Bloc Party are an English
indie rock band, currently composed of
Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler),
Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums). Former members Matt Tong and
Gordon Moakes left the band in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as
electronica and
house music. The band was formed at the 1999
Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in
NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving
BBC Radio 1 DJ
Steve Lamacq and
Franz Ferdinand's lead singer,
Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "
She's Hearing Voices".