Get ready, music lovers! Coachella 2024 is set to be an absolute blast, and the lineup is nothing short of spectacular. With headliners like Lana Del Rey, Tyler, The Creator, and Doja Cat, you know it's going to be a weekend to remember. But hold onto your hats, because there's an electrifying surprise that's going to shake the desert – Blur is back.
Yes, you heard that right! Blur, the Britpop legends who gave us unforgettable hits like "Song 2" and "Girls & Boys," are making their grand return to the US stage after a nine-year hiatus. Their set at Coachella is already the talk of the town, and fans are buzzing with excitement. The band, known for their energetic performances and catchy tunes, is sure to deliver a show that's both nostalgic and fresh.
Blur's setlist is bound to be a mix of classic hits and perhaps a few surprises. Fans will be singing along to "Coffee & TV" and moshing to the raucous "Song 2." The band's ability to blend different genres, from punk to pop, ensures that their performance will be diverse and dynamic. And let's not forget about Albarn's charismatic stage presence – his energy is infectious, and he's sure to have the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.
But Blur isn't the only reason to get excited about Coachella 2024. The festival is famous for its eclectic mix of artists, and this year is no exception. From the smooth sounds of Jhené Aiko to the energetic beats of Skepta, there's something for everyone. The return of No Doubt after nine years is another highlight, promising a set filled with nostalgia and good vibes.
So, mark your calendars for April 12 to 14 and April 19 to 21, because Coachella 2024 is going to be epic. With Blur's much-anticipated performance and a lineup that's bursting with talent, this is one festival you won't want to miss. The presale starts this Friday, January 19 2024 at 11 am PT, so be ready to grab your passes. And if you can't make it in person, don't worry – the festival will stream live on YouTube, bringing the magic of Coachella right to your screen.
With Blur's return, a stellar lineup, and an atmosphere that can't be beaten, it's the place to be for music lovers around the world. Get ready to dance, sing, and celebrate – Coachella 2024 is going to be unforgettable!
Breaking news- Damon Albarn has announced that he has signed a record deal with Transgressive Records for a second solo album to be released in 2021 or 2022. The last time Damon has made a solo album was in 2014 when he released the critically acclaimed album titled "Everyday Robots".
“Damon has recently put the finishing touches to his much-anticipated, second solo album, full details for which will be released soon,” Transgressive announced recently on their social media outlets.
The indie label was initially founded by Tim Dellow and Toby L in 2004 and produces records for artists such as Arlo Parks, Alvvays, Foals and Johnny Flynn.
According to Transgressive: “We have had the great pleasure of collaborating with Damon over the years via the incredible Africa Express project, which has introduced many gifted artists to the Transgressive world. His voracious passion for music and exploration knows no bounds and repeatedly defies convention or categorisation, whilst always remaining utterly inviting and intoxicating throughout.
“Truly prolific, his latest solo work is amongst the finest of his career. We really couldn’t be more honoured to welcome Damon and his phenomenal team at Eleven Management into the Transgressive family, with an ongoing focus to break new ground and subvert expectations in a way that only he can.”
Damon is also scheduled to play at Edinburgh International Festival alongside the likes of Laura Mvula, Caribou and The Snuts in August 2021.
It looks like this is the beginning of a new era for the musician and undoubtedly, Damon Albarn fans will be looking forward to lots more news to come.
Back in 2012, Damon announced that he was releasing his first solo album of his career. titled Everyday Robots The album was made available via online streaming to the public. You can listen to the album in full below.
Stay tuned for more and do subscribe to Blurball's Facebook page to get the latest news and updates on all things Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Blur and Gorillaz.
Damon Albarn has once again stirred up emotions- and this time it's with the news that a new Blur album is possible in 2019. In a recent interview, the Blur frontman stated that:
“A reunion is never not a possibility. I think most definitely at some point we’ll play those songs again. I’d hate to think I’d never play with those musicians again. But it has just got to be the right time.”
"You want to feel that people really, really, really want you to do it, otherwise you’re kind of becoming a tribute act to yourself,” he explained. “You destroy everything that you’ve created if you do. Given the massive and always-rotating cast of characters in the Gorillaz’ vast universe, Albarn has even contemplated merging the two into one “Some days I really fancy doing a Blur song in the middle of a Gorillaz set,” he admitted. "I’ve never tried it, but I probably shouldn’t.”
It looks like we'll be seeing a lot more Blur this year, and a lot more of Damon Albarn's creative energies.
As one of the most famous Britpop bands of all time, Blur has a huge legacy and a new album will be sure to top the charts. Stay tuned for more!
Damon Albarn, the Blur frontman and recently re-launched Gorillaz singer, has hinted that he might release a new Blur album in the future. When asked about whether there will be a new Blur album, Damon was not his usual mysterious self. He told the press he “never said I’d never make another record” with the band.
