Bloc Party have been helping to revive post-punk for over two decades now, influencing (at least) two generations of musicians to follow suit. One such songwriter who’s viewed the UK group as a source of inspiration is the ever-innovative emo-pop songwriter KennyHoopla, who was born just two years before Kele Okereke and his band formed in 1999.
Turns out the feeling was mutual, as the two artists connected for a collaborative single—Bloc Party’s first ever—which dropped today. While landing somewhere in the middle ground between each collaborator’s discography, the overcast atmospherics and crisp live drumming nearly invokes Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm era. “I hardly do any features, so if I do one, it’s always for family,” KennyHoopla shared, referring to the track as a “bucket list collab.” “I’m happy to call Kele a friend and it was amazing to get to do a song together.”
Okereke shared that the feeling was mutual, claiming the band jumped at the chance to record together when KennyHoopla was in London. “We wrote a bunch of songs in one afternoon and ‘Keep It Rolling’ was one of those ideas,” Okereke shares. “I always felt quite attached to that idea so I decided I would like to bring it to Bloc Party, so we turned it into a song. It was all very organic.”
Hear the results below, and catch Bloc Party as they continue touring North America with Paramore—full list of dates here.
