| Damon interview; announces Snoop Dogg for 3rd album, confirms Plastic Beach title, other artists |
[posted by 2-J on Sunday 29 November 2009|02:48am] |
Damon Albarn was recently interviewed by journalist Paul Morley and the interview was published in the early hours of yesterday morning (GMT) on the website of the national UK paper The Guardian. You can read a summary of a few points of the interview and listen to 39 minutes of it on The Guardian's website here. Damon talks about a lot of things but most interestingly for Gorillaz fans he spoke a lot about Gorillaz' third album. Amongst the details revealed were the following:-
The title 'Plastic Beach' is confirmed for the third album.
He got the inspiration for the title Plastic Beach from looking at plastic in the sand in a beach near his house in Devon in the UK. Damon also says he wants to express "the idea that plastic, we see it as being against nature but it’s come out of nature. We didn’t create plastic, nature created plastic." (more context in the interview transcript below) He also compares shows like the X-Factor and American Idol to "buying a ready made meal in loads of plastic packaging" and says Gorillaz albums are intended to be an alternative to that, pop, but with some kind of depth.
The album features the sounds of some seagulls recorded on a landfill site near London, to give it a real plastic beach feel.
The album features Snoop Dogg on a track. (Damon also confirmed that previously rumoured or mentioned artists Lou Reed, Mos Def, Barry Gibb and Bobby Womack would appear on the record).
Damon has put more thought into making the lyrics and melodies clear on this record than those on Gorillaz and Demon Days.
Damon feels this is the most pop record he has ever made. He says that although he recorded with orchestras in the making of the record, only small parts of the recordings will be on the final album.
Work on the album can be traced back to work on the project Carousel which was about 'the mystical aspects of Britain' and although it is now Gorillaz it 'still maintains a lot of that melancholy'.
You can read a full transcript of the interview by clicking 'Read More' below. Gorillaz information is highlighted in black. All credit to Paul Morley and The Guardian.
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| Murdoc on the front cover of this month's Q magazine; new art (UPDATED: with full scans) |
[posted by 2-J on Thursday 26 November 2009|07:56am] |
Lelis sends the news that Murdoc appears on the special fold-out cover of this month's Q magazine (A UK-based music magazine). He appears in a feature in the magazine entitled 'Artists Of The Century' and is interviewed in the magazine. See the full picture and some comments about the magazine on the official Q website here
UPDATED 20:35 GMT: all scans now available to view. Click a thumbnail to bring up the full size picture. You can also view the full size scans by clicking 'Read More' below.
    
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| Recent Del interview clip; talks about Clint Eastwood |
[posted by 2-J on Wednesday 25 November 2009|01:08am] |
In a video recently published on youtube video, Del The Funky Homosapien gives his thoughts on Gorillaz' hit Clint Eastwood (notably, he can't remember Jamie's name and has to think about Damon's)...
Del says:- "Imma tell you something man, I never really had nothing to do with that. Like Dan already had that done. It was done. He just needed a vocalist that he felt was better than the one he had. And I was there and he was like I know you could whip this up in like 30 minutes, come on, what's happening... I mean if I asked or something, or cooperated when they wanted to go on the road... it was never meant to be as big as it was, really, you know what I'm saying? It was just something that they was doing for a hobby and it started leaking out. I mean but the artist was dope, I keep forgettin dude's name, but he raw, he used to do tank girl, and I used to collect Tank Girl, you feel me? So that was my initial interest in it. Then other dude from Blur, what was his name, Damon Albarn right, he was always selling millions of records you feel me, so as soon as it leaked about him... oh okay, dude, I know dude, what's this? I ain't heard of this [and it went] mainstream, know what I'm saying? I ain't mad at it, you know, it paid my bills, it paid for my house and all that, you know what I'm saying? But yeah, you know, I just keep it moving man."
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| Gorillaz Sound System news - lineup changes |
[posted by 2-J on Tuesday 24 November 2009|20:39pm] |
The official Gorillaz fansite and Facebook pages have posted the following statement:-
"As rumours have started to circulate, we can confirm that Gorillaz Sound System has returned with a new configuration for 2009! The first gig took place earlier this month in Bucharest and original GSS members Remi and Roland have now been joined by young drummer of the year Pauli providing the beats and UK Scratch Champion DJ Kofi on the decks. Check out a clip of Clint Eastwood from the Romania show below..." (read it on the official Gorillaz fansite here and check out the linked video on Youtube here. Gorillaz-Unofficial reported the Romanian gig at the time here).
