Stream: Kele Okereke - Tenderoni Remixes

Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke has an imminent debut album: The Boxer. You may have heard lead single 'Tenderoni' already (especially if you ventured over onto Nialler9's blog recently, he loves it), but you may not have known that Kele is running a remix competition. Full details can be found here, if you wish to enter. But most of us probably just want to hear the remixes...

Stream some of the entries so far:
Tenderoni Remixes

Live: Oxegen Hot Press Academy Tent Lineup

There may be just three weeks to go to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa (of which Matthew Upson won't be attending), but there's just seven weeks to go to the biggest musical festival of the year, Oxegen 2010.

Many people complained about the lack of Irish acts when the initial lineup was announced, but the announcement of the full lineup for the Hot Press Academy Stage should surely rectify that. As well as great foreign imports such as Julian Casablancas (of the Strokes), Laura Marling, Yeasayer and Kele Okereke (him from Bloc Party), there's plenty of homegrown artists due to appear. The highlights for me will be Conor O'Brien's Villagers, Cathy Davey, Wallis Bird, and O Emperor. Oh and I forgot to mention, old frogthroat-skeleton hands herself is playing, that's right Diana Vickers will be there!

Lineup:
JULIAN CASABLANCAS
ASH
CATHY DAVEY
WE ARE SCIENTISTS
KELE OKEREKE
VILLAGERS
BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB
YEASAYER
LAURA MARLING
THE HIGH KINGS
WALLIS BIRD
FRIGHTENED RABBIT
MYSTERY JETS
3OH!3
SHED SEVEN
DIANA VICKERS
O EMPEROR
LISSIE
JOE ECHO
THE MIDDLE EAST
EXAMPLE
HURTS
MAYER HAWTHORNE
CHAPEL CLUB
DAISY DARES YOU

While you're at it, check out the brand new Oxegen website here:
www.oxegen.ie

Watch O Emperor 'Don't Mind Me':

Album News: Kele Okereke - The Boxer

Kele Okereke is not taking Bloc Party's one-year-hiatus seriously. He's lined up a number of Irish dates, and will release his debut solo album on June 21st. He wasn't contented taking time out of music, so booked himself into a studio and the rest is history. He says "It was just me and an engineer. I plugged in synths that I had 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. It was exciting and terrifying. In most cases I sat down, pulled a drum beat out of nowhere and arranged stuff around that. This was as exciting to me as the first time I picked up a guitar."

The album promises to be harsher and more physical (well, at least that's what Kele says). It's called The Boxer, and will be preceded by lead single 'Tenderoni' a week earlier (isn't that a Chromeo song though?)

Tracklist:
WALK TALL
ON THE LAM
TENDERONI
THE OTHER SIDE
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED
NEW RULES
UNHOLY THOUGHTS
RISE
ALL THE THINGS I COULD NEVER SAY
YESTERDAY'S GONE

Irish Tour dates:
Friday 14th May – Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick
Saturday 15th May – Cyprus Avenue, Cork
Sunday 16th May – The Academy, Dublin
Monday 17th May – Spring & Airbrake, Belfast

Live: Kele Okereke at the Academy

In advance of his upcoming solo album, Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke will play a series of Irish dates in May. Hopefully they go down better than the first time I saw them at Oxegen, when he said he was "delighted to be back in the UK". :D He'll be playing Limerick, Cork, and Belfast, as well as the Academy in Dublin.

Tickets for Kele's solo dates go on sale on Wednesday.

Friday 14th May – Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick
Saturday 15th May – Cyprus Avenue, Cork
Sunday 16th May – The Academy, Dublin
Monday 17th May – Spring & Airbrake, Belfast

Watch 'Helicopter' live on Jools Holland: