The video for Kele's second solo single, 'Everything You Wanted', is now available to watch here, courtesy of The Guardian. It's very emotionally charged, and sees him having a Sinéad O'Connor moment on the streets of New York City...
You can get your (virtual) hands on Bloc Party's new single 'One More Chance' from today via iTunesor the 7digital links to the right of this post. The single will also be released on very limited edition 7" (1500) and 12" vinyl (1000) tomorrow. Across the various formats, the single comes backed by a Holy Fuck remix of 'Zephyrus', plus more remixes of 'One More Chance' than you can shake a stick at. Click here for the full tracklisting!
In other release news, iTunes also has a live EP for sale featuring tracks from Bloc Party's recent London Roundhouse 'iTunes Live' gig. Click hereto download, and head to BP's Facebook page to watch some videos from the same concert.
Love it or hate it, Bloc Party's new single, 'One More Chance', is undeniably catchy, as addictive as a tube of Pringles in all their glutamate glory. If you can still cope with that piano riff, check out the video below. If not, put it on mute and enjoy the spectacle!
A man with mutton chop sideburns plonks enthusiastically on an electric keyboard whilst Matt looks bemused. A Blanche DuBois-esque woman preens herself whilst Kele looks glum. A vested young man pulls some shapes whilst Russell looks bored. A girl has a scary Ouija board experience whilst Gordy smiles wryly. I'll leave you to make sense of it all...
Update: Here's the video in all its YouTube glory...
Bloc Party's brand new single, 'One More Chance', got it's first play on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show tonight, and is now available to stream on the band's official site...
Bloc Party have confirmed a brand spanking new single, 'One More Chance', to be released on August 10th through Wichita Recordings. The track was recorded in April with Jacknife Lee and mixed with Philippe Zdar.
You can sample the first sweet strains of this new material on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show this Thursday. Let's hope they can bounce back after the not-so-glowing critical (and commercial) reception that greeted 'Intimacy Remixed'...
Bloc Party have a habit of surprising us with their stop-gap singles ('Two More Years' and 'Flux' were both steps in a different direction), so maybe it's a cover of this funky number. All will be revealed in two sleeps...
Just a reminder that the 'Signs' remix EP is out this week, available on 12" vinyl and download. Here's the tracklisting...
1. Signs (Armand Van Helden Remix)
2. Signs (Armand Van Helden Remix Instrumental)
3. Signs (Pantha Du Prince Remix)
And if Armand Van Helden's effort is too abrasive for your liking, download below an alternative remix by sayCet, French electronica artist extraordinaire. This one keeps the delicate glockenspiel, floating the Björk-esque chimes on a sea of washing synths and barely-there bleeps. Beautiful.
Bloc Party announced today that on May 11th they''ll be releasing ‘Intimacy Remixed’ on limited edition CD /triple 12”...the younger brother of 'Silent Alarm Remixed' which came out in August 2005.
The album will include remixes by Gold Panda, Mogwai and Filthy Dukes and will lead off with a remix of ‘Signs’ by Armand Van Helden, released on April 27th (so that's what the teaser videos were about!).
Here's the full tracklisting:
1. Ares (Villains remix) 2. Mercury (Herve is in Disarray remix) 3. Halo (We Have Band Dub) 4. Biko (Mogwai remix) 5. Trojan Horse (John B remix) 6. Signs (Armand Van Helden remix) 7. One Month Off (Filthy Dukes remix) 8. Zephyrus (Phase One remix) 9. Talons (Phones RIP remix) 10. Better Than Heaven (No Age remix) 11. Ion Square (Banjo or Freakout remix) 12. Letter To My Son (Gold Panda remix) 13. Your Visits are Getting Shorter (Double D remix)
Those expecting a gently pulsating reworking of 'Signs', look away now...Van Halden has turned the track into a dirty, if slightly pedestrian, monster. The video for the remix comes on like one of Chris Cunningham's worst nightmares, featuring a disturbing child, mirrorball heads, various electrical implants and a very lippy pièce de résistance. Don't expect to see it on primetime TV anytime soon.
The third single to be taken from Bloc Party's third album, 'Intimacy', will be released next Monday (January 26th). 'One Month Off' will be available via the medium of download, and also on 7" vinyl (with the 'Findo Gask Cruel And Unusual 7inch Mix' as the solitary b-side).
If you haven't seen it yet, check out the stop motion-tastic video here, and listen to the 'Metal On Metal Remake' of the track here!
Watch below the brand new, and decidedly creepy, video for 'One Month Off', released on January 26th. As with the promos for 'Flux' and 'Mercury', there's no sign of Bloc Party in the video, just lots of nursery rhyme characters being blown into smithereens...
Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey Then came a grenade which exploded beside her and turned the poor girl to sorbet
Edit: The video was directed by D.A.D.D.Y. (Design, Animation, Design, Design, Yay) and based on Ray Harryhausen's 1940s/50s stop-motion fairy tale animations:
"We acquired a number of the [Harryhausen] fairy tale stories and re-edited them to the track, so we had a strange narrative set in this animated fairytale world. A place inhabited by all the classic characters from Little Miss Muffet to Red Riding Hood. Taking the re-edited vintage animations, we then reanimated over these beautiful old stop-motion films, adding some 'reality,' so they lost that innocent feeling and meaning they once had. We have no idea what Mr. Harryhausen will think if he sees them, but some of the new cartoon violence makes parts of the video darkly funny, which he might like."
