English group Bloc Party continues to combine rock, pop and electronic music mixing the sounds together.
Beginning in 1999, the team has changed a bit over the years while still having strong success. Their debut album Silent Alarm went platinum in Britain, and the follow up A Weekend in the City reached number 12 on the Billboard 200. The band's fifth studio album Hyms was released in January of this year. Inspired by gospel plus rhythm and blues, this record has birthed powerful singles such as "The Love Within" and "The Good News."
Openly gay singer Kele Okereke not only leads the band but has collaborated on tracks with Tiesto and The Chemical Brothers, also releasing a solo album The Boxer in the past.
Okereke and bassist Justin Harris took a break during a recent Chicago stop to talk with Windy City Times.
Windy City Times: So here we have half of Bloc Party. How long have you both been with the group?
Kele Okereke: I have been around since the beginning but this is Justin's first year of being in the band.
Justin Harris: I have been around since 1977. [Laughs] I was playing in another band that opened for Bloc Party back in 2009. That is how I know this crew. I got an email one day.
KO: That is how it happens. Someone chokes and another person steps up.
WCT: How many people are traveling when you are all together?
KO: I think about 12, maybe.
JH: That is with the band and road crew.
KO: It is nice because we all know each other very well. It is a family vibe.
WCT: With this being the fifth album, what did you want to do differently this time?
KO: On this album we tried to capture a sense of restraint. I don't think that was a quality that we tried to explore in the past. We were about expressing and trying to get as much energy out before. This was a chance to try something that was slightly more introverted.
WCT: "The Love Within" would be an example of that. How did that song come to be?
KO: Sonically it was one of the last ones that we recorded for the album.
Lyrically, it was about expressing a certain situation and a sense of connection with the internal world with the external world. It's about the joy that can be felt in nature and being close to the elements. It is always hard to break things down but that is what it is about to me.
WCT: I saw blue people in the video for "Virtue."
KO: Sadly I am not responsible for the video.
JH: I feel like that video should have been more sexual.
KO: I felt like that at the time, too.
WCT: What is the dynamic of being out publicly in Bloc Party?
KO: I don't really think about it day to day. We have been doing this for a long time. I have been out of the closet for awhile now. At this stage in my career it is not even an after thought at all. It doesn't feel like it is an issue to me. When asked about what it feels to be out in a band it doesn't feel problematic.
WCT: Do you feel artists coming out is not a big thing these days?
KO: It is a generational thing. Where I live there is a very large gay community. I am always amazed at how many young kids I see holding hands and being completely open about themselves. It wasn't like that when I was a young person. That is the great thing about living where I live, at least that kind of pressure is not there. There are obviously issues as a community that we need to deal with but at least people are embracing who they really are.
WCT: How was House of Blues last night?
KO: It was super-fun.
JH: It was high-energy, especially for one in the morning.
KO: Everyone was drunk.
WCT: When are you coming back to Chicago?
KO: It is all up in the air at the moment. I know we are working on some new music and then we are taking a bit of a break. I would hope at some point next year, but we will see.
WCT: How does writing music in the group work?
KO: We are a collective but I am the head bitch…
JH: Queen bitch.
KO: Yes, the top dog! We are still learning how to all work together. That is something great about having new people in the band. Everyday is something different.
Visit BlocParty.com for more on this eclectic group.