Punching Above His Weight
July 2, 2010With Bloc Party on indefinite hiatus, the debut solo record from frontman Kele Okereke reveals an artist in the throes of change, writes Dan Rule.
Talking with Kele Okereke is a little like walking on eggshells. One wrong move, and the floor falls out from under you, and it’s all awkward silence. But tapping into a vein of interest sees the 28-year-old unload streams of garrulous explanations and digressions that ricochet every which way.
Luckily, today, there is far more of the latter. “I’ve always enjoyed dancing,” he states plainly, if not suddenly. “It’s something that is important, dancing, and that’s not necessarily dancing to house or techno or any of the more serious kinds of dance music,” he gushes at a million miles an hour. “Going and dancing is something one should do as often as possible, because it’s something that’s good for you. It clears out the mind and it’s a good way to relax,” he pauses for a breath. “In this day and age it’s almost like a meditative exercise. I think it’s an important thing that people should do socially.”
In his own roundabout way, Okereke – who is chatting from New York, where he is doing press for his solo record The Boxer – is justifying his renewed engagement with electronica, a quality strewn throughout the album’s clutch of driving, dance-orientated rhythms and cut-and-paste aesthetics. Indeed, while Bloc Party’s three records (breakout 2005 debut Silent Alarm, 2007’s A Weekend in the City and 2008’s more deconstructive Intimacy) have always kept electronics within earshot, Okereke’s solo venture embraces it with open arms.
“The appeal of electronic music is the idea that you can create anything and you’re only limited by the power of your imagination,” he urges. “There’s a million options out there.” Recorded in London with Glaswegian production prodigy Hudson Mohawke and in New York with Spank Rock affiliate XXXChange, The Boxer ripples with exploratory flare. Where opener Walk Tall detonates searing drones over gunshot kicks, cuts like On the Lam and Tenderoni have Okereke crooning over buried house and techno inflections, while Unholy Thoughts sees a wiry, vintage Bloc Party guitar line expand into a sea of synthetic atmospheres. It’s a trip to say the least.
“There’s that idea that rock music has a certain authenticity in conveying emotion, and that’s totally valid – the power of a great, visceral rock show is that it’s very immediate – but I think there are other things you can do, other ways you can convey ideas through music,” says Okereke. “I’ve never wanted my expression to be limited,” he continues. “It’s something I’ve learned not to be frightened of.”
Okereke, however, sees the record as more of an artistic progression than a dramatic reinvention. “Making Intimacy definitely paved that way for making The Boxer,” he says. “Half that record we recorded in a similar way, with just me and the producer editing the band’s takes together rather than us all being in a room and playing as a band. “Having attempted that with Intimacy, The Boxer process was very similar. It was me and a producer in a room, editing stuff.”
With Bloc Party on an indefinite break, the challenge of going it alone buoyed Okereke. “Making this thing by myself was really quite rejuvenating and quite inspiring,” he offers. “I didn’t know if it was going to be possible. I’d never made a record by myself; I didn’t know if I could do it. And there were times when it was difficult, of course, and I kept on going and I learned a lot about myself during the process.”
While many have suggested that the record’s title – and the fact that Okereke started kickboxing earlier in the year – was a response to an alleged racist assault by members of John Lydon’s entourage backstage in Barcelona, Okereke refutes the suggestion … in a manner of speaking. “The image of The Boxer is the idea that you keep going no matter what life throws at you, to keep your head up high,” he says. “A lot of our previous stuff as Bloc Party was more about regretting the past; this record is about looking to the future,” he pauses. “It really feels like an optimistic record.”
The Boxer is out now via Wichita/Shock.
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