Londons Bloc Party play danceable indie-rock with an unusual sense of urgency, like the band is striking up a merry tune on the deck of a sinking ship. Theyve been lumped in with others of the new so-called post-punk revival: Franz Ferdinand and all that, but Bloc Party have perhaps a bit too much fire to fit in comfortably with their chilly, artsy, deadpan brethren -- so its perhaps no coincidence that bassist Gordon Moakes led off our recent conversation with a complaint about NYCs low temperatures:
Keith Daniels: How are you doing?
Gordon Moakes: Alright. A bit cold, actually. Just sort of buttoned up. Im in New York, just staying with my girlfriend, basically. I have a resident girlfriend in New York.
KD: Shes an American?
GM: Yeah. Its a silver lining on the cloud of a week of [doing] promotion in New York.
KD: Last night you played at the Roxy. How was that?
GM: It was really, really good. The best show weve done all year, actually.
KD: How would compare last night with the first shows that you played there in September/October last year?
GM: Well, theyre telling us were better, now. [Laughs] Also, they knew a few more of the songs. It was kind of like seeing old friends, actually, an audience that sort of knew us, and had been waiting patiently for us to come back.
KD: If youre playing a show now in the States, and someone already knows all the lyrics, you know that theyre either industry, theyve downloaded it, or theyve imported it. What do you think about people downloading the record?
GM: Im sort of in favor of it. I mean, I know our record label would feel differently, but its not harming us at all to have people know our songs. My experience with the fans has been that it doesnt stop them from going out and buying it. Weve had something like 60,000 people buy the record this week in the U.K., so you cant say that our sales have been hampered, really, by downloading. I can understand that people who are fans want to get hold of the record in advance.
KD: Did you hear that Hunter S. Thompson killed himself last night?
GM: Yeah. We just got home, and we were a little bit drunk and couldnt really take it in. Sad news, that.
KD: Have you read any of his books?
GM: [Laughs] I havent, actually, but I have a lot of friends who are big fans.
KD: To be honest, I havent read any of his work yet either. There are just so many books that your reading list ends up longer than a lifespan.
GM: [Laughs] I know, I know, I know.
KD: Youve got 11 days till your next gig. What are you going to do with them?
GM: Were spending all this week doing promos in New York, so weve got interviews and photo shoots every day until Saturday, and then were flying back to London. So were going to be quite busy, and thatll just give us a day, I think, to rest, then were traveling up to our next gig.
KD: Do you ever feel like, when youre on tour, that youre not actually seeing the cities that youre passing through?
GM: Sometimes. I did feel like that a bit when we were on the European tour with Interpol. The tough thing is, if youre on a sleeper bus, that you see the inner part of the bus, and then you wake up in a new city. Occasionally you have a couple hours to look around, and we certainly have done that in some cities, but sometimes youve just not got the energy [or] inclination. I think theres only so much you can take on, anyway, and weve seen a lot of the world. Weve met a lot of people from different places. Weve certainly sampled the culture from a lot of different places. Even if it is a bit fleeting, I think theres still some use to it.
KD: When you said you were cold earlier, it reminded me of the first line of Like Eating Glass: Its so cold in this house, and also of the fact that my gas got turned off the other day -- couldnt pay the bill. So I was wondering, what was the most desperate youve ever been?
GM: Aw, Im sorry mate. I guess it wouldve been when I was a student. When I was out of work I ended up moving back home with my parents. If I wasnt always fuckin off then I wouldve been a better student. I just remember living in basements sort of one room flats where there was mold growing on the blinds, and the bathroom was so damp that the paint on the walls had never had a chance to dry, so you couldnt put your hand on [it] it was literally like attacking you with paint. Always so damp. I used to lose the circulation in my fingers just from sitting around in this really freezing basement flat. So yeah, Ive been there.
KD: Do you smoke?
GM: Yeah.
KD: Have you ever had to choose between food and cigarettes?
GM: Um Ive never quite got that desperate. [Laughs]
KD: If you had to, though.
GM: Id probably go with food. [Laughs] I have quite a good relationship with smoking, in that I can leave it for days at a time if I have to.
KD: When did you first realize that you had something special, something good, with this band? A moment where you heard something and said, Damn. Thats fucking good.
