BLOG PARTY.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Young Legionnaire: an update!
Tomorrow sees the release of Young Legionnaire's first 7" single, 'Colossus', backed by 'Iron Dream'...available to order / listen to here via Holy Roar Records. Only 500 copies are being pressed, so don't dilly-dally!
Tomorrow sees the release of Young Legionnaire's first 7" single, 'Colossus', backed by 'Iron Dream'...available to order / listen to here via Holy Roar Records. Only 500 copies are being pressed, so don't dilly-dally!
As a reminder, Young Legionnaire is the band formed by Gordy and Paul Mullen (ex Yourcodenameis:milo), joined by William Bowerman (Brontide / La Roux) on drums. Keep up to date with their news on the official YL website.
The band had this to say about the two tracks (via their blog)...
"‘Colossus’ and ‘Iron Dream’ both came out of last winter’s intermittent writing sessions, the former being knocked into shape on the same day as our first show back in January. Both songs were recorded at Gun Factory, our rehearsal/demoing space of choice in north-east London, by its resident button-basher, Trevor Heaton. Holy Roar Records gave us a chinese burn and insisted they put out our first piece of vinyl: as a result Trevor polished up ‘Colossus’, while Gordy tinkered on ‘Iron Dream’ at home, spending untold half-hours adding ‘oohs’ and ‘ohs’ of twinkly reverb."
Check out the fantastic video for 'Colossus' below:
Young Legionnaire - 'Colossus'
And here's an interview with Gordy and Paul recorded at the Sonisphere festival last month:
Labels: Other_releases, Solo_projects, Videos, Young Legionnaire
¶ 12:09 PM 16 comments links to this post
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Watch the 'Everything You Wanted' video!
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...
Edit: Watch the vid below via YouTube:
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...
Edit: Watch the vid below via YouTube:
Labels: Kele, Singles, Solo_projects
¶ 11:10 PM 22 comments links to this post
Monday, July 12, 2010
The Creators Project: Kele
Labels: Kele, Solo_projects, The Boxer, Videos
¶ 4:04 PM 12 comments links to this post
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Kele's 'The Boxer'...out now!
Click here for the tracklisting.
Click here for the tracklisting.Labels: Kele, Solo_projects, The Boxer
¶ 9:12 PM 4 comments links to this post
Monday, May 17, 2010
'Tenderoni' video: live in Dublin
Labels: Kele, Solo_projects, Tenderoni, Videos
¶ 10:21 PM 8 comments links to this post
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Kele: Dolan's Warehouse, Limerick, Ireland, 14.05.10
Kele played his first gig without the other Bloc Party boys last night in Limerick, performing mostly tracks from his forthcoming album, 'The Boxer', as well as a few Bloc Party oldies. Read NME's report below, followed by a video of 'Walk Tall'!
[Setlist]
Kele played his first gig without the other Bloc Party boys last night in Limerick, performing mostly tracks from his forthcoming album, 'The Boxer', as well as a few Bloc Party oldies. Read NME's report below, followed by a video of 'Walk Tall'!
"Bloc Party singer Kele Okereke played his first ever solo show in Ireland last night (May 14). Mixing new songs from his forthcoming debut 'The Boxer' with a handful of remixed tracks from Bloc Party's back catalogue, the show in Limerick marked the unveiling of his new, dance-orientated musical direction.
Prior to his arrival on stage, everyone in the crowd at Dolan's Warehouse was encouraged to pick up a free shot of Jagermeister in order to share a toast with Kele, who announced. "It’s a special occasion, so I thought I’d buy everyone a drink!" when he arrived shortly after 10.30pm.
With many of the crowd unsure what to expect from the show, during proto-dubstep opener 'Walk Tall' the audience remained relatively still until Kele followed it up with 'On The Lam'. After a handful of new tracks - including 'The Other Side', which was momentarily interrupted after Kele feared a crowd member had stolen his maracas – he indulged his fans with a medley of remixed Bloc Party songs, culminating in a rapturously received 'One More Chance'.