DJ Kofi's Myspace is here. Gorillaz Sound System has had a fluctuating lineup, with Nelson De Freitas (the voice of 2D) and Remi Kabaka (the voice of Russel) seeming to be the only two permanent members. You can view a list of past dates from Gorillaz Sound System and some details on previous members here. There is as yet no further word on the reported / rumoured Turkish shows from Gorillaz Sound System (previous coverage of these supposed dates on Gorillaz-Unofficial here). Also of note is the fact that this Facebook / official fansite message is the first ever public acknowledgement of Gorillaz Sound System on an official Gorillaz website.
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| Demon Days at #98 on NME's albums of the decade |
[posted by 2-J on Tuesday 24 November 2009|20:25pm] |
dq writes in:- "Not really big news, but some people might be interested"
Check out NME's top 100 albums of the decade on the NME website here. The NME is an influential and long-running weekly music magazine published in the UK. No other Gorillaz albums appeared in the top 100.
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| Gorillaz Sound System to play Turkey show(s?) |
[posted by 2-J on Wednesday 18 November 2009|08:23am] |
Gorillaz fan tim_the_enchanter sends the news that Gorillaz Sound System will play a show at the 312 Arena in Ankara, Turkey, on 12 December 2009 according to the Turkish MTV website (see the report here.
The website last.fm also lists Gorillaz Sound System as playing a show at the Otto Santral nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, on 11 December (see the listing here. We'll bring you further confirmation and sources as and when we get it).
Lots of information on Gorillaz Sound System can be found here.
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| Michelin commercial 'heavily influenced' by Gorillaz song |
[posted by 2-J on Wednesday 11 November 2009|15:14pm] |
A recently released Michelin commercial (posted on Youtube 6th October) that is currently showing on US tv stations is 'heavily influenced' by Gorillaz' song Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head. Listen out for a Dennis Hopper soundalike, extremely similar music and a similar 'story'. Check out the video below:-
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| Gorillaz feature in Wired magazine - new art, comments (UPDATE: 06/11/09) |
[posted by 2-J on Wednesday 4 November 2009|16:30pm] |
Gorillaz fan Chanticleer writes:- "Gorillaz are prominently on the cover of the UK edition of Wired this month, which should be in the shops on Thursday and is currently available to subscribers (like me!). The article they appear in is not about album three but is instead about 'Gorillaz reinvent the future' - a long article of future technologies with comments by Murdoc."
The article features the first Phase Three Gorillaz art. The cover is pictured below, click 'Read More' for scanned extracts from the article and a larger sized picture of the cover.
UPDATE 06/11/09:- All Murdoc's comments from the article are now available to view by clicking 'Read More' below. Also a new composite picture of the Gorillaz head pics from the main body of the article is available to view.
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| DARE appears as downloadable content for DJ Hero |
[posted by 2-J on Wednesday 4 November 2009|16:21pm] |
Twixmovies777@aol.com sends the news:-
"So as talked about before, DJ Hero has gorillaz music. However, just released this week is DLC for the game with Gorillaz in it. The song "DARE" is one of the two songs in the "Extended Play Pack 01" mixed with "Cant Truss It" by Public Enemy. Also, on the main disc, Feel Good Inc is mixed with "Atomic" by Blondie, Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani, and Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye"
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| Alan Moore 'to do the libretto on Gorillaz' next opera project' |
[posted by 2-J on Wednesday 21 October 2009|09:23am] |
In an interview with the UK comedy magazine Mustard Alan Moore (acclaimed comic book writer who authored Watchmen and V For Vendetta amongst many other famous comics) has revealed that he is set to 'do the libretto on [Gorillaz'] next opera project'.
Alan Moore made the revelation when asked about the contents of upcoming issues of his new magazine, Dodgem Logic. He also revealed that 'Gorillaz' are set to contribute to a future issue of his magazine. The full quote is as follows:-
"...the issue after that we’ve hopefully got Gorillaz onboard. They came down to Northampton last week because we’re planning for me to do the libretto on their next opera project. Being an opportunist, I of course asked them if they’d be prepared to contribute some pages to Dodgem Logic. Rather than just doing an interview with them, I thought it would be interesting to hand over a few pages for them to curate." Read the full interview on the Mustard site here.
Presumably by 'Gorillaz' here Alan is referring to Damon and Jamie, so it is not clear whether the proposed opera will feature the Gorillaz characters or will instead be a 'Gorillaz project' along the lines of Monkey, i.e. created by Damon and Jamie but not featuring the Gorillaz characters nor legally defined as Gorillaz. Damon and Jamie spoke in 2008 of their desire to have Gorillaz make further live appearances perhaps in inventive ways. However the opera Alan is referring to may be a further project unrelated to the Gorillaz band (for example - one of the projects Damon and Jamie spoke of working on in 2007 and 2008 was Carousel, which was at one point set to have some form of stage manifestation).
