Wednesday, November 30, 2005
NME name 'Silent Alarm' as their album of the year!
It's come around to that time of the year again...chestnuts roasting on an open fire, the copious consumption of mince pies...and numerous end of year best-of lists.
NME have named 'Silent Alarm' as their album of the year, ahead of albums by bands such as Arcade Fire, Franz Ferdinand and The White Stripes! That's a pretty cool achievement!
Kele had this to say about scooping the NME Album Of The Year award:
"It was a shock. It was the last thing we thought was going to happen. But it's a completely pleasant surprise.
"Obviously I'm proud of 'Silent Alarm' as a record and think it must have touched people. I always had the idea in my head that I wanted the songs to sound a lot bigger on record. I wasn't happy with the idea of us just going in and recording a live album. It had to be a different sort of sound.
"I remember at the beginning not being sure how it was going to sound, but by the end of the month realising we'd done ourselves proud. We said, 'If it doesn't get at least eight in NME, we're going to be very upset.'
"I still listen to it now and again to see what sort of effect it has on me a year down the line. There are some songs on there that I'm really proud of, and with the next record we're looking to explore those ideas more fully. It was meant to be just the beginning. There was no real overview, it was a snapshot of the way we were thinking. We know that we have better albums in us."
'Banquet' is at number 13 in NME's tracks of the year.
In Q magazine, 'Silent Alarm' is at number 25 in their albums of the year chart and 6 Bloc Party songs are in the magazine's top 100 tracks of the year poll, including 'Banquet' at number 15.
It's come around to that time of the year again...chestnuts roasting on an open fire, the copious consumption of mince pies...and numerous end of year best-of lists.
NME have named 'Silent Alarm' as their album of the year, ahead of albums by bands such as Arcade Fire, Franz Ferdinand and The White Stripes! That's a pretty cool achievement!
Kele had this to say about scooping the NME Album Of The Year award:
"It was a shock. It was the last thing we thought was going to happen. But it's a completely pleasant surprise.
"Obviously I'm proud of 'Silent Alarm' as a record and think it must have touched people. I always had the idea in my head that I wanted the songs to sound a lot bigger on record. I wasn't happy with the idea of us just going in and recording a live album. It had to be a different sort of sound.
"I remember at the beginning not being sure how it was going to sound, but by the end of the month realising we'd done ourselves proud. We said, 'If it doesn't get at least eight in NME, we're going to be very upset.'
"I still listen to it now and again to see what sort of effect it has on me a year down the line. There are some songs on there that I'm really proud of, and with the next record we're looking to explore those ideas more fully. It was meant to be just the beginning. There was no real overview, it was a snapshot of the way we were thinking. We know that we have better albums in us."
'Banquet' is at number 13 in NME's tracks of the year.
In Q magazine, 'Silent Alarm' is at number 25 in their albums of the year chart and 6 Bloc Party songs are in the magazine's top 100 tracks of the year poll, including 'Banquet' at number 15.
Labels: Awards, Silent_Alarm
¶ 2:39 PM 0 comments links to this post
Blocparty.net visitor map!
I recently came across a nifty little site called Frappr that lets you post up a map on your website or community showing where in the world your visitors are from. I thought it'd be a good idea to put one on blocparty.net so that users can find out if any fellow Bloc Party fans live near them.
It's really easy to sign up - just go to the Frappr map I've set up and enter your name and location. You can also contact anyone on the map (providing they've left an email address), post up your photo and/or leave a shoutout.
If the map gets enough members (and people think it's a good idea) I might run a BP fan of the month feature or something!
I recently came across a nifty little site called Frappr that lets you post up a map on your website or community showing where in the world your visitors are from. I thought it'd be a good idea to put one on blocparty.net so that users can find out if any fellow Bloc Party fans live near them.
It's really easy to sign up - just go to the Frappr map I've set up and enter your name and location. You can also contact anyone on the map (providing they've left an email address), post up your photo and/or leave a shoutout.
If the map gets enough members (and people think it's a good idea) I might run a BP fan of the month feature or something!
Labels: BlocParty.net
¶ 12:48 AM 0 comments links to this post
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Live webcast from Amsterdam Paradiso
On December 3rd (next Saturday), Bloc Party are playing at Amsterdam Paradiso. The whole gig will be webcast live on Fabchannel from 19:30 GMT. This is a great chance to experience a bit of live Bloc action, on the final date of their European tour.
The support band, Stars, will also have their whole set webcast on the same night from 18:30 GMT.
On December 3rd (next Saturday), Bloc Party are playing at Amsterdam Paradiso. The whole gig will be webcast live on Fabchannel from 19:30 GMT. This is a great chance to experience a bit of live Bloc action, on the final date of their European tour.
The support band, Stars, will also have their whole set webcast on the same night from 18:30 GMT.
Labels: Videos
¶ 1:01 PM 1 comments links to this post
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Download 'Les Black Sessions'!
