Bloc Party confirmed for Coachella Valley Music Festival 2006
It looks like Bloc Party will be returning to the live stage earlier than previously expected because the band have been confirmed for this year's Coachella Valley Music Festival in Indio, California.Bloc Party will play on the second day of the festival, Sunday April 30th. Tickets go on sale from the official Coachella site on Saturday February 4th at 12pm (PST). It'll cost $85 for a single day pass and $165 for a limited two-day pass.Labels: Tour
Blocparty.net radio!
You can now listen to Bloc Party tracks as you browse blocparty.net!This service is provided by Mercora - the world's largest music search and sharing network.In the bottom left-hand corner of the blocparty.net homepage is a box which lists a selection of Bloc Party songs that are currently available to stream. The first time you click on one of the tracks, you will be prompted to download 'IM Radio'. This free program lets you search, find and listen to tens of thousands of individually hosted music radio stations. You can also become a "mercaster" by spinning up your own radio station and watching as listeners from all over the world drop in to hear your mixes. The songs featured on blocparty.net will change every few minutes and once you've downloaded 'IM Radio' you can play each track by simply clicking on the song title. Labels: BlocParty.net
Russell's adventure close to home
Russell will be DJing at the 'Adventures Close To Home' club night in Camden Barfly on February 3rd! There will also be live sets from Fields (who opened for Bloc Party at the fanclub gig last December - they're definitely worth checking out) and Detachment Kit. Visit the ACTH events page for more info and ticket details.Labels: Tour
Keep up-to-date with all the latest Bloc Party news!
I added a new addition to this blog today. If you click on the 'Receive email when this page changes' link in the sidebar underneath the counter, you can enter your email address so that you'll be informed whenever a new article is posted to 'Blog Party'. This service has kindly been provided by ChangeNotes.You can also enter other web pages (up to 100 in total) that you may wish to keep tabs on, such as the homepages of blocparty.net or blocparty.com. You will be sent at most one email per day that includes all the changes to all the pages on your watchlist. Feel free to email me if you have any questions!Labels: BlocParty.net
Bloc Party shortlisted for two NME Awards
Bloc Party have been nominated for the following NME Awards:Best British Band - supported by ShockWavesBest Album - supported by HMVHead over to NME.com to show your support! The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on February 23rd.Labels: Awards
Placebo get the Bloc Party treatment
Not content with releasing a remixed version of their own debut album, Bloc Party have turned their collective art-rock-shaped hand to other bands' tracks. They've recently completed a remix of the new Placebo single, 'Because I Want You', which should be included on the special DVD edition of the forthcoming Placebo album, 'Meds', out on March 13th. Thanks to sucker-love.com for the info. Also, the Bloc Party High School Prom Remix of Chromeo's electro-pop anthem, 'Needy Girl', was released on 12" vinyl last October. You can also download it from here.
Labels: Other_releases
Tunng release their version of 'The Pioneers'
'He was tough and romantic as the city he loved. Beneath his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat. I love this. Liverpool was his town and Tunng was his band, and they always would be.'On 23rd January, Tunng release their version of 'The Pioneers' on Static Caravan. The single comes in two formats - a one-sided etched 7" vinyl in an edition of 750 and a four track CD that includes the long sold out debut single, 'Tale from Black'. This is a much requested release after a life affirming 2005 for Tunng. Number 2 in the Piccadilly Records top 100 albums of 2005 chart, a finalist in the 'Album of the Year' category in Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Music Awards 2005, Bleep Music's best beats and clicks record, number 75 in Rough Trade's listings and number 2 in the Hoodlum Tribe chart. Tunng's most recent BBC session was broadcast on Radio 1's OneMusic in November, across both the Rob da Bank and Huw Stephens shows. The band also headlined the Folkey Dokey stage at the legendary Green Man Festival in 2005 and have toured extensively with artists such as Crooked Fingers, VivaVoce, Nine Black Alps, Minotaur Shock, King Creosote, Jose Gonzalez and Doves. Phew, link overload!There is already a 2006 Twisted Folk tour lined up, along with a showcase at SXSW in Texas and a performance at the BBC Folk Britannia show on February 4th alongside Burt Jansch and Vashti Bunyan.
