Kele Okereke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kele Okereke
Kele Okereke, March 2007
Background information
Birth name	Kelechukwu Rowland Okereke [1]
Born	October 13, 1981 (age 25)
Origin	Liverpool, England
Genre(s)	Indie rock Art rock
Instrument(s)	Guitar Vocals
Years active	2002–present
Label(s)	Wichita V2
Associated acts	Bloc Party
Notable instrument(s)
Fender Telecaster Gretsch Tennessee Rose

Kele Okereke, born Kelechukwu Rowland Okereke on October 13, 1981 in Liverpool to Nigerian parents, is the vocalist and guitarist for English art rock band Bloc Party.

[edit] Early days

Okereke (nicknamed "Rowly" as a child) was born in Liverpool to Catholic Nigerian parents, though he grew up in Essex. His mother was a midwife, and his father a molecular biologist. He had one sister. He went to school at Ilford County High School, until, aged 16 he moved to Trinity School during the sixth form. Growing up, he would regularly visit his native Nigeria. However, he lived in Bethnal Green, and it was there in 1998 that he became friends with his new schoolmate at Trinity: Russell Lissack. A year later, when Okereke met Lissack at Reading Festival, the pair formed a band called Union. In 2000, they recruited bass player Gordon Moakes, and the band proceeded to tour with various drummers. In 2001 (aged 20), Okereke moved out of his parents home. Two years later, he met Matt Tong who became the band's permanent drummer. In 2003, the band changed its name to Bloc Party.

[edit] 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. After spending the second half of 2005 hungover^[1], Okereke began work on the band's second album. Among the influences in the album were his feelings about his peers, who at the time, were mostly feeling disappointment with the lack of opportunity after finishing university. These emotions gave the album a theme of life in East London in the 21st century. The album was released in February of 2007, when it reached number 2 on the UK charts.

[edit] Personal life

Okereke is a shy and private person,^[2] and is considered to be more concerned with his music than his media image. 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 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." He concluded that he has "no faith" in interviews since every interview of him that he has read has "distorted and manipulated" what he says. The image of inaccessibility cultivated by such an attitude later caused Okereke to say, "people think that I hate being approached but that's not true" in the NME on September 15, 2005.

Okereke has been notoriously coy about his sexuality. Despite this, he has given an interview to gay lifestyle magizine Attitude, and in January 2007 he compared himself to famous bisexuals Brian Molko and David Bowie, as well as Morrissey, who has also remained tight-lipped about his sexual orientation throughout his career. In an interview with the The Observer newspaper he attacked homophobia and quoted the famous lesbian novel The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall.^[2] One of the more popular songs on Bloc Party's newest album, I Still Remember, is about a crush on a boy.

Okereke has expressed a desire to leave Britain in the future.^[1]

[edit] Style

As a songwriter, Okereke's approach is somewhat unconventional. His lyrics on Bloc Party's debut album Silent Alarm are more in line with another very private, mysterious frontman, Michael Stipe of R.E.M.. Both songwriters avoid direct expression of their feelings and opinions, preferring to speak through a veil of allusion and cryptic imagery. "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?" In response to this issue, Okereke said in an interview, "'Helicopter' isn't about Bush; it's a song about waking up and realising 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 Aleneme, 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".^[3]

Furthermore, Okereke criticised 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."

In 2004 he collaborated with The Chemical Brothers, singing on the track "Believe" from their album Push the Button.

[edit] Musical equipment used

The following is a list of equipment used by Okereke.

Guitars:

• Fender Telecaster – Sunburst
• Gretsch Tennessee Rose – Cherry Red
• Fender Stratocaster – Black

Amplifiers:

• Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Bloc Party set for Valentine's city bash - Manchester Evening News
2. ^ ^{a b} "21st-century boy", The Observer, 7 January 2007.
3. ^ "Bloc Party: Ultra-violence and hedonism have fuelled this album", NME, 2006-08-17.