Bloc Party have confirmed their next single will be 'One Month Off', probably the most radio-friendly track on 'Intimacy' (it's got a key change!). It'll be released on January 26th 2009 to coincide with their upcoming UK tour. Check back soon for the tracklisting!
Bloc Party are indifferent to the singles chart and say scoring a hit is no longer important to them. The band physically released their third album 'Intimacy' on Monday following its rush release in download format on 21 August. The band say they didn't think of the release as "a business decision", and weren't worried about chart positions. In fact, bassist Gordon Moakes revealed they may stop putting out physical singles in the future.
'Intimacy' was not eligible for the Top 40 charts last month, due to its download-only release. While this month might see it enter the top 10, Moakes told 6 Music that it's not really a priority: "I don't think our digital release was eligible so this is our only shot at the charts - but the kind of band we are, isn't one you were going to see on Top Of The Pops really. We've never entirely played the game. Maybe we'll find out that it's a great success, but maybe we'll find out that people just aren't buying CDs anymore."
Last October, Radiohead put out their latest album, 'In Rainbows', with a "pay what you like" price plan. However, it still went to number one after its physical release in January. Asked whether Bloc Party were hoping for a similar impact, Moakes said: "I don't know. We're waiting to find out really. I think none of us were sufficiently concerned about it as a business decision to not do it - to say, 'if you put it down as a download, x amount of people might not buy it'."
"Our record company's been behind our ideas for this record and future singles," Moakes continued. "We're talking now about not doing anymore physical formats for singles meaning we won't have any more eligible singles after 'Talons'. I think the days are gone where you can really make a splash in the charts, being a band like us, and have that sort of thing make a difference to your reputation and your sales. Music was never a competition, whoever made it a competition? One decision might be to not get involved in that and put out non-eligible things on purpose."
However, their view on the physical release of albums has not changed: "We have a young fan base so I don't know how doing it the way we did will affect us, but it's still an event to put out a record. We're still vinyl fans. With the last record we put out a picture disc. All this extra stuff that's dying out, we're still into as a band."
Get your talons on 'Talons' from today...Bloc Party's new single is out now in all good (and not-so-good) shops / digital stores. Check out the full tracklisting below, and order your own copy here. The acoustic version is well worth downloading...a Gregorian chant-tastic take on the original - you can hear Kele stifle a laugh at one point.
'Hunting For Witches'...the video that didn't get used
This alternate video for 'Hunting For Witches' was produced by the Semifinalists frontman, Ferry Gouw. Starring ex Dazed & Confused photographic director, Sylvia Farago, as a tormented witch, this is what Ferry had to say about it: "I did a low low budget video for them. I think they thought I was taking the piss. I should put it up one of these days. It’s really emotional. The witch created a creature that she loved, but its heart was spoiled and cursed, so the creature destroyed everything it touched."
In the end, the band chose to use this more orthodox performance video.
Bloc Party's new single, 'Talons', the second cut from 'Intimacy', will be released on October 20th and, as previously announced, it'll be available across three formats. You can now preview / pre-order all of the b-sides below via 7digital, including an acoustic version of the original track and the last ever Phones remix!
Play.com have posted up the 'Intimacy' CDtracklisting, including two bonus tracks added to the end of the album (released October 27th). The tracklisting hasn't been officially announced yet though, so things could still change...
01. Ares 02. Mercury 03. Halo 04. Biko 05. Trojan Horse 06. Signs 07. One Month Off 08. Zephyrus 09. Talons 10. Better Than Heaven 11. Ion Square 12. Letter To My Son (Bonus Track) 13. Your Visits Are Getting Shorter (Bonus Track)
And here's the likely tracklisting of the forthcoming 'Talons' single, released on October 20th:
Bloc Party's brand new single, 'Talons' was played for the first time on BBC Radio 1 tonight and is now streaming on Bloc's official site and MySpace!
The track wasn't featured on the digital release of 'Intimacy' last month, but anyone who's already bought the album can now download it for free. 'Talons', produced by Paul Epworth, will be on the physical release of 'Intimacy' (October 27th), along with other new songs, and will also be released as a single (2 x 7" and CD) on October 20th. Remixes will come from The Moody Boyz, XXXChange, FrankMusik, Midfield General and Phones.
Here's what Kele has to say about the track: "We wanted to keep things fresh and we thought the fans would be more excited to get a new song rather than something off the album. 'Talons' is one of the last songs we recorded during the 'Intimacy' sessions and I always had it in mind to be one of the extra tracks we promised for the CD if it turned out well. It turned out great so we decided to make it the next single. I’m enjoying this way of working, not over-thinking things, just make a decision and get on with it! It’s quite liberating in a way, I’m sure it’s going to be the way things happen more and more in the future".
All credit to the people behind Bloc Party's current release plan...they certainly know how to keep things fresh. Tomorrow night between 7pm and 9pm GMT, Zane Lowe will premiere a brand new Bloc Party single on his BBC Radio 1 show...one of the final songs recorded during the 'Intimacy' sessions and as yet unheard! The track will be on the CD release of the album in October and will also be available as an immediate free download for anyone who's already bought or pre-ordered the album.
So tune into Zane Lowe tomorrow night, or listen online here.
In other news, Bloc Party will be playing the Glasgow Barfly on October 19th as part of the MTV2 Gonzo Tour 2008. Details here.
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).
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.