In August’s jmag we chat to Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke about inspiration, haters, and A Weekend In The City, the Difficult Sophomore Album that turned into a smash hit, sparked a string of sold-out tour dates, and brought the band to our shores again. But what happened in the studio? Here’s more from Kele, plus the inside word from Bloc Party bassist Gordon Moakes.  
Illustration by Eamo 
A chat with Gordon several weeks before the official release of A Weekend … reveals that Kele's tales sometimes leave them scratching their heads.
"We don't discuss lyrics," Gordon explains. "It's frustrating in a way, because Kele does go backwards and forwards, and ends up scrapping things and re-singing things at the last minute. It does get hard to gauge it all, but it's one way of working. But I know his words come from somewhere — they're sculpted — and I respect that."
"The worst moments for us were in the studio, when we were writing," Kele says, when asked if there's ever any tension between each role within the band. "We were thinking there was something else we could do, somewhere else we could go. I remember I had this idea about a handclap pattern I desperately wanted to try and write a song around, and the others didn't really understand what I was talking about. That ended up being 'The Prayer', which I think is one of the best songs we've ever written. So you know, when you're breaking into new territory there are going to be moments of doubt, but I'm lucky. They trust me."
Did all four members go into the studio for A Weekend … with the same ideas about what they wanted to do the second time around?
"If Kele had his way it would have been more electro sounding," Gordon answers frankly. "He wants to get away from guitars almost altogether, but I don't think we ever will. You always have to strike a balance; I guess my thing this time around was to make it tougher.
"Kele will say he has the final say in things — and he does to an extent," he continues. "I think we all try and reach an agreement on stuff. I guess it depends on how strongly you feel. Mostly the sound of our music is the sound of where we meet in the middle — being pulled from different directions. That's what you get. There's a certain singer in a certain band who said, ‘Bloc Party aren't a proper band' — we're just like, a session band, and whatever Kele says goes. I was like, well I don't know what you mean — we all travel on the same bus! I take offence to that point of view." |
