Known for making the lines of genre disappear and rejecting false icons, the band Gorillaz made an appearance on Twitter to announce a new album in 2017 along with a mix from one of their iconic animated characters.
After five years of complete nothing from the band, the Gorillaz Twitter is up and running again with a new segment of their adventure called “The book of noodle.” Shortly after this was posted, a link showed up on the account which lead you to a mix on SoundCloud called “私 Noodle” which contained features from artists ranging from Anna Meredith to Kali Uchis.
If you’ve ever come across Gorillaz music or characters, they’ve definitely stood out to you. They are a “virtual band” which is almost completely unique in the world of successful music. This means that the members or “characters” of the band are always presented as animated.
Formed in Essex, England by Damon Albarn, the front-man of the band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz became a hit all over the world that began with their first single Clint Eastwood. Jamie Hewlett, co- creator of Tank Girl, is the animator for all the characters which is 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs.
Damon Albarn is the permanent vocals for 2-D but for the other characters there is no main person. This means the other musicians contributing are always changing, which can also change the way the band sounds stylistically. Murdoc, the bassist character, has been “played” by four different people. Russel has been played by two specific people since the band was formed, while noodle has been played by both famous Japanese actress Hakura Kuroda and singer/songwriter Cibo Matto.
They have been nominated for 38 awards including the BRIT, Grammy, MTV Europe, and MTV music video awards. They’ve only won 6 awards out of the 38 nominations, but it definitely caught the attention of many people. With their second album Demon Days going certified double platinum in the US and 5 times in the UK, they’ve made a name for themselves in just a couple of years.
Another interesting fact about them is that on their “Escape To Plastic Beach Tour” they used the Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music to play along side them as they did appear on the album Plastic Beach. It brought such a beautiful feeling to the audience that would definitely leave a lasting impact on them. Most artist these days just use samples and a beat maker, Gorillaz have kept it from the heart with over 20 people playing music from the soul. They’ve also had a 3-D holographic MTV award performance with Madonna which was legendary. They performed the songs “Feel Good, Inc” and “Hung Up” in a mash up.
Another great factor you can look forward to is the album concepts each album has. The album “Demon Days” was said to be a “journey through the night in which each track represents a confrontation with a personal ‘demon.'” Albarn had also supposedly said “Demon Days” was influenced while on vacation where there was a random patch of land filled with just sand and no life.
Gorillaz are also known for collaborating is many artists like Snoop Dogg and De La Soul, who kick-started the Gorillaz career for them when they were featured on “Feel Good, Inc.” In addition to the “noodle” release, “Hallelujah Money” was also released with an anti-trump message in it.
It was released 24 hours before the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump and the music video really showed how the Gorillaz feel about President Trump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMZSc3-X5i8
If you’re looking for something different, relevant, and interesting, The Gorillaz are back and worth a listen.