{"id":125643,"date":"2025-05-23T15:55:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T15:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/125643\/"},"modified":"2025-05-23T15:55:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T15:55:08","slug":"bloc-party-on-their-new-disco-heartbreak-album-with-trevor-horn-and-being-at-peace-with-silent-alarm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/125643\/","title":{"rendered":"Bloc Party on their new “disco heartbreak” album with Trevor Horn and being “at peace” with ‘Silent Alarm’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bloc Party<\/a> have revealed that they\u2019re working with the legendary Trevor Horn on a new album of \u201cdisco heartbreak\u201d, as well as speaking to NME about finally being \u201cat peace\u201d with their seminal debut \u2018Silent Alarm\u2019. Watch our video interview with the band above.<\/p>\n

The UK indie icons were in London to accept the Outstanding Song Collection Award at the Ivors 2025<\/a>, where the likes of U2, Brandon Flowers, Robbie Williams, Lola Young and Self Esteem were also honoured<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Asked about what the future holds, frontman Kele Okereke<\/a> told us about progress on the band\u2019s seventh studio album \u2013 being helmed by Tony Horn, producer of classic records by the likes of Grace Jones<\/a>, Pet Shop Boys<\/a>, ABC<\/a>, Frankie Goes To Hollywood<\/a> and Belle And Sebastian<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m working on a musical at the moment, and we are working on the next Bloc Party record with a super-producer called Trevor Horn,\u201d Okereke told NME. \u201cHe\u2019s made some of my favourite records of all time, so it\u2019s quite interesting to hear what he has to say. He\u2019s been making records for most of his life, for over 50 years, so he seems to know all the tricks. He seems to know everyone as well and have a story about everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a record about heartbreak, really \u2013 that\u2019s the only thing I can say about it at this stage. Hopefully it will be out next year, but we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the sound of the album, Okereke replied: \u201cWe\u2019re only halfway through with six songs. I think it feels quite synthetic in places. The term that we were bandying around at the start was \u2018disco heartbreak\u2019. That was the umbrella, but it\u2019s kind of morphed into something else. We\u2019re only six songs in, so it could go completely left. We\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KeleKele Okereke and Russell Lissack from Bloc Party with their Outstanding Contribution awards pose in the winners\u2019 room during the Ivor Novello Awards (Photo by Ben Whitley\/PA Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Other than \u201cfanboying\u201d over Crispin Hunt from The Longpigs<\/a> at the ceremony \u2013 where former bandmates Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes were also in attendance and honoured<\/a> \u2013 Okereke explained how their time in the spotlight at the Ivors felt \u201csomewhat surreal\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first started this, the music that we liked wasn\u2019t music that was recognised on a platform like this,\u201d he said, looking back to when the band started out at the turn of the century. \u201cBut it would be churlish to say that it didn\u2019t feel nice to be honoured in front of all your peers. It feels good and it makes me optimistic about the future, and I think that\u2019s the most important thing really.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this wouldn\u2019t mean anything unless we were focused on going somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

The frontman described the band\u2019s songwriting chemistry as something \u201cquite intangible\u201d and \u201cmagic\u201d, noting that it was\u00a0\u201cgreater than the sum of its parts. I realise that now, and I didn\u2019t at the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the band\u2019s longevity and survival, Okereke said that Bloc Party were now \u201cin a lucky space in our career\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the beginning, it was a very intense pressurised thing: we would make a record, tour, make a record, tour,\u201d he told NME. \u201cNow we all have families and other things that we\u2019re doing, so when we get together it\u2019s because we want to get together and because there\u2019s something exciting to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the beginning, we just worked so much that it didn\u2019t really stop. Whilst I\u2019m thankful we did that and it laid the groundwork, now it\u2019s great to have time we our families and do other things and other projects, but then bring it back to Bloc Party.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The band are still in the midst of touring to celebrate 20 years of their seminal debut album \u2018Silent Alarm\u2019<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a process that Okereke said had given him a deeper understanding of the record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like whenever I listen to any of our records from the past, I would hear things I didn\u2019t like about them and things I\u2019d like to change,\u201d he admitted. \u201cWe did a big homecoming show in London last year<\/a> to commemorate 25 years. Something kind of switched.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore, I was always seeing things in the records that I didn\u2019t like, and now I\u2019m slightly at peace with the whole thing. We\u2019ve done something great and it\u2019s been recognised throughout the world, and I\u2019m at peace with that. We did something!\u201d<\/p>\n

Bloc Party are on tour celebrating \u2018Silent Alarm\u2019 throughout the summer. Visit here<\/a> for tickets and more information.<\/p>\n