Kele Okereke has announced a new solo album, The Waves Pt. 1. The follow-up to 2019’s 2042 is out May 28 via his own imprint KOLA Records and !K7. It was recorded under lockdown, written and produced entirely by the Bloc Party frontman on his own. Below, check out the new single—a cover of Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy”—and get a look at the cover artwork and tracklist, as well.
“Usually when I make records it’s an ensemble affair, there are usually lots of other musicians and singers I work with, but as we were in lockdown I did not have that luxury of being able to work with other musicians,” Kele wrote in a press release. “I knew I had to fill in the space of this record entirely by myself, which was daunting but also very liberating. This album is literally the sound of me.”
The Waves Pt. 1:
01 Message From the Spirit World
02 They Didn’t See It Coming
03 The Way We Live Now
04 How to Beat the Lie Detector
05 Dungeness
06 Ninevah
07 The One Who Held You Up
08 The Patriots
09 Intention
10 Smalltown Boy
11 From a Place of Love
12 The Heart of the Wave
13 Cradle You (Bonus Track)
