Taking care of production duties is Garrett “Jacknife” Lee who also assembled Snow Patrol’s UK and Irish chart-topper Eyes Open there.
“Bloc Party arrived a few days ago and are settling in really well,” says Grouse Lodge supreme Paddy Dunning. “On top of that, there’s Snow Patrol’s double number one to celebrate. They spent five weeks with us during the winter, and really got into the history of the place – as well as the swimming pool and the sauna! We had a pub quiz every Wednesday, which Nathan from the band coordinated, and ate lots of good food. Garrett loved the atmosphere, which is why he’s back in with us again now.”
Tracks Bloc Party are currently working on include ‘Waiting For The 718’, ‘Kreuzberg’, ‘Cruel’, ‘Merge On The Freeway’, and ‘Hunting For Witches’ which was inspired by the London bombings.
“The 30 bus in Hackney, which is just around the corner from where I live, was blown up,” says Okereke. “I was observing the reactions of the mainstream press in the UK and I was amazed at how easy it’d been to whip them up into a fury. Post-September 11, the media has traded on fear and the use of fear in controlling people.”
Talking of Grouse Lodge, the residential facility has completely revamped its Studio 2, which now boasts a 36 Channel Neve V series console and Pro-Tools H.D. 2 and has just been used by Irish top 10 debutantes Director.