Bloc Party are a British art rock/indie rock band. The band has been around in various guises since 2002, with names like The Angel Range, Diet and Union, before settling on Bloc Party in September 2003. The name is a play on block party, a name for a quasi-informal neighborhood festival, which might hire a local band as entertainment.
Band members Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack, who both grew up in Essex, have formed the fulcrum of these various incarnations, and were subsequently joined by bassist Gordon Moakes, and most recently drummer Matt Tong, an avid AFC Bournemouth supporter.
The band got their break after singer Kele Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and was able to thrust a demo CD containing the song “She’s Hearing Voices” into the hands of both Franz lead singer Alex Kapranos and Radio One DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labeling the track “genius”, and invited them to record a live session for the show.
Their critically acclaimed debut album, Silent Alarm, released in February 2005, went to ..3 on UK album charts, with the single "So Here We Are" making the top 5. Further singles "Banquet", "Helicopter" and "The Pioneers" (July 2005), whilst failing to repeat this success, both made dents in the UK top 20. The animated video for the single The Pioneers was number one in the NME video charts for 4 weeks and was made for a tiny budget in 4 weeks by the Shoreditch based Mini Vegas design agency.
An album of remixes of tracks from Silent Alarm was released at the end of August in the UK. Whilst retaining the album's original tracklist, it includes remixes from the likes of Ladytron, M83, Death From Above 1979, Four Tet and Mogwai.
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