The biggest cheer of the evening was reserved for Kele's debut solo single 'Tenderoni' though, which saw the singer mount a high speaker stack before nearly losing his footing. Only once during the show did the singer perform on guitar, for new song 'Unholy Thoughts', before he played new song 'Rise' and returned for the encore which culminated in Bloc Party's hit single 'Flux', which he referred to as "a song by a band I used to be in""
[Setlist]
Walk Tall / On The Lam / Meet Me In The Middle / The Other Side / Everything You Wanted / Blue Light / The Prayer / One More Chance / Tenderoni / Unholy Thoughts / Rise / All The Things I Could Never Say / Flux
'Walk Tall' in Limerick: Screaming fans, cornrows and grimey beats
Labels: Gig_reviews, Kele, Setlists, Solo_projects
¶ 10:27 PM 3 comments links to this post
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Two new Kele tracks...
Walk Tall by keleokereke
Kele has uploaded two new tracks which will feature on his new album, 'The Boxer'. Listen to them below!
Rise by keleokereke
Rise by keleokereke
Walk Tall by keleokereke
Labels: Kele, Solo_projects, The Boxer
¶ 10:19 PM 8 comments links to this post
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Young Legionnaire bears fruit!
Gordy's side project, Young Legionnaire, have finally made available the first fruits of their labour. Ladies and gentlemen....Colossus! Happily, the song delivers everything the title promises...
Gordy's side project, Young Legionnaire, have finally made available the first fruits of their labour. Ladies and gentlemen....Colossus! Happily, the song delivers everything the title promises...
Labels: Solo_projects, Young Legionnaire
¶ 11:13 PM 2 comments links to this post
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Kele: tour dates and video
Kele has just announced a lengthy solo tour, including dates in Europe, USA and Canada. Click here for the full list.
And here's the brand spanking new video for his first solo single, 'Tenderoni'...
Kele has just announced a lengthy solo tour, including dates in Europe, USA and Canada. Click here for the full list.
And here's the brand spanking new video for his first solo single, 'Tenderoni'...
What are your first impressions of Kele's solo project? Excited about 'The Boxer', or looking forward more to hearing what Young Legionnaire come up with?
Labels: Kele, Solo_projects, Tenderoni, The Boxer
¶ 6:29 PM 7 comments links to this post
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Listen to 'Tenderoni'!
Kele's debut solo single, 'Tenderoni', got it's first play on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show last night. It's now available to stream over on his MySpace. The single will be released on June 14th, so expect to be hearing this track soundtracking the coming festival season...
Labels: Kele, Solo_projects, The Boxer
¶ 1:46 AM 4 comments links to this post
Sunday, April 18, 2010
'Pin Me Down' album out now!
Just a reminder that Pin Me Down's debut album is out today! Here's a video of their acoustic set at London's Rough Trade East on Saturday (for Record Store Day)...
Just a reminder that Pin Me Down's debut album is out today! Here's a video of their acoustic set at London's Rough Trade East on Saturday (for Record Store Day)...
Labels: Pin_Me_Down, Solo_projects, Videos
¶ 11:02 PM 3 comments links to this post
'The Boxer'...track-by-track preview #2
There's also a track-by-track preview of 'The Boxer' in this week's NME. Click the thumbnail below to read it...
Flat cap Kele
There's also a track-by-track preview of 'The Boxer' in this week's NME. Click the thumbnail below to read it...
Flat cap KeleLabels: Kele, Solo_projects, The Boxer
¶ 8:04 PM 1 comments links to this post
Thursday, April 15, 2010
'The Boxer'...track-by-track preview
The Fly have posted up a track-by-track preview of Kele's upcoming solo album, 'The Boxer'. Read it here! No sign yet of any preview clips, but appetites are well and truly whetted...
Labels: Kele, Solo_projects, The Boxer
¶ 11:02 PM 1 comments links to this post
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Kele confirms 'The Boxer'!
It's been in the pipeline for a while, but Kele this week announced concrete details of his first solo album: 'The Boxer'. Produced mainly in New York with Spank Rock producer, XXXChange, the album will be released on June 21st in the UK and June 22nd in the US. Read the tracklisting below...