Damon Albarn is set to release a new album with Gorillaz called ‘Humanz’ this Friday (April 28th 2017) and has said that he will then work on a new record with The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Blur lasted released their latest surprise album ‘The Magic Whip’ in 2015.
Asked by Rolling Stone where his focus on other projects leaves the Britpop band, Albarn said: “We’re all really good friends. And I feel like I’ve given many of my best years to Blur, so I don’t feel guilty in that sense. I’ve never said I’d never make another record. It’s all the same thing at the end of the day. It’s the nuances that make it different. It’s just more music, to add to the mountain of music there already is.”
Damon Albarn also spoke about Blur’s 2015 gig at Madison Square Garden in New York, saying: “We’d never done the Garden, and I felt bad that I’d done it before with Gorillaz [in 2010]. That was not fair. But in a way, Blur always felt that we terribly underachieved in America. It was hard to understand how bands like Radiohead and Coldplay are so successful here, and we weren’t. Thankfully, I have Gorillaz. Otherwise, I might be a terribly bitter, aging Britpop-er.”
Bitter as he is, he definitely made fans' day by hinting that there might, possibly be a new Blur album coming. Stay tuned for more!
The new Blur single 'Go Out' sounds like something right out of Blur's earlier album. The song, featuring a single repetitive drum beat signature of Dave Rowntree's style, is similar to the earlier, younger Blur of the 1990s when they were still in the hey-days of Britpop.
Fans will instantly recognise the sound of Blur in 'Go Out', where Damon Albarn sings "We go into the local... We go into the local, oh oh" and chants his "oh oh oh"s similar to their earlier songs in the album "Blur" and "Think Tank". The lyrics include references to Hong Kong and the band's outings around the city in China, one of the biggest destinations for experiencing the East and West mix.
Interestingly, the music video also features a women making homemade-ice cream. The song reminds us of "Advert" in Modern life is Rubbish, where Damon sings about the disillusionments with modern TV advertisements and commercialism. We can't help thinking Damon is trying to recreate some of the social critiques that his earlier songs have going on, only with a different sound. It's a very multicultural video, reflecting perhaps what's to come in the album The Magic Whip, due to be released on the 27th April 2015.
The song's guitar riff in the middle is reminiscence of the band's latest album Think Tank, where there's a move towards more of a rock style. The song ends abruptly, leaving us wanting more.
Overall, this is a catchy, interesting but simple song by Blur, whose return is much welcome in the world of British pop. They've given us a new single with a unique sound, which reminds us of the 1990s and sounds very much like Britpop, although with less of the fancy instrumentals, xylophones and other instruments which Damon Albarn liked to use before.
The soundtrack for Blur's new 12 song album in 2015 will be:
More tour dates have been announced for Blur in 2013, as this year draws nearer 'to the end'. Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Noel Gallagher are set to perform in a UK charity music gig - the Teenage Cancer Trust gig, in March 23th 2013, at the Royal Albert Hall , London.
This announcement followed on from Blur's confirmation for the Vive Latino Festival Mexico yesterday, where the band will be headlining the 3 day music festival in March next year.
As the curator of the charity gigs for 2013, former Oasis member Noel Gallagher will jointly headline the cancer trust gig in London's Royal Albert Hall on March 23 along with former rivals Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon.
Noel Gallagher revealed he intends to perform live with his former nemesis, saying: “They’ll be playing Blur songs, I would think. I’ll be playing mine. Will we share the stage together? I hope so. I’m up for it. It’s always good to have a little jam.”
He continued: “I’d initially wanted Blur to do it, because they’ve never done it. I was on tour with Graham, and asked him, and he said Blur had kind of been put to bed, it went back and forth, and they said they’d do it. And yeah: 10 years ago, who’d have thought it?”
Damon Albarn with Noel
at last year's Brit Awards
Asked if he ever played any Blur songs, he said: “I do play ‘Tender’ sometimes at home to myself, when Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Minute Meals is on. He’s got some good stuff going on on there!”
Other acts for this special UK gig include Kasabian, Russell Brand and Noel Fielding.
Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon last appeared together in a charity gig for last year's War Child evening, where the two members of Blur debuted their new song 'Under the Westway' and 'The Puritan' to the small group of audience. The two songs were released as an exclusive CD and single, to mark Blur's 21st anniversary box set release.
Will there be another new Blur song to be debuted this year's charity gig? It certainly looks possible since Blur are embarking on a Europe and Latin American tour in 2013 - the charity gig seems like a viable stage to play several new songs. Watch the footage we filmed from last year's War Child Gig below.
Graham Coxon tweeted on his official twitter page on November 26th 2012 that there will be "no" new Blur album in the future. The guitarist replied to a fan on twitter who asked whether there will be a new album in the near future with Damon Albarn, Alex James and Dave Rowntree.
