#Gorillaz website 2010 series#
When Blur finally did reunite for a series of massive shows in the U.K. Underground yet completely mainstream though Gorillaz has remained, there are arguably more Americans these days who know Albarn primarily as the musical force behind that group’s three albums (including 2005’s more accessible Demon Days and this year’s aquatic synth fantasia Plastic Beach) and its handful of infectious hits (the blunted anthem “Clint Eastwood,” the club smash “Feel Good Inc.”) than there are those who can remember that this is the same guy hollering out “woo-hoo” whenever “Song 2” gets blared at a Ducks game.Īt home, on the other hand, he has risen to iconic status - and, again, on his own terms. I don’t think I can, really.”Įxcept that he effectively did, at least on this side of the Atlantic. I’m sort of naive to think I can escape my past. The only way to do so was to disappear into something like this. There aren’t many people who can ignore that. I’ve landed in a position where I can do whatever I want, yet everyone insists there be this mythology surrounding music and artists. “I know how this sounds, but I just can’t be asked to be a pop personality anymore. His reason for doing so: to permanently shatter the then-concrete Damon Albarn persona. “That was the intention - to be underground yet completely mainstream.” “This is just a whole new platform for me to experiment in the mainstream,” he told me of Gorillaz. Ironically, though he willfully withdrew from the spotlight a decade ago to chart a new, consistently unpredictable course, Albarn ultimately wound up more popular than ever.īut back in those weeks before 9/11 - when he and his chief Gorillaz collaborator, animator and graphic artist Jamie Hewlett, were refusing their first Mercury Music Prize nomination - Albarn was a pricklier fellow, pleasant enough to a stranger but in no mood to suffer foolish questions from people who just weren’t getting the point of his new project. As the decade began, he embarked on an experimental journey that for a time would shroud him in mystery, yet eventually lead to platinum sales, a Grammy win (plus several more nominations) and more than a few major festival headlining appearances. He was no longer a heartthrob caught in the thick of a meaningless Britpop battle against the Gallagher brothers. Blur, the band Albarn had fronted for a decade, had nearly reached its apparent end guitarist Graham Coxon would be asked to leave soon enough, and though the band’s (thus far) final album, Think Tank, passed by under-appreciated in 2003, it held more in common with Albarn’s burgeoning interest in synthetics and African rhythms (see also his often mesmerizing 2002 exploration Mali Music) than anything the real Blur was ever about. That’s what he told me in spring 2001, not long after the first Gorillaz album surfaced. Cloud Of Unknowing (feat.Out of my slow-to-start but now longstanding and very active fascination with Damon Albarn - that restlessly creative spirit, as mercurial as Jack White yet with a far more diversified aesthetic, who now ranks among the most successful fusionists of the modern era - one quote has stuck with me all these years: “I just don’t want to spend the rest of my life being a pop star.” Kano, Bashy & The National Orchestra For Arabic Music)Ħ. Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach (feat. Orchestral Intro (featuring Sinfonia ViVA)Ģ.
Speaking of, the site has gotten a revamp to reflect the new album, which isn't much to look at just yet, but there's enough intriguing content to keep you entertained for the time being.ġ.
Not really sure of a release date, however, states the album is coming out March 9th, 2010. These songs (at least "Stylo" and "Broken" so far) will be on the upcoming release Plastic Beach. The new Gorillaz single "Stylo" has hit the internets! After Damon Albarn debuted 3 demos on the Zane Lowe show last year (which included "Electric Shock", "Broken" and "Stylo") he left us all waiting for more details on this highly anticipated album.