GM: I think we had moments in the early days. The three of us: Russell, Kele, and I would practice in the parents' front room. I remember some of the guitar riffs we used to play back then [were] really intriguing, and thats what kept me interested. I think it was when Matt joined the band, which was a good two years after I joined, that I had this feeling of, Yeah, weve actually got something here. Hes such a good drummer, and wed played with so many drummers that were really kind of average, that it made all the difference. So, [in answer to your question], some of the songs that we started out on with Matt.
KD: I was reading one interview with you, and you were talking about how you consider your group a pop band. What makes a good pop song, for you?
GM: I think we deal with melody, which is what pop is, really that top melody that makes you soar, really, lifts you. We deal in that, not in the same way, but in the same currency thats in Destinys Child even in things that some people dont consider pop: Sonic Youth, Queens of the Stone Age, or whatever. All those bands have these great melodies. Thats one of the things I think no one knows about Queens of the Stone Age: its a great pop song. Its got this lovely lilting melody to it, thats obviously underpinned by really heavy drums and guitars, but what you sing is a crisp, melodic line and thats what stays with you. We deal in that kind of stuff.
KD: When you look out at the audience from onstage, can you read expressions? Can you tell when somebodys been caught up in it like that?
GM: Yeah, certainly. Especially the small gigs, like last night. Well, last night wasnt a small gig, but it was intimate. You have people pressed right up to the stage, and thats nice. You can really reach out, literally at times, and just pick people out people you can tell are enjoying it from their expressions and their gestures, their movements and everything
KD: .
GM: What was that, Im sorry?
KD: No, no, go ahead. I apologize.
GM: Its okay. I was just thinking that when my girlfriends in the audience, I must admit that Im a bit of a romantic like that, and I try to pick her out. She usually stands right in front of me. [Laughs] Right down by the front. Not for her standing at the side of the stage, or at the back of the room. She loves to be right down at the front with the rest of the kids. Thats sweet.
KD: I noticed that on your website that you guys still all have email addresses listed. Are you still able to answer all your email?
GM: Im having trouble, to be honest. Its a time issue, really. There was a time when I was answering most things, and I would have a Reply To box and go through it slowly to send a quick word especially if someone was asking me something specific, because I get a lot of email thats like, What kind of bass should I play? or Where can I find this tablature for the bass? There was a time when I had more time available, and had the energy to talk more directly with people. I find it difficult to prioritize it, now. I think If I cant answer all of them, which ones deserve to be answered, and which ones dont? So I tend to leave a lot of them, to be honest. So if anyones ever written to me, Im sorry. Ive got a bit too busy.
KD: On Price of Gas he sings I can tell you how this ends, and I get the feeling that hes talking about the end of the world. How do you think the world is going to end?
GM: Im sure that what scientists will tell you is that over the course of the next 10,000 years the Earth will gradually rotate to one side and well all burn up or something, but I like to think it will all just kind of un-inspiringly come to an end, really. Like someone will just turn it off, and it will all go dark. But were not a doom-mongering band, and I tend not to think about those things.
KD: Kele describes your sound as Technicolor, so I was surprised that the album art was so black and white: all snow and dead trees. I was wondering if you liked the album art, and what you had to do with it?
GM: Good question, actually. I picked it. [Laughs] I found a photograph that we all liked, and I just always felt that the first record should be as plain as possible. I have this big thing for space in design: Less is more. So I wanted something really stark, actually, and it kind of went with the name of the record as well. Its not necessarily echoed in the sound of the record, but I just thought Id go for clean lines. I felt white. Thats what I wanted, white for the record.
KD: Was the book youre reading in the inner booklet White Noise by Don DeLillo?
GM: The one on the sofa beside me? It could be one Kele was reading. It could be White Noise. He certainly does read DeLillo, but I cant say without looking at it.
KD: Ive never seen you live, so I wanted to ask: is it you singing the lead vocals on This Modern Love?
GM: No. It is Kele, but with a slightly processed sound on that song.
KD: I got the feeling when I was listening to Positive Tension that you must look forward to that song on the set-list every night.
GM: Youre right, I do. Its a nice bassline on that song. I like This Modern Love as well, because its so kind of soaring, and Shes Hearing Voices.
KD: Any other thoughts? Things youre looking forward to?
GM: Just looking forward to going away, to be honest, and spending a little time in New York. [Pauses] I really do love it here.
KD: Can you see yourself living there?
GM: Yeah. I could live in New York.
KD: John Lennon said If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Today America is the Roman Empire and New York is Rome itself.
GM: Yeah. I can see that. Anyway, thank you for your interesting questions.
