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Gorillaz Are Back But How Much Do You Know About The Cartoon Band?

Gorillaz Are Back But How Much Do You Know About The Cartoon Band?

"A party album, but the most messed party you ever went to"

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

It's been seven long years since we've seen the dynamic, game-changing Gorillaz, but it's absolutely well worth the wait.

The last we saw of the virtual band was in 2010 when they released Plastic Beach, which received an 8.5 rating from Pitchfork. Two years later, fans were worried they'd never hear new material after Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn told the Guardian that he and bandmate Jamie Hewett didn't see eye to eye.

He told the newspaper: "I think we were at cross purposes somewhat on that last record, which is a shame. So until a time comes when that knot has been untied..."

But there are a few interesting things about this group which you might not be aware of:

Gorillaz was inspired by MTV

Musician Damon Albarn had just formed the band Blur with guitarist Graham Coxon in 1988. Comic book artist Jamie Hewlett met Albarn in 1990 when Coxon wanted them to be interviewed by Deadline magazine.

Hewlett wasn't a fan of Albarn at the start. He called him 'arsey' and 'a wanker'. But Hewlett wasn't doing himself any favours when he started seeing Coxon's ex-girlfriend - tensions were rife from the very start.

But it was when Albarn and Hewlett became flatmates that Gorillaz came to life. Hewlett told Wired in 2005: "We were home watching MTV with our eyes just kind of glazed. Because if you watch MTV for too long, it's a bit like hell - there's nothing of substance there. So we got this idea for a cartoon band, something that would be a comment on that."

Credit: PA

Albarn added: "We're the generation whose stars come from Pop Idol and celebrity wrestling shows. And it's all a bit like a cartoon, really."

As the comic book artist behind Tank Girl, it was up to Hewlett to create the four animated characters for 2-D (lead vocals, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar and vocals), Noodle (guitar and keyboard), Russel Hobs (drums and percussion).

Albarn and Hewlett have created impressive back stories for each fictional member.

They don't like Glee

In October 2010, Albarn said he wouldn't let the cast of the hit show Glee cover any of their songs. He told the Associated Press: "We wouldn't let that happen, and not that they've asked us because they haven't, and now they definitely won't."

Albarn believed that the show was a 'poor substitute for the real thing'. When Glee surpassed the Beatles for the most appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 by a non-solo act, Damon said: "Those songs won't last like the Beatles by any stretch of their imagination," he says. "They'll be forgotten in a few years' time."

Jeez, tell us what you really think.

Murdoc Niccals' concert demands are fucking intense

murdoc
murdoc

Credit: Jamie Hewlett

The Guardian, in 2010, revealed what the band's fictional bass guitarist and vocalist requires when on tour.

  • "A magnum of Dom Perignon 98 - love this mixed with orange juice"
  • "Rum - Murdoc home-brew special. Must be at room temperature"
  • "Malibu x 2 large bottles - beats having to climb coconut trees to brew my own"
  • "Juicy, genetically modified chicken - legs and breast only - because I'm a genetically modified kind of guy!"
  • "Heavily seasoned, tinned star-fish tuna"
  • "Coconuts - I live on a plastic island in the middle of nowhere, coconuts are my life now!"
  • "Diamante-studded bananas - what else would a member of Gorillaz eat?"
  • "Green tea - for its detoxing properties, but also to keep my skin nice and green"
  • "Lemon and jam sandwiches - bitter and twisted, like my ex-girlfriend"
  • "A bowl of Maltesers with the chocolate sucked off"
  • "Container of hot and spicy salsa"
  • "Jar of self-righteous organic peanut butter"
  • "1 bottle of 100mg vitamin C"
  • "1 large bottle of Viagra"

Then there is a note at the end of the proviso which states: "Murdoc suffers from stress, panic attacks, lack of sleep and various food intolerances so this rider must be available at all times. All drinks should be heavily iced with additional buckets of clean ice for serving. Because of contractual agreements Murdoc will only drink Plastic Beach coke. All items should be placed in Murdoc's dressing room 15 minutes prior to his arrival to ensure freshness."

