But apart from the Deltron 3030 sequel of "Rock the House" and the tacky remixes filling out this collection's runtime, even the earliest Gorillaz singles have avoided the erosion to retro.Ĭredit an inspirational assist to Hewlett: His music-cliché characters may not have been able to sustain a satire or a storyline, but his trademark post-apocalyptic techno-dread was a suitable environmental muse for the urban Morricone that became the Gorillaz formula. Genre-free zones were all the rage in 2001, with many groups aiming for futuristic blends of hip-hop, electronic, pop, and rock that sounded past their sell-by within a year. Taking the greatest-hits route through Gorillaz's career, it's impressive how few of the tracks sound dated. If you don't think that hiding place isn't therapeutic for Albarn, consider that Think Tank, the 2003 Blur album that essentially became an Albarn solo joint, also attempted to blend all of these interests, to less satisfying results.
In retrospect, the key to the project may have been enabling Albarn to abandon the frontman role and become the man behind the curtain, both figuratively and (up until recent live shows) literally. The group's artistic success has also kept pace with its commercial success, giving Albarn a way to combine most of his musical distractions into an oddly cohesive whole. Gorillaz is far and away the most successful of these projects at the cash register, selling millions of records worldwide, headlining Glastonbury and Coachella, and holographically sharing a Grammys stage with Madonna. It was almost as though he set out to tick off every clichéd solo career path simultaneously: jamming melodica with musicians in Mali and the Congo, creating a remixer persona, putting together his fantasy-dub supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen, and exploring opera and film scoring.
Featured on the album are contributions from De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley-Bird, Roots Manuva, MF Doom, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder, Dennis Hopper, the London Community Gospel Choir and the San Fernandez Youth Chorus.Though a singles collection in 2011 is as anachronistic as the DVD-ROMs in the early Gorillaz back catalog, this one makes an excellent case for the substance behind the expired high concept of the "virtual band." The decade covered here marked a mercurial time for Albarn, who celebrated the hiatus of Blur by eagerly shooting off in a dozen different directions. Gorillaz reputation for excellence and enthusiasm has secured them a stellar guest list. “Like someone has taken the first album and coloured it in,” adds singer 2D. Consequently the colours are rich, dark and heavy while the rhythms are clean, strategic and relentless.
The album is a darker and more intense affair than 2001’s Gorillaz, explains Noodle: “The soul of the recording can’t avoid being a manifestation of the time, climate and location of the place we were in when it was recorded. “Murdoc may try and take the credit for it, but from the basic sketches to the finished album, this was Noodle’s vision.”ĭemon Days will be released on 23rd May (11th may Japan, 24th May in the US), and will be preceeded by the single Feel Good Inc, released 9th May.Ĭo-produced by Gorillaz/Damon Albarn and the Grey Album mastermind Danger Mouse, Demon Days was recorded at the band’s own Kong Studios. “Noodle wrote most of this album herself,” says drummer Russel Hobbs. So says Gorillaz guitarist Noodle, who took the helm for new album Demon Days, the follow-up to the band’s multi-million selling debut Gorillaz. “Every great band is destroyed by their success: cartoon bands are no exception.” Hey y’all! i found a new album that i am completely obsessed with – if you don’t already know gorillaz you should – their latest album demon days is a sonic masterpiece in my humble opinion – it’s hard to explain/describe the music – a wild/weird blend of hip-hop, rock, pop, ambient, and dance, it’s like a great mixture – it’s also very cartoony and quirky (check the album cover below) – it’s just such an offbeat album that has me completely mesmerized – it just hit stores the other day – so do yourself a pop favor and check ’em out – popbytes said so! much love on a saturday! xxoo