Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke has announced a new solo album ‘The Singing Winds Pt. 3’ and shared the new single ‘It Wasn’t Meant To Be’ – listen below.
The singer and musician, who records under the name Kele, has also announced a new run of UK headline shows to take place in February 2025, which kick off in Glasgow’s Oran Mor on February 12 and run through Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester, London, Bristol and Oxford, before concluding in Brighton on February 22. Tickets go on presale on September 30 and general sale on October 1 and you can get yours here.
‘The Singing Winds Pt. 3’ will be third in a series called ‘The Elements’, a string of solo albums by the Bloc Party frontman that originated in lockdown. Previous releases in the series include ‘The Waves Pt. 1’ in 2021 and ‘The Flames Pt. 2’ in 2023. ‘The Singing Winds Pt. 3’ will be out on January 17, 2025 via KOLA Records/!K7.
Kele has already shared ‘Hometown Edge’ from the album, and today shares album opener ‘It Wasn’t Meant To Be’, which the artist says is about the end of a relationship due to a betrayal. Listen here:
“Once the dust has settled there might be the intention to be a grown up and achieve closure with the other party but sometimes, even with the best will in the world you can’t get past the fact that this person, who you once loved, has hurt you,” he has said. “It’s a song about anger concealed in pleasantries.”
Kele told NME last year that this series of albums would have a total of four instalments, explaining: “What I’m most excited about is the idea of all four of the records working together, as some of the songs, the themes and the characters will be reappearing throughout the project.”
Speaking about the February tour, Kele has added: “I started ‘the elements’ project with ‘The Waves’ in lockdown. It started as a test really, I had become so accustomed to working with other people for my solo records that the thought of making a record solely of my playing was something that I saw as a challenge to be conquered.
“Apart from the vocals, every sound you hear on these records is made by my guitar. The very limitations of the project have become part of the aesthetic, so I’m excited to be able to finally bring these songs to a stage and bring an audience into the process. I am looking forward to finally being able to perform this music in the way it was written and intended to be heard.”
Kele Okereke will play:
FEBRUARY 2025
12 – Glasgow, Oran Mor
13 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
14 – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
15 – Manchester, Gorilla
19 – London, EartH Theatre
20 – Bristol, Thekla
21 – Oxford, O2 Academy 2
22 – Brighton, Brighton Dome Studio Theatre
In July, Bloc Party celebrated their 20th anniversary by playing their biggest headline show to date at Crystal Palace Park in London. The band also played a packed-out set on the Other Stage at Glastonbury 2024 in June.
Ahead of their long-awaited return to Worthy Farm, Bloc Party released a new single titled ‘Flirting Again’. Their sixth and latest full-length record, ‘Alpha Games’, arrived in 2022.
Speaking to NME around that time, Okereke opened up about the differences between working solo and with Bloc Party. “The thing about good bands is that it’s a collaboration between all the members and that’s what’s exciting,” he said.
“That’s why it’s thrilling: the alchemy of different musicians and what they can bring to it. I get that and I live for it.”
He continued: “But at the same time I like being able to take an idea on my own as far as it will go and not have to share it with other people. It’s two different ways of working but I enjoy them both. It’s a bit like having an affair and then coming back to your wife.”
