart placing The new Bloc Party single, 'Two More Years', entered The Official UK Singles Chart at number 7 today, making it the band's second highest singles chart entry (behind 'So Here We Are', which charted at number 5 in February).
The single, which is currently on the BBC Radio 1 playlist, entered higher up in the chart than other new entries from artists such as James Blunt, Ricky Martin and Mariah Carey. In fact, the lack of quality singles released this week might be one reason why it did so well!
Welcome to BLOG PARTY: the blog for all things Bloc.
YOU can contribute...send any Bloc Party photos, reviews, articles, artwork or covers to blogparty at blocparty dot net.