Fans of the dancefloor, rejoice: Kele‘s The Boxer is officially in stores. This is the debut solo ablum from Kele Okereke, whom you may already be familiar with for his work as the frontman for Bloc Party. Kele took some time to speak with PopWreckoning about the new release and upcoming tour. See the full interview below. 
Bethany, PopWreckoning: Your solo album, The Boxer, drops June 21/22, what can people expect from it?
Kele Okereke: What to expect? Well, it’s a bit more joyful than other things I’ve done.
PW: Is there an overall album theme or inspiration? I know in the past there have been overarching inspirations.
KO: Yeah, I kind of wanted to avoid that on this record. I kind of just made the record. I just did this for myself and didn’t think of a theme so much. I was just trying something new.
PW: Is there any significance with the title, The Boxer?
KO: It’s an image that I’ve always found inspiring; the idea that the boxer doesn’t rely on anyone but himself. There’s also that walkout that the boxer does and then when he gets knocked down, he gets back up. I like that image.
PW: You’ve already release the first singe, “Tenderoni,” and first off, what is a tenderoni?
KO: It’s just an affectionate term of endearment for a young love.
PW: I love the video that goes with the song. There is some great play on lights and it remains me a lot of still frame photography with the angles and shots. I know you’re somewhat into photography, how involved were you with the video concept?
KO: With Bloc Party, I never really got into it, so I abstained from having any influence, but with this, I did want input. I’m not a filmmaker, but I did have some influence in how I would look. The director listened to my ideas and came back with some really great things. I was more involved and I was happy.
PW: In addition to “Tenderoni,” there are a few other tunes you’ve already release off the album. Is there a song in particular that you’re excited to get out there and have people hear?
KO: I’m excited about people hearing the whole record, but I’m excited about people hearing “Yesterday’s Gone.”
PW: Let’s talk about guest vocals, I know on “Rise,” I heard some female vocals. Are there others that you worked with on this?
KO: Yeah, there are two girls, Bobbie Gordon and Jodie Berry, and they’re really amazing girls with great voices that helped me out.
PW: And they sing on more than just “Rise”?
KO: Yeah, they sing on a few like “All the Things I Could Never Say” and more.
PW: Do you find that your writing process for a solo album is different than with a full band?
KO: Yeah, well the difficult part is that half the songs for a solo record take what a full band takes. The other half, I did where a me and a producer worked on them together. It wasn’t exactly hard or too different.
PW: And fans of your previous work, will still be into this or this completely directed at a new audience?
KO: I hope so, but I am hoping it reaches new people. That’s part of making a new record or a working a new genre, you do hope it reaches new people as well.
PW: Ok. Coming up in July, you’re coming over to North America to do a tour. What can people expect from your live show? I know you mentioned the guest singers, but will you be joined by them or is it just you?
KO: There will be a band. A couple of other people are coming over with me so we can be sure to do the songs live.
PW: Great, and talking about tours, if you could do a dream tour and bring anybody out with you, who would you bring out?
KO: I’d love to tour with the Talking Heads. I think they’re probably the best band in the world.
PW: For a final question, is there anything else that you want people to know about this record or just something to get out there about this release?
KO: You’ll enjoy it. It’s fun and joyful, and I hope people see that and enjoy it.
