Bloc Party's Kele Okereke Prefers New York City to London

Despite creating the definitive soundtrack for post-millennial London life with Bloc Party's second album, 'A Weekend in the City,' the group's frontman Kele Okereke is ready for a fresh start in another global metropolis, New York City.

"I like it there," Okereke tells Spinner over drinks during a recent promo tour. "I like the people, I like the conversations I have and I like the food.

"You can be anything you want in New York."

Having mixed his recently released debut solo album, 'The Boxer,' in the Big Apple, the Liverpool-born Okereke found he enjoyed the city's relaxed atmosphere much more than that of English capitol.

"I've lived in London since I was eight-years-old and I've done everything a young person would do there," the singer, whose lyrics have referenced his own experimentation with cocaine and ecstasy, explains. "I think there's a real veil of coldness in London that permeates how people interact with each other and I don't like that at all. That's something specific to the UK -- your default setting is to be suspicious of things and strangers, whereas everyone I've met in New York is laid back."

Before he packs up his earthly belongings though, the singer will set out on an international tour that begins Aug. 27 in Paris and includes a stop at his prospective new home on Sept. 8 to play New York City's Webster Hall.