Silent Alarm, the debut album by Bloc Party, will be released in the United States on March 22nd. For more information, including lyrics and tour dates, check out BlocParty.com.
Keith Daniels: How are you doing?
Gordon Moakes: Alright. A bit cold, actually. Just sort of buttoned up. Im in New York, just staying with my girlfriend, basically. I have a resident girlfriend in New York.
KD: Shes an American?
GM: Yeah. Its a silver lining on the cloud of a week of [doing] promotion in New York.
KD: Last night you played at the Roxy. How was that?
GM: It was really, really good. The best show weve done all year, actually.
KD: How would compare last night with the first shows that you played there in September/October last year?
GM: Well, theyre telling us were better, now. [Laughs] Also, they knew a few more of the songs. It was kind of like seeing old friends, actually, an audience that sort of knew us, and had been waiting patiently for us to come back.
KD: If youre playing a show now in the States, and someone already knows all the lyrics, you know that theyre either industry, theyve downloaded it, or theyve imported it. What do you think about people downloading the record?
GM: Im sort of in favor of it. I mean, I know our record label would feel differently, but its not harming us at all to have people know our songs. My experience with the fans has been that it doesnt stop them from going out and buying it. Weve had something like 60,000 people buy the record this week in the U.K., so you cant say that our sales have been hampered, really, by downloading. I can understand that people who are fans want to get hold of the record in advance.
KD: Did you hear that Hunter S. Thompson killed himself last night?
GM: Yeah. We just got home, and we were a little bit drunk and couldnt really take it in. Sad news, that.
KD: Have you read any of his books?
GM: [Laughs] I havent, actually, but I have a lot of friends who are big fans.
KD: To be honest, I havent read any of his work yet either. There are just so many books that your reading list ends up longer than a lifespan.
GM: [Laughs] I know, I know, I know.
KD: Youve got 11 days till your next gig. What are you going to do with them?
GM: Were spending all this week doing promos in New York, so weve got interviews and photo shoots every day until Saturday, and then were flying back to London. So were going to be quite busy, and thatll just give us a day, I think, to rest, then were traveling up to our next gig.
KD: Do you ever feel like, when youre on tour, that youre not actually seeing the cities that youre passing through?
GM: Sometimes. I did feel like that a bit when we were on the European tour with Interpol. The tough thing is, if youre on a sleeper bus, that you see the inner part of the bus, and then you wake up in a new city. Occasionally you have a couple hours to look around, and we certainly have done that in some cities, but sometimes youve just not got the energy [or] inclination. I think theres only so much you can take on, anyway, and weve seen a lot of the world. Weve met a lot of people from different places. Weve certainly sampled the culture from a lot of different places. Even if it is a bit fleeting, I think theres still some use to it.
KD: When you said you were cold earlier, it reminded me of the first line of Like Eating Glass: Its so cold in this house, and also of the fact that my gas got turned off the other day -- couldnt pay the bill. So I was wondering, what was the most desperate youve ever been?
GM: Aw, Im sorry mate. I guess it wouldve been when I was a student. When I was out of work I ended up moving back home with my parents. If I wasnt always fuckin off then I wouldve been a better student. I just remember living in basements sort of one room flats where there was mold growing on the blinds, and the bathroom was so damp that the paint on the walls had never had a chance to dry, so you couldnt put your hand on [it] it was literally like attacking you with paint. Always so damp. I used to lose the circulation in my fingers just from sitting around in this really freezing basement flat. So yeah, Ive been there.
KD: Do you smoke?
GM: Yeah.
KD: Have you ever had to choose between food and cigarettes?
GM: Um Ive never quite got that desperate. [Laughs]
KD: If you had to, though.
GM: Id probably go with food. [Laughs] I have quite a good relationship with smoking, in that I can leave it for days at a time if I have to.
KD: When did you first realize that you had something special, something good, with this band? A moment where you heard something and said, Damn. Thats fucking good.
GM: I think we had moments in the early days. The three of us: Russell, Kele, and I would practice in the parents' front room. I remember some of the guitar riffs we used to play back then [were] really intriguing, and thats what kept me interested. I think it was when Matt joined the band, which was a good two years after I joined, that I had this feeling of, Yeah, weve actually got something here. Hes such a good drummer, and wed played with so many drummers that were really kind of average, that it made all the difference. So, [in answer to your question], some of the songs that we started out on with Matt.
