Bloc Party

Did You Know?

• Their big break came when Kele Okereke handed a copy of 'She's Hearing Voices' to Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq at a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003; Lamacq called the track 'genius' and invited them for a live session.
• Silent Alarm was voted 'Album of the Year' for 2005 by NME and was certified platinum in Britain.
• The animated video for 'Pioneers,' made by the Shoreditch-based Minivegas design agency, was top of the NME video charts for four weeks.
• The Chemical Brothers collaborated with Okereke for 'Believe,' a track on their Push the Button album.

History

Russell Lissack and Kele Okereke crossed paths in London in 1998, then ran into each other again at the 1999 Reading Festival and decided to start a band. Gordon Moakes came on board as bassist after replying to an ad in NME, while Matt Tong secured the drummer spot through an audition. Before settling on Bloc Party in September 2003—a twist on "block party"—the group tried out names like Union, The Angel Range, and Diet. The band has clarified that the name wasn't meant to reference the Soviet Bloc or Canada's Bloc Québécois, though Moakes later explained on their forum that it blended eastern "Blocs" with western "parties" in a political sense, adding that the choice wasn't politically driven but simply "looked, sounded, seemed fine."

In November 2003, their song "The Marshals Are Dead" appeared on the Angular Recording Corporation compilation The New Cross. Their debut single "She's Hearing Voices" came out on Trash Aesthetics. That same year, Bloc Party mailed a 7-inch of that track to Steve Aoki and soon signed to his Dim Mak label. Dim Mak then partnered with VICE, an Atlantic Records subsidiary, securing a major-label deal.

The band's big break came when Okereke attended a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003 and handed a copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to both frontman Alex Kapranos and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq played it on air, calling it "genius," and invited the band for a live session. The resulting buzz led to another single, "Banquet/Staying Fat," via Moshi Moshi Records, and a signing with independent label Wichita Recordings in April 2004.

Musical style

Bloc Party’s sound has been tagged as indie rock, post-punk revival, post-Britpop, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, dance-rock, and alternative dance. Early on, American alternative acts Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer mainly shaped their music, with additional influence from the Chemical Brothers, Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth, and the Smiths. Kele Okereke has said Mogwai’s album Mogwai Young Team was a life-changing “year zero” for him. People often compared Bloc Party to Gang of Four, but the band was “mildly infuriated” by this, insisting they never “particularly liked” that group.

To craft their distinctive sound, they rely heavily on delay pedals and other effects. For their second album, A Weekend in the City, the band described including “some truly R&B styled beats” and a track where both Tong and Moakes play drums at once, aiming for “eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness.” That album’s style drew comparisons to Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk. Compared to their debut Silent Alarm, A Weekend in the City features more layered songs and string arrangements, losing some of the earlier rawness.

With the single “Flux,” they incorporated electronic music, and “Mercury” pushed further into dark electronic sounds with a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Their third album, Intimacy, uses synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Though influenced by electronics, the band still kept a guitar feel. Okereke mentioned missing their more traditional sound and hinted the fourth album might return to it, but Tong disagreed, saying they would likely never write songs like those on Silent Alarm again.

Awards and nominations

Bloc Party have been up for a fair few awards over the years. In 2005, they got a nod for Best New Artist at the NME Awards and were also in the running for Best Alternative Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The following year, they were nominated for Best British Band at the NME Awards. They also made the shortlist for three PLUG Awards: New Artist of the Year in 2005, plus Artist of the Year and Live Act of the Year in 2006.

At the 2008 GLAAD Media Awards, their second album A Weekend in the City earned them a nomination in the Music Artist category. Their debut, Silent Alarm, was shortlisted for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and won the NME award for Best Album. It was also nominated for Album of the Year at the New Pantheon Music Award, the 2006 NME Awards, and the 2006 PLUG Awards, where the track Helicopter was up for Best Music Video. Silent Alarm took home Best Indie Rock Album at the 2006 PLUG Awards.

At the 2008 NME Awards, Flux was nominated for Best Track, Best Video, and Best Dancefloor Filler. In May 2025, the original lineup of Okereke, Lissack, Moakes, and Tong were announced as recipients of an Ivor Novello Award in the Outstanding Song Collection category.