After the announcement last year that British post-punkers turned electro band Bloc Party would be going on indefinite hiatus it seemed only a matter of time before they found other ways to content their musical desires. Last month we learned that guitarist Russell Lissack will be touring with Ash and now, perhaps more excitingly, leader of the group Kele Okereke has announced his debut solo effort The Boxer (not to be confused wth The National’s 2007 album Boxer).
The Boxer will be out on June 21st via Wichita Records and he has decided to drop his surname, simply performing under the artist name Kele.
The tracklist is:
01. Walk Tall
02. On The Lam
03. Tenderoni
04. The Other Side
05. Everything You Wanted
06. New Rules
07. Unholy Thoughts
08. Rise
09. All The Things I Could Never Say
10. Yesterday’s Gone
Track 3, “Tenderoni” is set to be the first single, due for release a week before the album on June 14th.
More updates are likely to follow on his site.
The album is said to “push the boundaries of electronica and pop.” We’ll have to wait and see what exactly that means but we’ll be getting a hint of it when Kele tours Europe this summer. The dates announced so far are listed below:
May
14 – Dolans, Limerick IE (tickets)
15 – Cyprus Avenue, Cork IE (tickets)
16 – The Academy, Dublin IE (tickets)
17 – Spring and Airbrake, Belfast IE (tickets)
20 – E-Werk (Electronic Beats), Cologne DE
21 – Prinzenbarhalle, Hamburg DE
22 – Weekend Club, Berlin DE
June
12 – Warehouse Project Fest, Manchester UK
July
16 – Melt Festival, Germany DE
August
27 – Rock En Sein, Paris FR
28 – Leeds Festival, Leeds UK
29 – Reading Festival, Reading UK
31 – Ibiza Rocks, Ibiza ES
