Bloc Party To Curate ‘Tapes’ Mix

Kele Okereke at the controls...

Bloc Party are set to curate the latest instalment of the 'Tapes' series.

Bloc Party have always admitted a debt towards electronic music. From their earliest releases, the band have commissioned remixes and added hints of club culture to their material.

Now frontman Kele Okereke is set to take charge of a new mix for the 'Tapes' series. "We always respected dance music" the frontman insists. "It's where lots of ideas for our songs started. Our first single, 'She's Hearing Voices', was very much inspired by the image of people dancing. Rhythm and groove has always been important to the band and I wanted to reflect that. I guess it's something that I'm taking further with this mix."

Opening with a flurry of atmospheric post-rock cuts and American indie, the eclectic mix soon sweeps into electronic climes. Coming of age in the late 90s, Kele Okereke even throws in a few old skool 2-step bangers to spice things up.

"I grew up in East London, but I went to school in Essex, in Woodford" the singer continues. "This was in the mid '90s, so every other club was a two-step garage club. The first dance music I heard was garage. I have very fond memories of going to garage nights, so it was important for me to get some on there. It has a very triumphant, quasi-religious feeling to it, which is the reason it stuck with me. It's almost gospel like."

A broad, extremely diverse mix, Kele Okereke is keen to stress the importance he places on club culture. "I think it's an artform," he says. "It's been quite eye-opening, seeing how you can manipulate a crowd by tweaking a mixer. It's exciting seeing how the similarities in seemingly disparate worlds come together".

With Bloc Party set to take a break, the frontman wants to dismiss any speculation that this mix will hasten the group's demise. "If anything this will be to the betterment of Bloc Party" he states. "It's like having an affair, then being able to come back home and realising what it is that you have. I don’t think exploring this electronic world will be to the detriment of Bloc Party. Quite the opposite."

Pre-order link.

'Tapes' is set to be released on October 14th. Tracklisting:

1. Zia / Manifesto Meditations – Intro
2. Do Make Say Think – I Love You (La La La)
3. Tweak / Tony Allen – Leroy
4. Wiley – Numbers In Action (Sticky Remix)
5. Wookie feat. Lain – Battle
6. French Fries – Space Alarm
7. Bloc Party – Obscene (Kele Okereke Remix)
8. Double 99 – RIP Groove
9. Fela Aniulapo Kuti & Afrika 70 – Shuffering & Shmiling
10. Torske – Jeg Vil Være Søppelmann
11. Larry Heard presents Mr. White – The Sun Can’t Compare (Long Version)
12. Cajmere – Percolator (Jamie Jones Vault Mix)
13. Junior Boys – Like A Child (Carl Craig Remix)
14. Vaghe Stelle – The Platform (Samoyed Remix)
15. Jacques Greene – The Look (Koreless Remix)

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