August 18, 2012 11:01

Bloc Party's Kele Okereke: 'I listened to a lot of Nirvana while making 'Four''

But singer says he doesn't 'think it would be so cool' to try and write songs like Kurt Cobain

Photo Gallery: Bloc Party
Photo: Press

Bloc Party's Kele Okereke has revealed that he was influenced by listening to Nirvana while making the band's new album 'Four'.

The indie-band release their long-awaited comeback LP on August 20 and, in an interview with Spinner, the frontman revealed that he had been impressed by the "raw" and "intentionally under-produced" sound of the Seattle grunge legends while working on the record.

When asked if he had been inspired by any unlikely musical influences when making the album, Okereke replied:

I was listening to a lot of Nirvana. I've never been that big a Nirvana fan, but I listened to 'Bleach' a lot when we were making the record. I was really impressed by how raw the whole thing was and how intentionally under-produced it was.

The singer was eager to state that his songwriting hadn't been particularly inspired by Kurt Cobain, however, adding: "I don't think it would be cool to write songs like Nirvana. I just liked the way it sounded, how visceral it sounded. I think when a lot of bands start out they make the mistake of wanting to sound like Nirvana."

Yesterday, tickets for Bloc Party's huge one-off show at London's Earls Court went onsale. The band will play the 19,000-capacity venue on February 22, with the gig set to be the biggest UK date of their career so far.

They will also tour the UK in October, playing a total of eight shows.

The dates kick off at Newcastle's O2 Academy on October 12 and run until October 20, when the band headline Cambridge Corn Exchange. The run also includes gigs in Leeds, Glasgow, Southampton, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester.

Bloc Party have unveiled two tracks from 'Four' so far. You can hear the tracks, which are titled 'Day Four' and 'Octopus', at the bottom of the page.

To check the availability of Bloc Party tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

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