We’ve not really heard from Damon Albarn for, well, since the most recent Blur reunion ended at Coachella around 15 months ago. But the singer has now broken cover and given an interview to The Sun, in which he reveals, amongst others things, that there’s a new Gorillaz album in the pipeline.
Needless to say, this most profilic of musicians has not been idle. “I’ve been incredibly busy making music - it’s what I love to do,” he told the paper. “I suppose I’m going to have to share some of it soon. Inevitably, there will always be a dustbin bag full of stuff that needs dropping off at the recycling!”
Amongst that 'stuff' to be dropped off is a new Gorillaz record, which will be their ninth in all. In a separate interview with The Times he revealed that the record “is in four languages”, though he gave no other details about which ones, nor who would be the special guests on the new album.
The conversation with The Sun touched on his old nemeses, Oasis. “Oasis won the battle, the war, the campaign, everything,” he said of their mid-'90s Britpop conflict. “In the face of such overwhelming evidence, I am happy to accept and concede defeat.
"It’s their summer and God bless them. I hope everyone has a wonderful time but I’m going to be in a very, very different place.”
Albarn also had some interesting thoughts on the tabloids’ favourite punk rap duo, Bob Vylan. “It was one of the most spectacular misfires I’ve seen in my life,” he said of their ‘controversial’ Glastonbury set in which they chanted ‘Death to the IDF’. “Especially when he started to goose-step in tennis gear. I mean, I’ve had my moments - not quite as catastrophic as that but you do get carried away. The old testosterone gets you going. But it’s unfortunate. Everyone’s just so hysterical.”
According to the Times interview the new album won’t be out until 2026. The only ‘group’ (are we still pretending they’re cartoons) activity until then is the House Of Kong exhibition at London’s Copper Box Arena which celebrates 25 years of the Gorillaz project and four live dates at the same venue in late August and early September. For more details about the exhibtion and tickets click here.