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work and is distinct from a synopsis or scenario of the plot, in that the libretto contains all the words and stage directions, while a synopsis summarizes the plot.
More information on this one as we get it.
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| The Horrors won't be drawn on further details of their Gorillaz collaboration |
[posted by 2-J on Wednesday 21 October 2009|09:17am] |
As previously reported on Gorillaz-Unofficial, UK band The Horrors have collaborated with Gorillaz on a track set for inclusion on Gorillaz' forthcoming third album (due 2010). (check out the previous news items with comments from The Horrors here and here).
orion70 sends the news that while on their recene North American tour, the Montreal Mirror asked The Horrors to reveal more details about their Gorillaz collaboration but they refused. The full relevant extract of the interview is as follows:-
"M: Please tell me about your collaboration with Damon Albarn and Gorillaz.
JH: Damon heard Primary Colours and asked us to come play on one of the songs. It was a really great experience—he’s an incredibly inspiring chap, quite excitable too. We’re the first band he’s collaborated with, so that’s incredibly reassuring. I will definitely be extending him the courtesy of not revealing anything about his new record prematurely."
You can read the full interview on the Montreal Mirror website here.
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| Jamie exhibition of new work in London (not Gorillaz) |
[posted by 2-J on Tuesday 13 October 2009|23:26pm] |
Not Gorillaz news but something every Jamie Hewlett fan in the London (UK) area will want to get along to; a new exhibition featuring some of his work.
The exhibition "Under Water Colours" features some paintings by Jamie inspired by a trip to Bangladesh. The exhibition, organised by Oxfam ,shows the human cost of climate change and includes films of Char Atra where Jamie visited, drawings by some of the children he met revealing how the rising water turns their lives upside down, as well as photographs and stories.
The exhibition will take place at the Dray Walk Gallery, Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL and will run from 17-31 October, 2009, 10-6pm. Admission free. There will be limited edition prints of Jamie¹s paintings to buy at the exhibition in aid of Oxfam¹s River Basin Programme, which works in Bangladesh and Nepal.
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| Gorillaz.com homepage update |
[posted by 2-J on Friday 9 October 2009|13:38pm] |
hello_hello_hello90 writes in that the homepage of Gorillaz.com has been updated.
The page has a new layout, with links to buy Gorillaz CDs, some quicklinks to games, and links to the band's official Twitter, Facebook and Myspace accounts. There is no new content however - but that will all change soon, no doubt.
Check out the homepage here.
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| Guitar Hero in talks with Gorillaz to use an exclusive track on future Guitar Hero release |
[posted by 2-J on Monday 5 October 2009|22:19pm] |
An article on the website of the UK newspaper The Telegraph reports that "Guitar Hero's management are talking to artists including Robbie Williams and Damon Albarn's Gorillaz to write and record tracks exclusively for its video games". The article is based on an interview with Guitar Hero chief executive Dan Rosensweig.
Check out the full article which also discusses other Guitar Hero news on the Telegraph website here.
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| Gorillaz Sound System to play Romania show on 6 November |
[posted by 2-J on Monday 5 October 2009|22:05pm] |
Gorillaz Sound System will play a show in Bucharest, Romania on 6 November. The show will be held at the la Sala Polivalentă. Also on the bill on the same night are the acts Underworld and Dubfire. Tickets are available from http://bilete.ro/ and cost 50 lei in advance (75 lei on the night). (many Romanian sites are reporting this news including mediafax.ro here).This is only Gorillaz Sound System's second public show of the year, after their date in March at Moscow's Expocentre Na Krasnoy Presne Showrooms. (more info on GSS here).
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| EDITORIAL |
"OF DRUMMERS, GHOSTS AND EXISTENCE"
"This is why, after reading the recent interview with Mr. Hewlett, I was stunned. He said, “But I don’t know if I accept the idea he’s underused. He has had quite a lot happen to him." For a good ten minutes, I sat, rocking back and forth in my chair. How could it be that Russel Hobbs was not an underused character? Sure, he speaks in Rise of the Ogre, in interviews. Sure, he went though the emotional pain of first witnessing the death of his best friend, then being possessed by him, then having his soul ripped from his body-but still. Why does Jamie think that Russel is just as equally used as, say, Noodle?
Once I started to ponder the idea further, however, I realized something"
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| UPCOMING... |
GORILLAZ' THIRD ALBUM
Currently in the making. Anticipated 2010 release. All currently available information is here
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