Bloc Party
RIOT ACT
British Post-Punkers Bloc Party Take Their Musical Mutiny Stateside
Of all the bands plundering the riffs and rhythms of '80s post-punk -- and there are a lot these days -- Bloc Party are the most worthy of Next Big Thing status. Formed in 2003, the band sent their demo to fellow arty rockers Franz Ferdinand, who then invited them to open a few shows. From then on, it's been a whirlwind of singles, magazine covers, hyped live appearances -- most recently at the Coachella Music Festival -- and life in the public eye. One of 2005's most lauded debuts, Silent Alarm is loaded with fierce grooves, as well as songwriting strong enough to keep you listening when not on the dance floor. Bassist Gordon Moakes talked with Barnes & Noble.com's Bill Pearis about coping with overnight success, life on the road, and jamming with Elton John.
Barnes & Noble.com: Success, both in England and America, seems to have come pretty quickly. How are you dealing with it?
Gordon Moakes : Sometimes we cope really well. Sometimes we just get kind of tired. It depends on how we're playing. We've had a lot of great shows here in North America, so we're feeling really good right now.
B&N.com: Last year -- 2004 -- was a busy one for Bloc Party. In England, at least, it seemed like you were releasing singles every other month, all of which ended up on Silent Alarm. Was the album recorded all at once or in dribs and drabs?
GM: We did the body of it in one go. Three songs -- "Banquet," "Little Thoughts," and "Compliments" -- were recorded earlier. One of our first singles was recorded earlier. Originally, "Compliments" was going to be the B-side to "Little Thoughts," but it turned out so well we held it for the record. We recorded most of the album in Denmark at this crazy studio that looks very retro-futuristic -- pod chairs and the like. It was brilliant, mainly because there was daylight everywhere. [In] most studios it's like playing in windowless rooms. We'd have the windows open when we recorded most of the time. It was a very relaxed setting, and I think that came through on Silent Alarm.
B&N.com: Your singles, like "Banquet" and "Helicopter," fit in with the whole post-punk thing that's been going on, but a lot Silent Alarm has a dreamy, expansive sound. Have you moved past the angular guitars that typified your initial sound?
GM: Somewhat, but it's natural to pick the upbeat songs as singles. Radio tends not to play too much slow, dreamy music. But those songs were always there. If you look at the album's track listing, a good 60 percent of those reflective kind of songs -- "Like Eating Glass" and "Plans" -- were written in the early days of the band.
B&N.com: More than some groups, Bloc Party really sounds like a band where if you took away any one of the members you wouldn't be the same.
GM: That's something that's just come naturally We are all key components to the sound. Most songs begin, more often than not, with a riff that [frontman] Kele [Okeneke] has, but as far as shaping how a song will finally sound, it's four interpretations of an idea. That's the way we want it. We're all quite strong individuals in terms of the way we express ourselves.
B&N.com: What are you listening to on the tour bus?
GM: This old Sebadoh album, Bakesale, recently. Prince's Purple Rain, mainly because when we played Minneapolis the show was at his club, First Avenue, where the movie was shot.
B&N.com: You played The Late Show with David Letterman. What was that like?
GM: Kind of nerve wracking. It was almost more of a big deal for the record label people around us who had grown up watching Letterman and knew the reputation of the show. We couldn't entirely relate to it as an experience, but we knew it was important.
B&N.com: Is Letterman shown in England?
GM: No, we don't get it. It's referred to, and you can probably get it on cable, but it's not a program that goes out to the masses.
B&N.com: As far as national exposure goes, what is the equivalent to it in England?
GM: There aren't any chat shows that are as popular as Letterman in England at the moment. As far as exposure for pop bands, we did this show Later with Jools Holland, and that was a really big deal. It goes out live on Friday nights and always has four really famous musical guests. The week we did it, it was us, Interpol, and Elton John all playing on the same show.
B&N.com: Was there an all-star jam between you, Interpol, and Elton John?
GM: [laughs] There was. It works like this. Jools starts it, saying, "We're gonna play a blues riff in C," and he just kicks something off, and then the next band picks up from there, and then the next band.
B&N.com: So it's not like you all get together and play some old song by the Sweet or something.
GM: No, though that would have been nice. [laughs] It's really just jamming on a chord progression or riff. You just try to pick it up as it goes around and play along ineptly.
B&N.com: Did Elton John know who you were?
GM: During the interview segment, he was going on about how much he loves Interpol. We kept waiting for him to him to say, "and I'm quite intrigued by Bloc Party"...but he didn't. But he knows who we are now.
May 2005
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