Bloc Party ProfileBritish indie rock veterans Bloc Party are down to two founding members following bassist Gordon Moakes' confirmation at the weekend that he has parted ways with the band.
Taking to Twitter, Moakes indicated to his followers that he has not been involved with "the latest incarnation" of Bloc Party, instead choosing to focus on his new, US-based, outfit, Young Legionnaire.
Update for fans: I'm not involved in the latest incarnation of Bloc Party. I'm now focussing on Young Legionnaire. Gordy #rhythmsection4hire
— Young Legionnaire (@YNGLegionnaire) March 20, 2015
Moakes' departure comes quite a while after the exit of founding drummer Matt Tong, who left the band in 2013 but didn't publicly talk about it until the following year (he's since lent his talents to acts such as post-Funeral For A Friend outfit No Devotion), but was nonetheless not hinted at when frontman Kele Okereke swung by the triple j studios last week to premiere their — perhaps now presciently titled — new single, Exes (if you need a refresher, have a listen below).
However, as Okereke expressed in that same interview, the remaining founders and their new conscripts — whoever they are — are nonetheless forging ahead with new material.
"We're at the writing/recording phase," Okereke said at the time. "We've started recording — I think we have about 18 [song] ideas and we're going to lay them down properly in the next few months."
Given Okereke's insistence that the new work sounds "like nothing that we've ever done before" — and despite his deflationary aside, "but that's what everyone always says" — we're interested to see how the next chapter of Bloc Party's long and often tumultuous career pans out for all presently and previously involved.
Check out this live performance for ABC back in 2011, a couple of years before their final EP, and say a silent thanks for all the memories.
