The Gorillaz' much-anticipated return next year will feature a rainbow of guests and a renewed vision, according to frontman Damon Albarn.
Albarn, who recently completed a string of magnificent shows with his band Blur, has revealed that Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mos Def, The Horrors and Barry Gibb will all be featured on the new Gorillaz album, the third release from the virtual band he created with Tank Girl co-creator Jamie Hewlett.
The singer said the record, to be called Plastic Beach, was a “pop record” with orchestral elements.
“I did loads of orchestral stuff with the Syrian National Orchestra and managed to get bits of all of them on the record, but essentially I'm trying to make a pop record so it can't be totally orchestral," Albarn said in a recent interview with The Guardian.
Damon found unusual inspiration in his disgust with the cult of personality. "I've tried to connect pop sensibility with trying to make people understand the essential melancholy of buying a ready made meal in loads of plastic packaging. People who watch 'X Factor' might have some emotional connection to these things, that detritus that accompanies what seems the most essential thing in people's lives these days, the celebrity, the voyeurism."
In the Guardian interview, the singer also revealed that he has reunited with Flea and Tony Allen for a completely unrelated new album. The trio had previously collaborated on the Africa Express project.
Plastic Beach is expected next year and will be Gorillaz first full studio album since 2005's heavily-worshipped Demon Days. In the meantime, Blur have released a trailer for their upcoming reunion documentary No Direction Left To Run. Check it out:
And just in case you forgot how fantastic Gorillaz were on their last album, here's a reminder:
