Flux (Bloc Party song)

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"Flux"
Single by Bloc Party
from the album A Weekend in the City (re-release)
B-side"The Once and Future King" (7")
Released12 November 2007
Recorded2007 at The Garage
Genre
Length3:39
LabelWichita
Songwriter(s)Russell Lissack, Gordon Moakes, Kele Okereke, Matt Tong
Producer(s)Jacknife Lee
Bloc Party singles chronology
"Hunting for Witches"
(2007) 		"Flux"
(2007) 		"Mercury"
(2008)

"Flux" is a song by English rock band Bloc Party. It was released as a single on 12 November 2007 and produced by Jacknife Lee, along with several other new songs,[1][2] during the band's week in the studio after their performances at the Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals. The song uses mostly electronic instruments and features vocalist Kele Okereke's voice manipulated through Auto-Tune. It was first performed live on 26 September 2007 at Covington's Madison Theater.

CD1 of the set was only released as a free CD through the 14 November 2007 issue of NME. The song peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart as the band's fourth UK Top 10 single. "Flux" is featured on the re-released version of Bloc Party's second studio album A Weekend in the City and on the North American version of their third album Intimacy.

Music video[edit]

A music video for the song was directed by director Ace Norton, who has previously directed videos for The Willows, Norah Jones and Death Cab for Cutie.[3][4] The video was published on NME's website on 17 October 2007. Like the Beastie Boys' music video for "Intergalactic", it pays homage to Japanese kaiju movies. It shows two giant silver robots falling in love while other monsters and robots destroy the city they are in. The band themselves do not appear in the video.

The video was filmed over two days in Boston with American performance troupe Kaiju Big Battel. Some of the Kaiju (Japanese for 'strange beast') characters in the video are the Call-Me-Kevin, Grudyin, Unibouzo, Vegetius, Giii the Space Pirate and Steam-Powered Tentacle Boulder. One of the characters has striking similarities to a Cylon.

Track listing[edit]

All lyrics by Kele Okereke, all music composed by Bloc Party (Kele Okereke, Russell Lissack, Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong).

Digital download[edit]

  • UK single
  1. "Flux"
  2. "On" (Principle Participant "Legs" Mix)

7"[edit]

Wichita / WEBB135S (UK) (clear vinyl)
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Flux"Jacknife Lee3:38
2."The Once and Future King"Eliot James3:22

CD1[edit]

Wichita / NMECD07-05 (UK)
Given away free with the 14 November 2007 issue of the NME
No.TitleLength
1."Flux (JFK Remix)"4:36
2."Flux (Punx Soundcheck "Tenebrae" Remix)"5:02
3."Flux (Metal on Metal Remake)"5:03
4."Flux (GoodBooks Magnetism Remix)"5:06

CD2[edit]

Wichita / WEBB135SCD (UK)
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Flux"Jacknife Lee3:38
2."Flux" (Live from the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, 3 October 2007) 4:08
3."Emma Kate's Accident"Eliot James5:45

12"[edit]

  • Wichita / WEBB135T (United Kingdom) (clear vinyl)
  1. "Flux" (Extended Version) – 6:32
  2. "Flux" (Extended Instrumental) – 6:27
  3. "Where Is Home?" (Burial Remix) – 5:28

Personnel[edit]

  • Jacknife Lee – production, mixing, programming, keys ("Flux")
  • Sam Bell – recording, additional programming ("Flux")
  • Eliot James – production, engineering, mixing ("The Once and Future King" and "Emma Kate's Accident")
  • Nilesh Patel at The Exchange, London – mastering ("Flux", "The Once and Future King" and "Emma Kate's Accident")
  • Dave Cooley – mixing, mastering (live version)
  • Gus Oberg – recording (live version)
  • Patrick Billiard – recording assistant (live version)
  • Tony Perrin – management
  • Simon White – management
  • Rut Blees Luxembourg – photograph
  • Work – graphic design
  • EMI Music – publishing
  • V2 Music – marketing and distribution

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Bloc Party in 'Flux'?". 26 September 2007. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  2. ^ "Bloc Party start work on new material!". 26 August 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
  3. ^ "BOOKED: Bloc Party - Ace Norton, director". VideoStatic.com. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  4. ^ "Latest". Acenorton.com. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  5. ^ a b "Bloc Party – Flux" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Bloc Party – Flux" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  7. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Flux". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  9. ^ "End of Year Charts 2007" (PDF). Ukchartsplus.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  10. ^ "End of Year Charts 2008" (PDF). Ukchartsplus.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  11. ^ "British single certifications – Bloc Party – Flux". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
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