Someone's been working out...
01 Walk Tall
02 On the Lam
03 Tenderoni
04 The Other Side
05 Everything You Wanted
06 New Rules
07 Unholy Thoughts
08 Rise
09 All the Things I Could Never Say
10 Yesterday's Gone
'Tenderoni', assumedly not a cover of the Chromeo song, will be the first single released from the album, on June 14th.
No sneak previews of 'The Boxer' have so far been made available, but recent interviews, plus the accompanying press photo of Kele cradling an Akai MPC, suggest that he's been venturing further into electro-pop territory. Here's what Kele said to the NME: "I've been into clubbing for years. I've said from the beginning I'm into dance, it gets me excited and I think this record is going to go some way to prove that to people, hopefully."
With the first solo dates to come next month (see this post), expect to hear the first tasters from the album very soon. In the meantime, Kele has wired himself up to various cyber spots (website, blog, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook) to keep us all informed of his comings and goings.
Labels: Kele, Solo_projects, The Boxer
¶ 9:59 AM 3 comments links to this post
Monday, March 29, 2010
Kele lines up solo dates...
In addition to the Ibiza and Manchester dates announced last week, Kele has confirmed some more solo dates for later this year, including a spot on the NME / BBC Radio 1 Stage at this year's Reading / Leeds festivals! Check out the details below...he'll be performing as 'Kele' (no Okereke). In the meantime, keep up to date with his cultural musings (unfortunately no word on the solo project) here. And I thought I was the only one to remember 'Life Without Buildings'...what a band!
14.05.10 Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick, Ireland
15.05.10 Cyprus Avenue, Cork, Ireland
16.05.10 The Academy, Dublin, Ireland
17.05.10 Spring & Airbrake, Belfast, N. Ireland
20.05.10 Electronic Beats Festival @ E-Werk, Cologne, Germany
21.05.10 Prinzenbar Halle, Hamburg, Germany
22.05.10 Weekend, Berlin, Germany
12.06.10 Parklife Festival, Manchester
28.08.10 Reading Festival (NME / BBC Radio 1 Stage)
29.08.10 Reading Festival (NME / BBC Radio 1 Stage)
31.08.10 Ibiza Rocks (w/ Delphic)
Labels: Kele, Solo_projects
¶ 9:27 PM 0 comments links to this post
Saturday, March 20, 2010
It's been a while...
...as those Staind boys once cried into their cornflakes. Here's what we've missed in Bloc Party land:
...as those Staind boys once cried into their cornflakes. Here's what we've missed in Bloc Party land:
- Pin Me Down, Russell's side-project with Milena Mepris, will be releasing their debut album on April 19th. Click here to pre-order the album and preview two of the tracks.
- Rather surreally, Russell will also be joining his boyhood heroes Ash on their forthcoming UK tour as an extra guitarist/keyboardist! More info here.
- And, not content to let Russell hog the limelight, Kele has announced his first couple solo live appearances: Parklife Festival (Manchester, June 12th 2010) and Ibiza Rocks (with Delphic, August 31st 2010).
- Meanwhile, Gordy's Young Legionnaire project are currently holed up somewhere planning their world domination...
In non-band news, Blogger have decided to put an end to ftp publishing, currently used by this blog to upload to the interwebz. This means we have to change our publishing method; a process which doesn't appear overly simple at present. Fingers crossed Blog Party will survive the switch...
Labels: Pin_Me_Down, Solo_projects, Young Legionnaire
¶ 10:22 PM 7 comments links to this post
Monday, February 01, 2010
Young Legionnaire are...go!
As if we ever doubted it for a minute...Gordy did indeed surface onstage at the Old Blue Last on Thursday. How did they sound? Very loud, apparently. Here's some photographic evidence...
As if we ever doubted it for a minute...Gordy did indeed surface onstage at the Old Blue Last on Thursday. How did they sound? Very loud, apparently. Here's some photographic evidence...
Yourcodenameis:Moakes
And here's their website.
