London, UK · alt-pop · hip-hop hybrid

Gorillaz

1 upcoming festival

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 musician Damon Albarn, of Blur, and artist Jamie Hewlett, of Tank Girl. The project is presented through four animated characters — 2-D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel — with Albarn writing and singing the bulk of the music and Hewlett handling the visual world around it.

The self-titled debut arrived in 2001, followed by Demon Days, Plastic Beach and a string of later albums. 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. Live, the band performs as a large ensemble with guest vocalists, backed by animation.

alt-pophip-hop hybrid