Bloc Party on their new “disco heartbreak” album with Trevor Horn and being “at peace” with ‘Silent Alarm’
Bloc Party have revealed that they’re working with the legendary Trevor Horn on a new album of “disco heartbreak”, as well as speaking to NME about finally being “at peace” with their seminal debut ‘Silent Alarm’. Watch our video interview with the band above.
The UK indie icons were in London to accept the Outstanding Song Collection Award at the Ivors 2025, where the likes of U2, Brandon Flowers, Robbie Williams, Lola Young and Self Esteem were also honoured.
Asked about what the future holds, frontman Kele Okereke told us about progress on the band’s seventh studio album – being helmed by Tony Horn, producer of classic records by the likes of Grace Jones, Pet Shop Boys, ABC, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Belle And Sebastian.
“I’m working on a musical at the moment, and we are working on the next Bloc Party record with a super-producer called Trevor Horn,” Okereke told NME. “He’s made some of my favourite records of all time, so it’s quite interesting to hear what he has to say. He’s been making records for most of his life, for over 50 years, so he seems to know all the tricks. He seems to know everyone as well and have a story about everyone.
“It’s a record about heartbreak, really – that’s the only thing I can say about it at this stage. Hopefully it will be out next year, but we’ll see.”
Asked about the sound of the album, Okereke replied: “We’re only halfway through with six songs. I think it feels quite synthetic in places. The term that we were bandying around at the start was ‘disco heartbreak’. That was the umbrella, but it’s kind of morphed into something else. We’re only six songs in, so it could go completely left. We’ll see.”
Other than “fanboying” over Crispin Hunt from The Longpigs at the ceremony – where former bandmates Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes were also in attendance and honoured – Okereke explained how their time in the spotlight at the Ivors felt “somewhat surreal”.
“When we first started this, the music that we liked wasn’t music that was recognised on a platform like this,” he said, looking back to when the band started out at the turn of the century. “But it would be churlish to say that it didn’t feel nice to be honoured in front of all your peers. It feels good and it makes me optimistic about the future, and I think that’s the most important thing really.
“All of this wouldn’t mean anything unless we were focused on going somewhere else.”
The frontman described the band’s songwriting chemistry as something “quite intangible” and “magic”, noting that it was “greater than the sum of its parts. I realise that now, and I didn’t at the start.”
As for the band’s longevity and survival, Okereke said that Bloc Party were now “in a lucky space in our career”.
“In the beginning, it was a very intense pressurised thing: we would make a record, tour, make a record, tour,” he told NME. “Now we all have families and other things that we’re doing, so when we get together it’s because we want to get together and because there’s something exciting to do.
“In the beginning, we just worked so much that it didn’t really stop. Whilst I’m thankful we did that and it laid the groundwork, now it’s great to have time we our families and do other things and other projects, but then bring it back to Bloc Party.”
The band are still in the midst of touring to celebrate 20 years of their seminal debut album ‘Silent Alarm’ – a process that Okereke said had given him a deeper understanding of the record.
“I feel like whenever I listen to any of our records from the past, I would hear things I didn’t like about them and things I’d like to change,” he admitted. “We did a big homecoming show in London last year to commemorate 25 years. Something kind of switched.
“Before, I was always seeing things in the records that I didn’t like, and now I’m slightly at peace with the whole thing. We’ve done something great and it’s been recognised throughout the world, and I’m at peace with that. We did something!”
Bloc Party are on tour celebrating ‘Silent Alarm’ throughout the summer. Visit here for tickets and more information.
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Andrew Trendell
NME