They are big fans of Chinese theatre

Albarn and Hewlett adapted a famed 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. They turned it into an epic Cirque du Soleil-type opera, featuring music by Albarn and designs by Hewlett.

The duo got their inspiration touring the Chinese countryside, where they photographed folk musicians. It premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2007 at the Palace Theatre.

A year later, China commissioned Damon and Jamie to produce an advert for the BBC for the upcoming Beijing Olympics. It was equal parts weird and amazing.


Credit: BBC

Damon believes heroin made him very productive

The Gorillaz frontman has tried to be very coy on this subject to protect his family, but over the years he's opened up about the experience.

He told Q magazine: "For me, it was incredibly creative. A combination of [heroin] and playing really simple, beautiful, repetitive shit in Africa changed me completely as a musician. I found a sense of rhythm. I somehow managed to break out of something with my voice."

Damon says he would regulate his use to five days on and two days off. He was surprised people hadn't cottoned onto his drug use because he made several references to the harmful substance on Blur tracks including 'Beetlebum' and 'Caramel'.

So what about their new album, Humanz?

Where the hell do I begin?

Let's start at the track list, which boasts 26 songs on the deluxe edition and features a mind-boggling amount of artists. To name a few, they have Rag'n'Bone Man, Danny Brown, Benjamin Clementine, De La Soul, D.R.A.M., Peven Everett, Anthony Hamilton, Grace Jones, Zebra Katz, Kelela, Mavis Staples, Vince Staples, Popcaan, Pusha T, Jamie Principle and Kali Uchis.

Yeah, I told you it's an impressive album.

gorillaz
gorillaz

Credit: iTunes/Gorillaz

Not only is it incredibly good listening but it's also an emotional response to politics, according to Albarn. In an interview with Billboard he says: "There's no references to [Trump] on the record - in fact, any time when anyone made any reference, I edited it out," he says. "I don't want to give the most famous man on earth any more fame, particularly. He doesn't need it!"

It's also a good party album. Do we need another reason to love them? Well, they did give us our own shout out...

On Apple music, Gorillaz explain their new material perfectly: "Describing a sound is like trying to describe a colour. It's different for everyone. To me, Humanz is a party album, but the most messed party you ever went to, where everything is on its head. Humanity has entered a crazy new phase, the album is trying to capture that madness and the guest artists were a huge part of that, they were all mad and unexpected in totally different ways, which is very Gorillaz."

A lot of the tracks on the album have dark, creepy and grungy beats, like 'Strobelite', 'Submission', 'Carnival' and 'Sex Murder Party', but they're rescued by soulful voices to lighten the mood. There are throwbacks to old school Gorillaz with 'Andromeda' and 'We Got The Power', which feel reminiscent of older cuts like 'Feel Good Inc'.

Humanz has some absolute fucking bangers as well. 'Momentz' starts like a 90s Nintendo game, before vocalists De La Soul kick in and turn up the beat something fierce. This will be one to watch at live performances. 'Out of Body' is another which begins quite creepily, but it slowly builds and you can't help but bop along.

gorillaz
gorillaz

Credit: PA

One song worthy of singular mention is 'Hallelujah Money'. It's unlike anything I've heard on the album and has this LSD-trip-mixed-with-gospel sound. Definitely worth a listen.

When they say it is a party album, they certainly mean the beginning, middle and end of a party. But that 'end of the night' feeling is summed up beautifully well in 'Ticker Tape'. An image that comes to mind is someone sitting on a couch as the sun is rising - everything is in slow motion, and they're trying to find their mates, only to realise they've all gone home.

It is an incredible collection of artists, styles and rhythms which I could see appealing to a range of audiences.

They have launched their own festival called Demon Dayz which begins 10 June this year in Margate, Kent. They'll be headlining the event with the rest of the lineup to be announced.

Featured Image Credit: PA