Head over to www.blocparty.net/mp3 to download this classic Bloc Party session, aired on 'Maison de la Radio' in Paris on 07.02.05.
I'm going to be uploading the whole session over the coming weeks. (Bandwidth permitting!)
Head over to www.blocparty.net/mp3 to download this classic Bloc Party session, aired on 'Maison de la Radio' in Paris on 07.02.05.
I'm going to be uploading the whole session over the coming weeks. (Bandwidth permitting!)
Labels: Audio, Radio_sessions
¶ 6:28 PM 4 comments links to this post
Monday, November 21, 2005
Bloc Party nominated for five PLUG Independent Music Awards
PLUG is a collection of music lovers - writers, DJs, webmasters, bloggers, artists, filmmakers, managers, indie retailers and fans - who gather together each year to celebrate the artists who live and flourish in the margins.
This year, Bloc Party have been nominated in five PLUG Award categories: 'Album Of The Year', 'Artist Of The Year', 'Indie Rock Album Of The Year', 'Live Act Of The Year' and 'Music Video Of The Year' (for Helicopter).
The voting form is here. You know what to do...
The winners will be announced on February 2nd 2006 at a ceremony in Webster Hall, New York City.
PLUG is a collection of music lovers - writers, DJs, webmasters, bloggers, artists, filmmakers, managers, indie retailers and fans - who gather together each year to celebrate the artists who live and flourish in the margins.
This year, Bloc Party have been nominated in five PLUG Award categories: 'Album Of The Year', 'Artist Of The Year', 'Indie Rock Album Of The Year', 'Live Act Of The Year' and 'Music Video Of The Year' (for Helicopter).
The voting form is here. You know what to do...
The winners will be announced on February 2nd 2006 at a ceremony in Webster Hall, New York City.
Labels: Awards
¶ 5:39 PM 0 comments links to this post
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Competition winners
Congratulations to Shaz and Forest Traylor!
You each win a T-shirt of your choice from 'Everything But The Music'. I need you both to email me your full names, addresses and T-shirt choices so that I can email them to EBTM.com.
Many thanks to all the people who entered!
Congratulations to Shaz and Forest Traylor!
You each win a T-shirt of your choice from 'Everything But The Music'. I need you both to email me your full names, addresses and T-shirt choices so that I can email them to EBTM.com.
Many thanks to all the people who entered!
Labels: Competitions
¶ 3:48 PM 0 comments links to this post
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Last chance to enter the T-shirt competition!
The blocparty.net T-shirt competition (in association with EBTM.com) ends this Saturday - so tomorrow is the final day for entries!
Details on how to enter are here.
I'll post up the names of the two winners on Saturday 19th November.
The blocparty.net T-shirt competition (in association with EBTM.com) ends this Saturday - so tomorrow is the final day for entries!
Details on how to enter are here.
I'll post up the names of the two winners on Saturday 19th November.
Labels: Competitions
¶ 10:54 PM 1 comments links to this post
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
'Live At Reading' album now available to download from iTunes
Bloc Party's headline set on the Radio1/NME stage at this summer's Reading Festival is now available from the iTunes music store. Each individual song costs 79p, or the whole 13 track album can be downloaded for £7.99. ¶ 10:07 PM 0 comments links to this post
Bloc Party's headline set on the Radio1/NME stage at this summer's Reading Festival is now available from the iTunes music store. Each individual song costs 79p, or the whole 13 track album can be downloaded for £7.99. ¶ 10:07 PM 0 comments links to this post
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Listen to Bloc Party's BBC Radio 2 session
You can listen again to their session and interview with Dermot (fast forward by about 1 hour and 15 minutes) from the BBC Radio 2 website. They played 'Banquet', 'Two More Years' and 'Helicopter', recorded at Maida Vale a couple of weeks ago.
They also recorded 'Storm And Stress', which is available to stream as an exclusive live track.
You can listen again to their session and interview with Dermot (fast forward by about 1 hour and 15 minutes) from the BBC Radio 2 website. They played 'Banquet', 'Two More Years' and 'Helicopter', recorded at Maida Vale a couple of weeks ago.
They also recorded 'Storm And Stress', which is available to stream as an exclusive live track.
Labels: Audio
¶ 12:37 AM 4 comments links to this post
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Bloc Party live set on BBC Radio 2
Dermot O'Leary will play a recent Bloc Party session on his BBC Radio 2 show today, sometime between 5pm and 7pm . Listen live or tune your radios to 88-91 FM.
Dermot O'Leary will play a recent Bloc Party session on his BBC Radio 2 show today, sometime between 5pm and 7pm . Listen live or tune your radios to 88-91 FM.
Labels: Radio_sessions
¶ 1:40 AM 0 comments links to this post
Monday, November 07, 2005
Win any T-shirt of your choice from EBTM.com!
