London, UK · alt-pop · hip-hop hybrid

Gorillaz

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Damon Albarn's animated universe — a genre-omnivorous hits machine and guest-star carousel, two decades of cartoon cover for some of pop's best songwriting.

Gorillaz began in 1999 as a collaboration between Damon Albarn, of Blur, and artist Jamie Hewlett, of Tank Girl. The two had met years earlier when Hewlett interviewed Blur for the comic magazine Deadline, and the animated project grew out of that friendship. It is presented through four characters, 2-D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel, with Albarn writing and singing most of the music and Hewlett building the visual world around it.

The self-titled debut arrived in 2001 and went triple platinum in the UK on the strength of "Clint Eastwood," mixing trip hop, punk and Latin influences. Demon Days followed in 2005, going six times platinum in the UK behind singles including "Feel Good Inc." and "Dare." Plastic Beach in 2010 added synth-pop and environmental themes, paired that same year with The Fall, made largely on tour using an iPad.

The music moves between alternative rock, hip hop, dub, trip hop and electronic pop, and nearly every record is built around collaborations with rappers, singers and older soul and funk figures. Percussionist Remi Kabaka Jr, who had long voiced Russel, became a permanent member of the band in 2015.

Humanz, released in 2017, leaned heavily on guest vocalists, while The Now Now the following year pulled focus back onto Albarn himself. The Song Machine project, a run of standalone singles and videos with rotating guests, became the 2020 album Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, followed by Cracker Island in 2023.

Live, the band has taken different forms over the years, at times keeping the touring musicians out of sight and projecting the animated characters instead, and since 2010 playing as a fully visible ensemble with guest vocalists. Gorillaz has won a Grammy Award and Best British Group at the Brit Awards.

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alt-pophip-hop hybrid