Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke is to release his debut solo record, entitled The Boxer, through Wichita on June 21 - his debut record as a solo artist. So much for 'taking a break from music', then.

He explains the recording process in his own words, after rocking up to the EMI studios after getting a little bored:

‘It was just me and an engineer. I plugged in synths that I had no idea what they would do. I began programming drum beats, which I had never done before. It was completely back to the drawing board. It was exciting and terrifying. In most cases I sat down, pulled a drum beat out of nowhere and arranged stuff around that. This was as exciting to me as the first time I picked up a guitar.’

He added:

‘The key for the sound of the record was to take things as harsh and as physical as I could make it. The reason for going there was that these are the sounds that make me the happiest in the world.’

Tracklisting as below:

1. Walk Tall
2. On The Lam
3. Tenderoni
4. The Other Side
5. Everything You Wanted
6. New Rules
7. Unholy Thoughts
8. Rise
9. All The Things I Could Never Say
10. Yesterday's Gone

2010 is the year of the ten-track record, it seems. The first single to be taken from the The Boxer is 'Tenderoni' and will be released on June 14. Production was helped along by New York's XXXchange, who worked on Spank Rock's last album.

If you want to watch Kele performing some of the new tracks, you can do so at the following places on the following dates:

14/5 - Dolans, Limerick
15/5 - Cyprus Avenue, Cork
16/5 - The Academy, Dublin
17/5 - Spring and Airbrake, Belfast
20/5 - E-Werk (Electronic Beats), Cologne
21/5 - Prinzenbarhalle, Hamburg
22/5 - Weekend Club, Berlin
12/6 - Warehouse Project Fest, Manchester
16/7 - Melt Festival, Germany
27/8 - Rock En Seine, Paris
28/8 - Leeds Festival, Leeds
29/8 - Reading Festival, Reading
31/8 - Ibiza Rocks, Ibiza