Australia bound for Future Music Festival, influential British indie rockers Bloc Party will be experiencing a bit of a first, “Going out with a touring festival is something we haven’t really done before” reveals bassist Gordon Moakes.
“We’ve done weekend festivals, especially in the UK, but I don’t think we’ve ever done a festival tour, where all bands travel then go out and play on the same day.”
As well as a multitude of festival visits, Moakes – along with frontman Kele Okereke, guitarist Russell Lissack, and drummer Matt Tong – will also be hitting the stage for a run of headlining shows down the east coast.
“It’s a nice mix of events really,” says the bassist ahead of the band’s upcoming Australian visit in March.
Having recently been in Australia for their standout performance at Splendour In The Grass, the proposal to perform at Future Music Festival couldn’t of come at a better time for the group.
“For a while we have been looking to do some more festivals in Australia, then we had this offer come through from Future Music, which was quite a nice slot,” reveals Moakes. “That and our own shows, it’s going to be a really interesting mix of people that we end up reaching.”
Sharing the bill at Future Music Festival with names such as The Prodigy and Dizzee Rascall; it’s the legendary Britpop forebears that Moakes says he is most excited to catch.“It’s definitely nice to come back somewhere where people have heard them and can appreciate them.”
“I can’t wait to see The Stone Roses,” he enthuses. “I never saw them the first time round and I’ve always been a huge fan of the band. When they played in the UK I wasn’t around, so I’m really excited about that. It’s been a long time coming.”
Touring on the back of latest release Four, Australian audiences were among the first to hear the new album in the live setting at last year’s Splendour.
“It’s quite an exciting time when we are touring it (Four) so it’s been interesting to see how songs evolve as we are going around, and it’s definitely nice to come back somewhere where people have heard them and can appreciate them.”
But Moakes teases that the band will showcase tracks which haven’t been played live to Australian audiences before, as well as old favourites.
So what can we expect to see in the set that’ll see many fans get reacquainted with Bloc Party, after much time apart? “We’re always trying to change and let new things in. But I don’t know quite how the set will be by then.”
Fans can however expect a great show, regardless of how the set turns out. “We’re halfway round the world tour, which is usually when you’re kind of at your best.”
2009 brought about the temporary hiatus of Bloc Party when it became clear that the band was in need of a break. “I remember when we last finished touring three years ago and at that point I couldn’t imagine doing it again,” recalls the bassist. “We had kind of hit a wall and all l wanted to do was get off tour and just stop.”
Two years later however, the vibe had (thankfully) changed and Okereke, Lissack, Tong and Moakes once again found themselves together making music.
During the hiatus, which proved to be a nervous wait for many Bloc Party fans, Okereke embarked on solo work, which saw him release The Boxer in 2010 and follow up EP The Hunter in 2011, while fellow band members Russell Lissack and Gordon Moakes worked on respective projects Pin Me Down and Young Legionnaire.
The reformation of the band however, meant that these projects instead had to go on hiatus. “I think we knew it was going to come about eventually,” says Moakes. “It was just a question of the timing really.”
“We were all doing various things, we just had to wait until everyone was kind of clear of commitments and ready to rock again, you know?”
Despite the time apart, the band’s musical cohesion was something that never changed, “It felt very natural from the get-go. There’s a language that materializes between musicians who have worked together for a long time and it didn’t go away overnight.”
“I think all we had to do was get our instruments,” he says plainly. “That’s kind of what happened really.”
The chatter between band members that prefaced many tracks on Four also gave quite a personal touch to the album, and according to Moakes, came about quite accidentally.
“Initially we were recording on tape. When you record with tape, you press go and you’re capturing whatever is happening. So some of that came out of that process.”
Offering a “behind the scenes” element to Four, the recordings were embraced by the group, especially Moakes. “I think that’s really interesting you know, how the band interacts, what it sounds like when the tapes stop rolling and it’s just four people in a room.”“We’re kind of working on an idea for a brand new track – maybe in the summer.”
‘We Are Not Good People’ from Four made an appearance on the soundtrack to FIFA 13, the latest entry into the popular videogame series; much to the delight of the band.
“It’s funny because we play that game, so it kind of tickled us in a way.” Not always would the band remember that they were a feature though, “We would set the game up, have it on, and the song would come up and we would have forgotten,” he adds with a chuckle.
According to Moakes, the recently released single ‘Truth’ will be the last official single from Four, but there are plans for new music from the group. “We’re kind of working on an idea for a brand new track – maybe in the summer,” he lets slip.
The future is still slightly uncertain for Bloc Party, with the band still not knowing what’s going to happen next. But by no means should that worry fans.
With a packed tour schedule approaching, that will see the band playing shows in Europe, USA, and Australasia as well as plans for new music, all signs point to a prosperous future for the group.
“We’re back in the thick of it now and it didn’t feel like any time had passed really,” Moakes reminisces.
“Anything can happen, but we’ll follow it, see what it feels like and not worry about it too much. We’ll just see what happens when it wants to happen.”
Four is out now through French Kiss Records. Bloc Party tour with Future Music Festival from tomorrow’s kick-off in Brisbane, dates and playing times here. Bloc Party also play sideshows in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. Dates below.
Bloc Party 2013 Tour Dates
TUESDAY 5th March
The Riverstage – BRISBANE
www.ticketmaster.com.au
WEDNESDAY 13th March
Hordern Pavilion, SYDNEY
www.ticketek.com.au
THURSDAY 14th March
Festival Hall – MELBOURNE
www.ticketmaster.com.au