The lovely people over at Everything But The Music have given me two T-shirts for blocparty.net users to win.
To enter, email me your name along with the answer to the following question:
Name the Bloc Party song that contains the following lyrics..."you don't need to preach to me, i'm a believer baby".
Everyone who emails me the correct answer will be placed in the draw.
Two names will be picked at random on Saturday November 19th.
The two winners will each be able to pick any short sleeved T-shirt of their choice from EBTM.com.
This competition is open to anyone, regardless of where they live.
Good luck!
The lovely people over at Everything But The Music have given me two T-shirts for blocparty.net users to win.
To enter, email me your name along with the answer to the following question:
Name the Bloc Party song that contains the following lyrics..."you don't need to preach to me, i'm a believer baby".
Everyone who emails me the correct answer will be placed in the draw.
Two names will be picked at random on Saturday November 19th.
The two winners will each be able to pick any short sleeved T-shirt of their choice from EBTM.com.
This competition is open to anyone, regardless of where they live.
Good luck!
Labels: Competitions
¶ 11:34 PM 5 comments links to this post
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Final Fantasy covers Bloc Party
Owen Pallett is a bit of a genius. As well as co-writing the string arrangements on the Arcade Fire's debut album and playing with them live, he also has a solo project called 'Final Fantasy'. This features Owen on vocals and violin, occasionally backed by Leon Taheny on drums (who also engineers and produces the project).
As anyone who's been lucky enough to go to a Final Fantasy gig will testify, he is a stunning live performer. He builds up layers of sound using his violin through a loop pedal, including knocking the instrument to create a beat. Owen also has a stop-you-in-your-tracks angelic voice and his next album will apparently be called 'He Poos Clouds', which is described as "an eight-song cycle about the eight schools of magic in Dungeons & Dragons"!
Anway, I've uploaded the Final Fantasy cover of 'This Modern Love', filmed at one of his recent gigs. Clicky.
Owen Pallett is a bit of a genius. As well as co-writing the string arrangements on the Arcade Fire's debut album and playing with them live, he also has a solo project called 'Final Fantasy'. This features Owen on vocals and violin, occasionally backed by Leon Taheny on drums (who also engineers and produces the project).
As anyone who's been lucky enough to go to a Final Fantasy gig will testify, he is a stunning live performer. He builds up layers of sound using his violin through a loop pedal, including knocking the instrument to create a beat. Owen also has a stop-you-in-your-tracks angelic voice and his next album will apparently be called 'He Poos Clouds', which is described as "an eight-song cycle about the eight schools of magic in Dungeons & Dragons"!
Anway, I've uploaded the Final Fantasy cover of 'This Modern Love', filmed at one of his recent gigs. Clicky.
Labels: Other_bands
¶ 10:35 PM 9 comments links to this post
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Bloc Party announce Irish instores
The band are to meet fans and sign copies of 'Silent Alarm' at two instore appearances in Ireland next week:
The band are to meet fans and sign copies of 'Silent Alarm' at two instore appearances in Ireland next week:
- Tower Records in Dublin (Wicklow Street) - Monday 7th November at 3pm
- HMV in Galway - Tuesday 8th November at 3pm.
Labels: Tour
¶ 4:15 PM 0 comments links to this post
Friday, November 04, 2005
'Heroes' (Issue 2: Royal Affairs)
Here's the second issue of the Bloc Party comic strip, this time also featuring Kaiser Chiefs, made by Anant Naik using photographs from 'Marshals'.
By the way, 'This Modern Art' is still open for submissions. If you've created any drawings, computer graphics or other artwork related to the band, send them over to me along with your name and I'll post them up on blocparty.net!
Here's the second issue of the Bloc Party comic strip, this time also featuring Kaiser Chiefs, made by Anant Naik using photographs from 'Marshals'.
By the way, 'This Modern Art' is still open for submissions. If you've created any drawings, computer graphics or other artwork related to the band, send them over to me along with your name and I'll post them up on blocparty.net!
Labels: Fan_art
¶ 2:52 PM 0 comments links to this post
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
New Japanese release: 'Two More Years EP' + 'Silent Alarm Remixed'
A double CD exclusive to Japan was released last week. This comprises 'Silent Alarm Remixed' (including an extra remix of 'Banquet') and the 'Two More Years EP', which compiles all the tracks from the Wichita single plus three bonus videos.
Labels: Other_releases
¶ 2:25 PM 0 comments links to this post
Free gig in Galway, Ireland on 8th November
Bloc Party are playing a Heineken Green Room Session in Galway, Ireland on Tuesday 8th November. This will be at the Black Box venue and tickets are available here. Be quick - there are only 180 tickets left!
Bloc Party are playing a Heineken Green Room Session in Galway, Ireland on Tuesday 8th November. This will be at the Black Box venue and tickets are available here. Be quick - there are only 180 tickets left!
Labels: Tour
¶ 12:01 AM 0 comments links to this post
