page_title: Bloc Party
section_title: Musical style
hierarchical_section_title: Bloc Party / Musical style
caption_attribution_description: English: Okereke on guitar.
context_page_description: Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke, Russell Lissack, Justin Harris and Louise Bartle. Former members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices".
  In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named Indie Album of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain.
context_section_description: Bloc Party's musical style has been described as indie rock, post-punk revival, post-Britpop, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, dance-rock, and alternative dance. Bloc Party's brand of guitar rock draws on influences such as The Chemical Brothers, Pixies, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and The Smiths. Okereke has also stated that Mogwai's album Mogwai Young Team changed his life by being his musical "year zero". Okereke also cites Suede as a major influence, he says Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with. Particular parallels were made between Bloc Party and Gang of Four upon their arrival on the music scene, yet the band were "mildly infuriated" at such references, claiming they had never "particularly liked" Gang of Four. To achieve their unique style, numerous delay and other effects pedals are implemented. During the recording of second album A Weekend in the City, the band suggested it would contain "some truly R&B styled beats, a song where [Tong] and [Moakes] play drums simultaneously [with] both eggshell-thin fragility and trouser-flapping hugeness", as opposed to their typical sound. The style has been compared to and inspired by such bands as Radiohead, U2, Depeche Mode, and Björk. Some of the most noticeable changes between debut Silent Alarm and A Weekend in the City are that the songs became more layered and less raw due to inclusion of string arrangements.
  With the release of "Flux", Bloc Party's style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. "Mercury" saw Bloc Party distance themselves even further from the traditional guitar band set-up by experimenting with dark electronic sounds and a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band's third album Intimacy also features synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music. For example, in an interview, Okereke said that the band was starting to miss their more traditional sound, and confirmed that may have been the way fourth album was headed. However, Tong contradicted this, stating: "There's every chance we might go back to more orthodox arrangements or things that resemble a traditional band but I don't think we'll ever write songs like we did on Silent Alarm again." A 2009 Vice Records mix lists the following songs Bloc Party are influenced by: Eagle Boston's "Wild Wild Ost", Pylon's "Working Is No Problem", Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", John Foxx's "Underpass", Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" (also covered live), Sonic Youth's "Youth Against Fascism", Dinosaur Jr.'s "Freak Scene", La Roux's "Quicksand (Nightrunners Edit)", and Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)".
caption: Kele Okereke
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