Samantha Brown is an English singer, musician and songwriter.
Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke, Russell Lissack, Justin Harris and Louise Bartle. Former members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices".
Heather Margarita Small is a British soul singer and former lead vocalist of the band M People. Her subsequent debut solo studio album, Proud, was released in 2000.
Rowland Kelechukwu Okereke, also known mononymously as Kele, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the indie rock band Bloc Party. Additionally, he has released six studio albums as a solo artist.
Gordon Peter Moakes is an English musician, best known as the bassist of rock band Young Legionnaire and former member of indie rock band Bloc Party.
Silent Alarm is the debut studio album by English rock band Bloc Party. Recorded in Copenhagen and London in mid-2004 with Paul Epworth as producer, it was released on 2 February 2005, by Wichita Recordings. The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. In the United States, it entered the Billboard 200 at number 114 and the Billboard Independent Albums at number seven. The double A-side "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", "Banquet" and "The Pioneers" were released as singles. Silent Alarm went on to achieve worldwide sales of over one million copies.
Bloc Party is an EP compilation of Bloc Party's first two UK-only singles: "She's Hearing Voices" and "Banquet/Staying Fat". Released on 24 May 2004, it was Bloc Party's first V2 Records EP. It was released later in Japan in August 2004, and then in the United States by Dim Mak Records in September of the same year. The EP was lauded in Pitchfork for carefully balancing the dynamics between post-punk revival and new wave. In 2015 NME cited the EP's tracks "Banquet" and "She's Hearing Voices" as having made a splash in 2004 leading up the 2005 debut of their album "Silent Alarm". The single "Banquet", is cited by DIY Magazine as being influential on Wichita Records, then a nascent label, signing Bloc Party and notes the record impacts musicians in the genre today.
"Banquet"/"Staying Fat" is a double A-side single by Bloc Party. A follow-up to "She's Hearing Voices", it was released in May 2004 on Moshi Moshi Records, following the band's support slot for several dates with ex-Blur guitarist Graham Coxon. It became something of a cult hit, the low budget video picking up numerous plays on MTV2, with the single eventually charting just outside the top 50 in the UK Singles Chart.
Silent Alarm Remixed is the remix album to Silent Alarm, the debut album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released on 29 August 2005 in the British Isles on Wichita Recordings, the band's primary label, and on 13 September 2005 in the United States through Vice Records to coincide with Bloc Party's worldwide touring schedule. The record peaked at number 54 on the UK Albums Chart. In the US, it achieved a peak of number four on the Billboard Top Electronic Albums.
Paul Richard Epworth is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of the Music Producers Guild and is the founder and owner of the independent record label Wolf Tone, which has released music from Glass Animals, Rosie Lowe, and The Horrors.
Trash Aesthetics is a British independent record label founded in 2004 by Rob Fawkes and Claire Hewitson and active until 2014. Based in South London, it specialised in releasing limited-edition runs of singles by both local bands and international acts whose work is difficult to come by in the UK. Having started helping Rob and Claire with the label in 2007, Adam Killip took over running Trash Aesthetics in 2010.
Estelle Fanta Swaray is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, and radio presenter from West London. She is known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including R&B, soul, reggae, grime, hip hop, and dance. She has collaborated with artists including John Legend, Robin Thicke, Rick Ross, Chris Brown, will.i.am, Kanye West, Pete Rock, David Guetta and Tyler, The Creator.
Tunng are an English folk music band. They are often associated with the folktronica genre, due to the electronic influences evident in some of their work. Tunng are often noted for their use of unconventional instruments, including seashells and percussive electronic samples.
A Weekend in the City is the second studio album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was recorded at Grouse Lodge Studios in Westmeath, Ireland, in mid-2006 and was produced by Jacknife Lee. The album was refined and mixed at several locations in London at the end of 2006. It was released on 24 January 2007 in Japan and in the first week of February in the rest of the world, with Wichita Recordings as the primary label. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and on the Irish Albums Chart. In the United States, it entered the Billboard 200 at number 12.
"The Prayer" is a song by English rock band Bloc Party. It was released as the lead single from their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, except in the U.S. where it is the second single. "I Still Remember" was the first song from the album to be released in North America. It was released by Wichita Recordings on 29 January 2007 and is the band's highest charting single worldwide. The lyrics deal with drug use in nightclubs and party environments. Band frontman Kele Okereke says he was inspired to write the song after hearing Busta Rhymes' song "Touch It". He also described the song as having a "crunk-like" effect. A cover version of "The Prayer" by KT Tunstall is included in Radio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 2, and on her single "If Only".
"Banquet" is a song from British band Bloc Party's debut album Silent Alarm. Originally released on a double A-side single along with "Staying Fat" in May 2004 by Moshi Moshi Records, it was re-released as a regular single in the United Kingdom by Wichita Recordings on 25 April 2005. It was their first single to chart on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks where it came in at number 34, and is often credited as their breakthrough single in North America. It was also featured in the song "Bloc Party" on the Fort Minor Mixtape: We Major. It was ranked No. 31 in NME's top 100 tracks of the decade, and was number 54 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of all time. It peaked at No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2011, NME placed it at number 20 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". The song was featured in the 2018/19 video game Life Is Strange 2.
"So Here We Are" / "Positive Tension" is a double A-side single by English rock band Bloc Party from their 2005 debut album, Silent Alarm. It was released in the United Kingdom by Wichita Recordings and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart, their second-highest-charting single to date, behind 2007's "The Prayer". The song also reached number 31 in Ireland. The UK 7-inch vinyl release contains "The Marshals Are Dead" instead of "Positive Tension".
The discography of Bloc Party, a British indie rock band, consists of six studio albums, three extended plays (EPs), and two remix albums released on primary label Wichita Recordings. Bloc Party were formed in 1999 by chief songwriter and frontman Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack. Bassist Gordon Moakes and drummer Matt Tong joined the band later. The first song by them that we know of is called “This Is Not A Competition” although it hasn't been officially released, it was the first song the band put on their official website. The quartet's first release was the Bloc Party EP in 2004; the first single, "She's Hearing Voices", was released and it failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The next EP, Little Thoughts was released the same year only in Japan; it included Bloc Party's first UK Top 40 entry, the double A-side "Little Thoughts/Tulips", which peaked at number 38.
Intimacy is the third studio album by English indie rock band Bloc Party. It was recorded in two weeks at several locations in London and Kent during 2008 and was produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth. The band members made the album available for purchase on their website as a digital download on 21 August 2008. Minimal promotion was undertaken in the UK. The record was released in compact disc form on 24 October 2008, with Wichita Recordings as the primary label. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and entered the Billboard 200 in the United States at number 18.
Jessica Ellen Cornish, known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical Whistle Down the Wind. She studied at the BRIT School before signing with Gut Records and striking a songwriting deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
