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Hajimemashite! Over the course of 2015 and 2016, we’ve been getting hints and snippets about the upcoming album soon to be released by none other than the Gorillaz.
Gorillaz last full length album was The Fall which was released in April 2011. After The Fall, concerns began to arise as to if the Gorillaz would produce any new works, and in 2012, those concerns came to a climax when Damon Albarn said, as part of an interview with The Guardian :
Interviewer: Which brings us to another of today’s revelations. Will there be more Gorillaz music?
Albarn: “Er… unlikely.”
Interviewer: Really?
Albarn: “Yeah.”
Interviewer: That’s a shame. Do you feel you’re done?
Albarn: “Jamie does, which is fair enough. 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…”
In 2014, Albarn was quoted, in an interview with NME, as saying: “[…] a new Gorillaz album will “definitely happen in the future”. “I can definitely see another Gorillaz-esque record at some point, yeah,[…] That will almost definitely happen. I could put a Gorillaz record out next week; I’ve got enough stuff I haven’t finished.” Fast forward to January of 2015, and Jamie Hewlett confirms that they’ve come together once more to work on another Gorillaz album with the cryptic words, “Yes Gorillaz Returns”.
Fast forward through the various nuggets of information sprinkled and dropped throughout 2015 and early 2016 involving details on collaborations, features, and touring info and we arrive now in October, where we’ve been treated to back-story content of the band on their Instagram account. Specifically, each major member in the band has been given a “Book” of events. Each “Book of [x]” is a combination of full-color art and text filling us in on the goings-on in their lives in the interim between the attack on Plastic Beach and the circumstances leading to them coming together again.
So, what can we expect on this album and what are some guesses that have been made about the themes of this upcoming work?
First, everything that’s been confirmed or highly likely:
- We know it is almost guaranteed the album will drop early next year. This is supported by an article put together from over at Consequence of Sound, where they cited a post on Reddit where a user had apparently run into Damon and he quoted him as saying “Two weeks left of recording and the album’s finished”, along with a fan meeting Jamie Hewlett and him being quoted saying the album is “really fuckin’ special” and can’t be rushed to earlier than 2017.
- Snoop Dogg and De La Soul will be on the new album. This is confirmed by both Pos from De La Soul and from an article by Consequence of Sound. Other featured artists and collaborators on this upcoming album confirmed include: French composer Jean Michel-Jarre, producer Twilite Tone, singer-songwriter Liam Bailey, and Chicago rapper Vic Mensa.
Second, educated guesses about themes and other featured artists:
- One theory is that David Bowie may participate, as Jamie Hewlett produced a “Gorillaz’ed” version of him on his Instagram titled “Bad David” https://www.instagram.com/p/-8MCQfSvjH/
- This next point requires a bit of a context for those of you who may not be as familiar with the Gorillaz’ previous works.
- The album Demon Days focused on the desensitization and brutalization of humanity, and the effects it is having in how we treat war, news of violence, and the destruction that weapons of war causes to the earth. Quoting a Diffuser article, “The themes on the album are obvious: it’s all about mankind’s imminent self-destruction on both a local scale […] and a global one[…].” In an interview with MTV, Damon says, “The whole album kind of tells the story of the night — staying up during the night — but it’s also an allegory. It’s what we’re living in basically, the world in a state of night.”
- In Plastic Beach, the album’s concept revolves around environmentalism and environmental awareness. It covers topics regarding plastic pollution and the collection of our trash, especially plastic in what are commonly collectively called the “Great garbage patches”; radioactive and chemical pollution of the waters causing mutation and death of various species; and the methods we use to power our ships across the waters that we all ultimately drink and eat from.
- Based on this, it is possible, that this upcoming album will focus on the effects (in a general sense) of technology in our lives and the rapid changes being made to all aspects of our lives and the world as a whole. We may see references to Mixed Reality/Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, cloning, space travel, social media, genetic engineering, transhumanism and augmentation, and other related keywords from these last few years. This has some level of support given that both cloning and cyborgs have become incorporated into Gorillaz canon courtesy of Murdoc Niccals creating Cyborg Noodle- a cybernetically enhanced clone of Noodle.
So, who’s excited!? I know I am. For more Gorillaz related goodness, check out this ad of Noodle
hijacking a Jaguar for a test run and being announced as their new Global Ambassador, as well as this playlist and interview from Russel over at a “cat” magazine.