KD: I was reading one interview with you, and you were talking about how you consider your group a pop band. What makes a good pop song, for you?
GM: I think we deal with melody, which is what pop is, really that top melody that makes you soar, really, lifts you. We deal in that, not in the same way, but in the same currency thats in Destinys Child even in things that some people dont consider pop: Sonic Youth, Queens of the Stone Age, or whatever. All those bands have these great melodies. Thats one of the things I think no one knows about Queens of the Stone Age: its a great pop song. Its got this lovely lilting melody to it, thats obviously underpinned by really heavy drums and guitars, but what you sing is a crisp, melodic line and thats what stays with you. We deal in that kind of stuff.
KD: When you look out at the audience from onstage, can you read expressions? Can you tell when somebodys been caught up in it like that?
GM: Yeah, certainly. Especially the small gigs, like last night. Well, last night wasnt a small gig, but it was intimate. You have people pressed right up to the stage, and thats nice. You can really reach out, literally at times, and just pick people out people you can tell are enjoying it from their expressions and their gestures, their movements and everything
KD: .
GM: What was that, Im sorry?
KD: No, no, go ahead. I apologize.
GM: Its okay. I was just thinking that when my girlfriends in the audience, I must admit that Im a bit of a romantic like that, and I try to pick her out. She usually stands right in front of me. [Laughs] Right down by the front. Not for her standing at the side of the stage, or at the back of the room. She loves to be right down at the front with the rest of the kids. Thats sweet.
KD: I noticed that on your website that you guys still all have email addresses listed. Are you still able to answer all your email?
GM: Im having trouble, to be honest. Its a time issue, really. There was a time when I was answering most things, and I would have a Reply To box and go through it slowly to send a quick word especially if someone was asking me something specific, because I get a lot of email thats like, What kind of bass should I play? or Where can I find this tablature for the bass? There was a time when I had more time available, and had the energy to talk more directly with people. I find it difficult to prioritize it, now. I think If I cant answer all of them, which ones deserve to be answered, and which ones dont? So I tend to leave a lot of them, to be honest. So if anyones ever written to me, Im sorry. Ive got a bit too busy.
KD: On Price of Gas he sings I can tell you how this ends, and I get the feeling that hes talking about the end of the world. How do you think the world is going to end?
GM: Im sure that what scientists will tell you is that over the course of the next 10,000 years the Earth will gradually rotate to one side and well all burn up or something, but I like to think it will all just kind of un-inspiringly come to an end, really. Like someone will just turn it off, and it will all go dark. But were not a doom-mongering band, and I tend not to think about those things.
KD: Kele describes your sound as Technicolor, so I was surprised that the album art was so black and white: all snow and dead trees. I was wondering if you liked the album art, and what you had to do with it?
GM: Good question, actually. I picked it. [Laughs] I found a photograph that we all liked, and I just always felt that the first record should be as plain as possible. I have this big thing for space in design: Less is more. So I wanted something really stark, actually, and it kind of went with the name of the record as well. Its not necessarily echoed in the sound of the record, but I just thought Id go for clean lines. I felt white. Thats what I wanted, white for the record.
KD: Was the book youre reading in the inner booklet White Noise by Don DeLillo?
GM: The one on the sofa beside me? It could be one Kele was reading. It could be White Noise. He certainly does read DeLillo, but I cant say without looking at it.
KD: Ive never seen you live, so I wanted to ask: is it you singing the lead vocals on This Modern Love?
GM: No. It is Kele, but with a slightly processed sound on that song.
KD: I got the feeling when I was listening to Positive Tension that you must look forward to that song on the set-list every night.
GM: Youre right, I do. Its a nice bassline on that song. I like This Modern Love as well, because its so kind of soaring, and Shes Hearing Voices.
KD: Any other thoughts? Things youre looking forward to?
GM: Just looking forward to going away, to be honest, and spending a little time in New York. [Pauses] I really do love it here.
KD: Can you see yourself living there?
GM: Yeah. I could live in New York.
KD: John Lennon said If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Today America is the Roman Empire and New York is Rome itself.
GM: Yeah. I can see that. Anyway, thank you for your interesting questions.
Silent Alarm, the debut album by Bloc Party, will be released in the United States on March 22nd. For more information, including lyrics and tour dates, check out BlocParty.com.
VIEW 14 of 14 COMMENTS
G'damn. Gotta love the boys that end their sentences with, actually and really.
[Edited on Mar 29, 2005 by STITCHY]