Bloc Party's Kele Okereke Announces Debut Solo Album, Video, Tour

Photo by Sarah Piantadosi, homepage photo by Mark C. Austin

When Bloc Party decided to take some time off and go on hiatus after five straight years of touring, the band’s guitarist and frontman Kele Okereke thought he’d enjoy a break from music. He couldn’t resist the creative pull, though, and booked himself some time in a recording studio to experiment. The Boxer, Okereke’s debut solo album that’s due out June 22 via Glassnote Records, is the result of that experimentation.

“I plugged in synths with no idea what they would do. I began programming drum beats, which I had never done before. It was completely back to the drawing board, " Okereke said of leaving his familiar guitar behind for most of the record’s instrumentation. "It was exciting and terrifying. In most cases, I sat down, pulled a drum beat out of nowhere, and arranged stuff around that. It was as exciting to me as the first time I picked up a guitar.”

Watch the video for the record’s first single, “Tenderoni,” below, and check out the list of Okereke’s summer tour dates below the video.

May
14 – Limerick, Ireland @ Dolans
15 – Cork, Ireland @ Cyprus Avenue
16 – Dublin, Ireland @ The Academy
17 – Belfast, Ireland @ Spring and Airbrake
20 – Cologne, Germany @ E-Werk (Electronic Beats)
21 – Hamburg, Germany @ Prinzenbarhalle
22 – Berlin, Germany @ Weekend Club

June
11 – Sheffield, UK @ Plug
12 – Manchester, UK @ Warehouse Project Fest
24 – Brighton, UK @ Digital

July
1 – Leeds, UK @ Cockpit
2 – Oxford, UK @ Academy 2
3 – Southampton, UK @ University
5 – Norwich, UK Waterfront
6 – London, UK @ Village Underground
8 – Newcastle, UK @ Digital
12 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla
13 – Nottingham, UK @ Ultra!
14 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy 2
16 – Melt Festival Germany
23 – Chicag,o Ill. @ Metro
24 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ Varsity
25 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ Turner Hall
27 – Pontiac, Mich. @ Crofoot
29 – Toronto, Ontario @ The Mod Club Theatre
30 – Ottawa Ontario @ Capital Music Hall
31 – Montreal, Quebec @ Osheaga Festival

August
2 – Boston, Mass @ Royale
3 – New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall,
6 – Philadelphia, Penn. @ Trocadero
7 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
27 – Paris, France @ Rock En Seine
28 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
29 – Reading, UK @ Reading Festival,
31 – Ibiza, Spain @ Ibiza Rocks

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