Meanwhile, Russell and Milena's 'Pin Me Down' project is Spinner's Band of the Week. Nice going.
Labels: Pin_Me_Down, Solo_projects, Young Legionnaire
¶ 6:57 PM 5 comments links to this post
Monday, January 25, 2010
Solo projects galore...
Russell's side-project with Milena Mepris, Pin Me Down, is back on the tracks again. Click here to download a brand new track, 'Time Crisis', possibly influenced by Russell's favourite arcade game, and read an interview with him here, where he talks about his work with Milena and the future of the Bloc.
Not a solo project as such, but Kele has launched his own videoblog...I Am Koko. He's a prolific poster as well...the place is chock-full of his cultural ponderings.
And remember, remember...this Thursday sees the first show of Gordy's 'secret' side-project...Young Legionnaire. Send in your gig reports!
Labels: Pin_Me_Down, Solo_projects, Young Legionnaire
¶ 7:25 PM 4 comments links to this post
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Gordy to become a Young Legionnaire...?
With all the talk of Kele's solo project and Russell's forays into dance-pop, it comes as a bit of a surprise that Gordy is the first Bloc Party member to emerge from the cloud of uncertainty that is the band's hiatus/hibernation.
Mr. Moakes is rumoured to be in a band called Young Legionnaire, who will play their first ever gig on Thursday 28th January at the Old Blue Last in London (see the flyer below). The band is also rumoured to feature Paul Mullen (of Yourcodenameis:milo/The Automatic fame), along with William Bowerman (the drummer of I Was A Cubscout/La Roux).
The evidence: this Facebook event page, various Tweeter posts, and a good bit of detective work.
Check back soon to find out whether Young Legionnaire are reality...
In the meantime, remind yourself of the rather awesome 'Wait A Minute', the fruits of the previous time Gordy and Paul Mullen worked together over three years ago in the League of International Super Best Friends...
With all the talk of Kele's solo project and Russell's forays into dance-pop, it comes as a bit of a surprise that Gordy is the first Bloc Party member to emerge from the cloud of uncertainty that is the band's hiatus/hibernation.
Mr. Moakes is rumoured to be in a band called Young Legionnaire, who will play their first ever gig on Thursday 28th January at the Old Blue Last in London (see the flyer below). The band is also rumoured to feature Paul Mullen (of Yourcodenameis:milo/The Automatic fame), along with William Bowerman (the drummer of I Was A Cubscout/La Roux).
The evidence: this Facebook event page, various Tweeter posts, and a good bit of detective work.
Check back soon to find out whether Young Legionnaire are reality... In the meantime, remind yourself of the rather awesome 'Wait A Minute', the fruits of the previous time Gordy and Paul Mullen worked together over three years ago in the League of International Super Best Friends...
The League of International Super Best Friends - 'Wait A Minute'
Labels: Collaborations, Solo_projects, Young Legionnaire
¶ 10:06 PM 5 comments links to this post
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Kele working on solo album!
Just when it looked like the Bloc Party boys would be going into hibernation for a good while, it's emerged that Kele has begun working on a solo album...
"Bloc Party singer Kele Okereke is recording an album with Spank Rock producer Alex Epton, aka Armani XXXchange. Fellow producer Hudson Mohawke – Ross Birchard - broke the news on Sunday night in an interview with BBC 1Xtra DJ Benji B, adding that he's hoping to be involved with the Bloc Party man's project. Asked by Benji B if there are any collaborations he's allowed to talk about, Mohawke said he's supposed to be working with Erykah Badu "and then also, I'm kinda... it hasn't been finalized yet, but I'm also kinda doing a little bit of stuff for Kele from Bloc Party's solo album as well. He's doing a record with one of the guy's from Spank Rock, so possibly gonna be doing some stuff for that."" (Gigwise)
Given Spank Rock's roots in rap and electro, this sounds like an outlet for Kele's hip-hop fetish. The results could be interesting...watch this space!
Labels: Collaborations, Solo_projects
¶ 11:50 PM 10 comments links to this post
