Biography
Kele Okereke first gained recognition as Bloc Party's frontman, guitarist, and primary songwriter before launching a parallel solo path that embraced everything from electronic textures to folk-tinged singer/songwriter material. His initial departure from the group produced the 2010 debut The Boxer. He then shifted toward refined dance sounds on 2014's Trick before adopting a more introspective, pastoral tone on 2017's Fatherland. Closing out the decade, he synthesized these threads and added soul elements to the politically charged 2042.
Born in Liverpool, England, to Nigerian parents, Okereke relocated with his family to London during his high-school years. There he encountered future Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack. While attending college, the pair launched the Angel Range and soon recruited bassist Gordon Moakes along with drummer Matt Tong. The group adopted the name Bloc Party in 2003 and achieved recognition through a series of post-punk-inflected singles and albums that began with "Banquet" and "She's Hearing Voices," followed by Silent Alarm in 2005, A Weekend in the City in 2007, and Intimacy in 2008.
Toward the end of 2008, Okereke relocated to Berlin and started writing material that leaned more heavily into electronics than the band's angular style. In 2009 he guested on Tiësto's "It's Not the Things You Say," coinciding with Bloc Party's decision to enter hiatus. The next year he issued his debut solo single "Tenderoni" and the XXXChange-produced album The Boxer, whose songs drew inspiration from the discipline of boxers. The companion Hunter EP appeared in 2011. Later that same year he rejoined Bloc Party for their fourth album, the harder-edged Four, which surfaced in 2012.
Throughout the remainder of the 2010s Okereke balanced commitments to both projects. Following a 2013 collaboration with Sub Focus on "Turn It Around," he released the house- and dub-inflected Heartbreaker EP. Another EP, Candy Flip, led into his second solo album Trick, issued on his own Lilac Records label and marked by a fusion of electronic production with pop songcraft. Bloc Party's fifth album, Hymns, arrived in 2016 and merged gospel and R&B elements with atmospheric electronica. Okereke's third solo effort, Fatherland, reflected his experiences as a new parent, his African heritage, and the influence of Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, Joni Mitchell, and Al Green. Recorded in Portland, Oregon, and featuring Corinne Bailey Rae plus Olly Alexander of Years & Years, the album appeared in October 2017.
After pausing solo activity for Bloc Party's 2019 tour marking the anniversary of Silent Alarm, Okereke returned to his own catalog with the fourth album 2042. Addressing social concerns with greater urgency than on Fatherland, he confronted racism and political themes on tracks such as the Afrobeat-driven single "Jungle Bunny." That same year he premiered his musical Leave to Remain in London, whose themes aligned with those explored on 2042.
Born in Liverpool, England, to Nigerian parents, Okereke relocated with his family to London during his high-school years. There he encountered future Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack. While attending college, the pair launched the Angel Range and soon recruited bassist Gordon Moakes along with drummer Matt Tong. The group adopted the name Bloc Party in 2003 and achieved recognition through a series of post-punk-inflected singles and albums that began with "Banquet" and "She's Hearing Voices," followed by Silent Alarm in 2005, A Weekend in the City in 2007, and Intimacy in 2008.
Toward the end of 2008, Okereke relocated to Berlin and started writing material that leaned more heavily into electronics than the band's angular style. In 2009 he guested on Tiësto's "It's Not the Things You Say," coinciding with Bloc Party's decision to enter hiatus. The next year he issued his debut solo single "Tenderoni" and the XXXChange-produced album The Boxer, whose songs drew inspiration from the discipline of boxers. The companion Hunter EP appeared in 2011. Later that same year he rejoined Bloc Party for their fourth album, the harder-edged Four, which surfaced in 2012.
Throughout the remainder of the 2010s Okereke balanced commitments to both projects. Following a 2013 collaboration with Sub Focus on "Turn It Around," he released the house- and dub-inflected Heartbreaker EP. Another EP, Candy Flip, led into his second solo album Trick, issued on his own Lilac Records label and marked by a fusion of electronic production with pop songcraft. Bloc Party's fifth album, Hymns, arrived in 2016 and merged gospel and R&B elements with atmospheric electronica. Okereke's third solo effort, Fatherland, reflected his experiences as a new parent, his African heritage, and the influence of Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, Joni Mitchell, and Al Green. Recorded in Portland, Oregon, and featuring Corinne Bailey Rae plus Olly Alexander of Years & Years, the album appeared in October 2017.
After pausing solo activity for Bloc Party's 2019 tour marking the anniversary of Silent Alarm, Okereke returned to his own catalog with the fourth album 2042. Addressing social concerns with greater urgency than on Fatherland, he confronted racism and political themes on tracks such as the Afrobeat-driven single "Jungle Bunny." That same year he premiered his musical Leave to Remain in London, whose themes aligned with those explored on 2042.
Albums
Singles
