Kele Okereke’s solo confidence

Kele Okereke claims going solo has made him more confident. The Bloc Party frontman – who recently released his debut solo LP `The Boxer’ under his first name only – was able to do much more working on his own than recording with the group.

He said: “Making this record has definitely given me a new confidence. Just the fact I was able to make it was an achievement for me.

“I never felt constricted in Bloc Party but with `The Boxer’ I’ve learned anything is possible.

“In Bloc Party, the creativity, the rhythmic and melodic ideas were shared between us. For `The Boxer’ I had to do everything on my own.

“It was liberating in some ways but frightening at times.”

Despite recording a solo album, Kele insists he never had plans to break away from the group.

He added in an interview with The Sun newspaper: “For the last six years we’d been on a treadmill of writing, recording and touring. You soon get jaded.

“But on our break I didn’t want to stop being creative and I had stuff I wanted to do. Before I knew it, I went into the studio by myself and started working.

“I’d never had that self-believe or desire until I found myself making some great songs and I had an album.”