Kele Okereke

Kele Okereke

Kele Okereke (pronounced O-kare-a-gay) (born Kelechukwu Rowland Okereke on 13 October 1981 in Liverpool, England) is an English vocalist and rhythm guitarist for indie rock band Bloc Party.

Biography

Early life

Okereke was born in Liverpool to Catholic Nigerian (Igbo) parents. His mother was a midwife, and his father a molecular biologist. He grew up in London with his one sister. As a child, he went to school at Ilford County High School (where he was known as Rowly), but switched to Trinity Catholic High School, Woodford Green for sixth form at age 16. He lived in Bethnal Green, where in 1998 he became friends with his new schoolmate at Trinity, Russell Lissack, who would become his band's guitarist. A year later, while studying at King's College London, Okereke met Lissack again at Reading Festival, where the band was officially formed under the title of The Angel Range. In 2001, Okereke moved out of his parents' home. He went on to meet Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong who became the band's permanent bass guitarist and drummer, respectively. In 2003, the band changed its name to Bloc Party after briefly being called Union.

Bloc Party

Main article: Bloc Party

In 2005, Bloc Party released their first studio album, titled Silent Alarm. The album reached number three in the UK charts, and propelled the band to fame. Despite this, Okereke continued to study English literature at university. Until the release of Silent Alarm, he had kept his musical activities secret from his parents.

The band released their second album, called A Weekend in the City on 5 February 2007 in the UK and 6 February in the US. The band also scheduled their first gig with the second album at Reading Hexagon to coincide with the UK release date. The album debuted at #12 in the Billboard 200 with 48,000 copies sold. It became available via the UK's iTunes Store a day ahead of schedule, on 4 February, and reached the #2 spot in the Official UK Chart. The album was produced by Jacknife Lee. The first single, "The Prayer", was released on 29 January. This single has been located on their MySpace since 22 November 2006. The next single, "I Still Remember", is their first American single. In the build up to the release of the album, Zane Lowe aired a live set from the BBC studios at Maida Vale featuring a mix of old songs and new ones on his evening radio show on BBC Radio 1 on 30 January 2007. On 1 February 2007, A Weekend in the City was made available to listen to for free through the band's official MySpace page.

Okereke moved to Berlin to seize the city's music oriented spirit.

Personal life

Okereke is extremely shy.. He has expressed disdain for interviews, asking one interviewer from Skyscraper magazine, "Why is it important to know what I had for breakfast? Or who I went to bed with? Or what sneakers I am wearing? If it's relevant to understanding my music, then so be it. But if it's purely to satisfy the media's obsession with celebrity, then no thanks. I don't want to play that game." The focus of one interview with the NME in July 2005 was largely to do with his dislike of being interviewed. In it he implied that the media placed deliberate emphasis on conflicts between bands and did not want to be drawn into such publicity, saying that "public feuding between bands is completely pointless." A huge influence in Kele's life was his cousin friend David Rowland who is the lead singer of The Bobcats. Kele spent many summers in Dublin and also lived in Dundrum. Okereke said, "people think that I hate being approached but that's not true" in the NME on 15 September 2005.

He has been reluctant to discuss his sexuality, though he has compared himself to famous bisexuals Brian Molko and David Bowie, as well as Morrissey. He also discussed the homoerotic story behind his song "I Still Remember" and the semi-autobiographical nature of it, explaining that he no longer feels a need to remain tight-lipped about his sexuality. Okereke did not explicitly define himself as being either gay or bisexual.

Style

Okereke performing in January, 2007 at Southampton Guildhall, UK

As a songwriter, Okereke's approach is somewhat unconventional. His lyrics on Bloc Party's debut album Silent Alarm are more in line with other very private, mysterious frontmen such as Michael Stipe of R.E.M., or Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. "Helicopter", for instance is a song some believe is addressed to George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. It has the lyrics: "North to south, empty, running on, bravado... He's gonna save the world... Just like his Dad... (the same mistakes), Some things will never be different... Are you hoping for a miracle? (It's not enough)" In response to this issue, Okereke said in an interview, "'Helicopter' isn't about Bush; it's a song about waking up and realizing certain things. I hope what people got from that song wasn't a critique of American life. I got really worried when I started reading our message boards; there was an American who had read the lyrics of "Helicopter" and had come to the conclusion that we were advocating that the European way is the ideal. But that wasn't it at all. Europeans have their own set of problems. I've personally been quite retarded by growing up in Europe; I have issues with things being messy and saying what I really feel."

Nonetheless, for the second album A Weekend in the City, he chose more personal and political subjects for songs. A family friend, Christopher Alaneme, had been murdered in a racist attack, while David Morley, a London bartender, was beaten to death in a possibly homophobic "happy slapping". Okereke has claimed that these events, combined with the 7 July London bombings "galvanised [his] mindset", prompting him to make the lyrics "dark, bigger and quite abrasive".

Okereke criticized Green Day in the NME for "riding on this public sentiment of anti-Americanism among teens across the world." He further said that, "it just seems to be the emptiest of soundbites, and that's something we're always conscious of trying to avoid." In reference to these Green Day fans he said that "being confronted by how stupid and blinkered western teenagers are," made him angry. To change this, he said he was "trying to provide an alternative, by trying to provide an oasis for kids who are disenfranchised, by doing something different as a band."

Okereke also responded critically to comments made by Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis in early 2007. Liam called Bloc Party "A band off of University Challenge", intending it as an insult, while Noel dismissed them as "indie shit". In retaliation, Okereke stated, "I think Oasis are the most overrated and pernicious band of all time. They had a totally negative and dangerous impact upon the state of British music. They have made stupidity hip. They claim to be inspired by The Beatles but, and this saddens me, they have failed to grasp that The Beatles were about constant change and evolution. Oasis are repetitive Luddites."

On August 21, 2008 Bloc Party released their third studio album "Intimacy", this album is far more introverted than any of Bloc Party's previous efforts. The album deals with a huge breakup that Okereke dealt with at the end of 2007, some of the songs like "Biko" and "Signs" deal with the loss of people that were close to Okereke.

The album also features one of Okereke's most personal lyric, The song "Ion Square", which appears to be about a moment that Okereke shared with a past lover when he was growing up.

Musical equipment used

The following is a list of equipment used by Kele Okereke.

Guitars:

• Fender Telecaster – Three Tone Sunburst
• Fender Telecaster — Butterscotch Blonde
• Gretsch Tennessee Rose – Cherry Red
• Fender Performer — Sunburst (Used in the videos for "Helicopter" and "Little Thoughts")
• Fender Telecaster Thinline — Natural (Used in the early days of the band circa 2003)

Effects pedals:

• Ernie Ball Volume Pedal
• BOSS LS-2 Line Selector x2
• Boss DF-2 Super Feedbacker Distortion
• Boss ODB-3 Bass OverDrive
• Boss SYB-3 Bass Synthesiser
• Line 6 DL-4 Delay Modeller
• Line 6 FM-4 Filter Modeller
• BOSS TU-2 Tuner.
• BOSS DD-3 Digital Delay.
• Arion SAD-1 Analogue Delay
• Boss RC-20XL Loop Station

Used To Manipulate Voice

• Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeller
• BOSS PS-5 Super Shifter

Amplifiers:

• Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
• Fender Hot Rod DeVille - Seen used live as a back up amplifier
• Both used with a THD Hot Plate attenuator

References

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