Also, the 'God Bless Bloc Party' DVD is released today in the U.S. It's only available from Amazon, Tower, Virgin and the indie stores listed on thinkindie.com.Labels: Other_bands
Video interview with Gordy on FaceCulture
FaceCulture, a Dutch online multimedia magazine, met up with Gordy before Bloc Party's last proper gig of the year at Amsterdam Paradiso on 3rd December 2005. Click here to watch Gordy chat about his early musical exploits, meeting Kele and Russell for the first time at Chingford train station, Bloc Party's amazing 2005 and the likely sound of the second album.Labels: Interviews, Press, Videos
'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.
L-R: CD and 12" vinyl artworkLabels: Singles
Bloc Party make final shortlist for the New Pantheon Music Award
As previously reported on Blog Party, Bloc Party's debut album, 'Silent Alarm', was one of the many albums originally shortlisted for the New Pantheon Music Award. The concept behind this prize is to honour the most creative and artistic records of the year. To be eligible, the album has to have been released between July 1st 2004 and October 30th 2005 and sold less than 500,000 copies. It's the U.S. equivalent of the Mercury Music Prize, which Bloc Party were also nominated for last year.
The original list has now been whittled down to just 10 albums, including 'Silent Alarm'. Also up for the award are Animal Collective, Antony and the Johnsons, Arcade Fire, Death Cab For Cutie, Fiona Apple, Kings of Leon, M.I.A., Sufjan Stevens and The Decemberists. Pretty tough competition then! The winning album will be chosen by a select panel of judges, including Beck, Elton John and Elijah Wood, and announced at a celebratory concert in Los Angeles on February 6th.
Check out the New Pantheon website for more information. 
Labels: Awards
It's called progress
Gordy spoke to Steve Lamacq on Radio 1 tonight about Bloc Party's progress with the second album.
The band went into the studio last week to write and rehearse songs and they're currently working on three or four new tracks each day. A lot of the new material was written whilst on tour last year, so most of the composition process just consists of bringing all of the ideas together. The aim is to get around twenty songs written and ready to demo in about three weeks time.
Proper studio recording will then begin within the next month or two. The producer has not yet been confirmed, but the most likely candidate seems to be Steve Dub. The album should be in the shops by September at the latest!
Asked to sum up the sound of 'Bloc Party Mark Two' in one word, Gordy said 'direct', adding that it is also 'streamlined' and 'layered'.
The interview and subsequent live recording from last October's John Peel Day can be streamed over the next week from the Radio 1 website. Labels: A_Weekend_In_The_City, Interviews
Logo designs
Thanks to all the people who sent me their logo designs. My favourite entry, created by Robert Prekop from Germany, can now be seen gracing the top of this page. I might change the logo occasionally, so I'm still more than happy to receive your designs! Email them here.
A couple of my other favourite logos:
Esteban Arredondo

Casey Hicks
Labels: BlocParty.net
The world loves Bloc Party!
Some of the accolades awarded to Bloc Party at the end of 2005:U.K.NME: #1 Album Of The YearQ: Albums Of The YearMOJO: Albums Of The YearFranceLes Inrockuptibles: #6 Album Of The Year, #3 Readers' Poll AlbumsSwedenExpressen: #6 Album Of The YearSVT Musikbyran: Top 5 Album Of The YearNorwayMute Magazine: Band Of The YearGermanyIntro: Album Of The YearBlond: Album Of The YearVisions: #5 Album Of The YearIrelandHot Press: #2 Album Of The YearU.S.A.URB Magazine: Artist Of The YearSpin Magazine: #6 Album Of The YearJapanRockin' On: #10 Album Of The YearNumber 1: Best New Album Of The YearHopefully this year will be just as good for the band and fans! I'll try to keep you updated on progress with the second album...keep checking Blog Party and blocparty.net!Labels: Awards, Press, Silent_Alarm
Bloc Party headline 'Lamacq Live' next Monday
Bloc Party's Birmingham Academy show from last Bloctober is the headline set on BBC Radio 1's 'Lamacq Live' next Monday night. The gig will be aired sometime between 9pm and 1am GMT on 97-99 FM. You can also stream the broadcast from the Radio 1 website. A few songs from the gig were originally played live on Radio 1 as part of John Peel Day.Labels: Radio_sessions
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