Graham's reply was a two-lettered one: No.
There has been rumours surrounding the band since their reform in 2009 and following their landmark Hyde Park gig for the London Olympics this year. They are also set to play several European festivals for their Europe Tour 2013, including headlining some big-named musical gigs in Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Poland.
Graham recently wrote a song for Channel 4's Fresh Meat programme, performed by Kingsley. He said he agreed to write the song because he learned that Blur was Kingsley actor Joe Thomas's favourite band. Listen to his new song here.
Check out Graham Coxon's twitter page to read his tweets. The guitarist is known for being sporadic, unpredictable and surprising with his tweets. He even tweeted us on BlurBalls several times. Can we take his comment this time as a serious one, or is it just a remark about Blur's current flexible stage ?
It's hardly anything definite since all we have is Graham Coxon's one-word tweet. Yet, is this a sign that Blur have no plans to record anything in time for their European tour in 2013 ? They have confirmed so many dates, but will they be living off their former glories and just play old songs? These are questions that have no answers yet.
Here are some interesting comments from Blur fans about this (Source: NME - names have been removed):
Have you seen Coxon' tweet? He's notorious for trolling. Although it could be the case there just isn't a new album coming - Either way, bands have had one over you before haven't they NME?
First Jarvis announcing that there won't be any new Pulp material, and now Graham pretty much announcing there won't be another Blur album. What a bloody awful day this has been. :( :( :(
That's it Blur ruled it out alright, Graham Coxon said "No" on Twitter, oh gee, I guess that's it then. Haha, how many musicians/ artists have ruled out the possibility of another album? Who EVER expected the Stone Roses to get back together? A simple "No" on the notoriously informal site of Twitter won't do it for me, haha.
Blur is obviously a part time pursuit - Albarn is bored with it, The ginger one appears to prefer being a solicitor, Cameron's mate writes for the sun. Guess its back to the solo albums Graham! Still those big gigs and the money from that british gas advert will keep him going.
I am convinced that there will a new record in the next 12 months. The band have a very high standard and I really can't see them living off past glories for another set of big gigs next summer. Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave have way to much pride in their music not to do it! So lets leave them do what they do best and be patient and new material will come!
Damon Albarn said that he would be interested in making a new Blur album only if it was "for a film".
The singer did an interview for XFM Radio on August 5th stating that there are no further Blur plans unless they were asked to make a record for a film, which is unlikely to happen. The interview also talked about the usual - the recent shows, Hyde Park Olympics gig on August 12th 2012 and his feelings towards being reunited with Graham Coxon, Dave Rowntree and Alex James again for music.
Graham Coxon also confirmed Albarn's views about Blur's future. Coxon was interviewed for Shortlist Magazine this month, in which he said that there were no more new Blur songs in existence.
When asked whether there's more Blur material available, Graham replied: "That's it really. Sorry, but there just aren't any more. My only hope is that we carry on doing what we really want to do. That's it."
Click to enlarge and read. Credits to damon4president for scans
A bit of disappointment for those wanting a new Blur record or more new songs. With this much to take in recently in the Blur world, perhaps it is destined to be a summer of intense Blur, and a rapid ending after the summer Hyde Park gigs.
Will we be seeing Blur after Hyde Park ? Or will we have to wait for another few years for some more gigs and perhaps even a rare release?
Did Blur promise fans a one-time show with gigantic new releases and then plan to suddenly disappear off the face of the planet for another hiatus? Fans- who is remaining optimistic ?
Stay Tuned, leave us a comment below and Get The Latest Blur News delivered straight to you- BlurBalls is the most updated Blur fan site on the internet!
Yes, the future's been so different while we're gone...
Feature Article by BlurBalls.com
We are going to try to speculate about Blur's future sounds, and future plans, albeit the limited information out there in the Blur-o-sphere. Read on to find out our theories and analysis.
Blur is, essentially, making our brains foggy. There has been a bombardment of news, interviews and mixed information about Blur's prospectus in the year 2012. Blur may make new material. Wait- actually Blur may not make any new material at all. Blur are also, definitely, going to be playing one of their most important gigs ever this year- the Olympics Hyde Park summer shows.
So what is in store for us fans, who have followed, anguished and screamed in excitement about the band we know and love?
To start off, there is some great news for all Blur fans out there. Damon Albarn has revealed that Blur, far from their rumoured disbanding/ splitting up/ fall out, is actively back in the studio recording new tracks.
Damon Albarn appeared on the Andrew Marr show on BBC Radio 1 in the morning of May 13th 2012. He said that Blur were doing some recordings "next week" or "the week after", and that there could well be more than one new song played at the Hyde Park Olympic summer shows.
"A couple, maybe a couple. We're going to do some more recording" - Damon Albarn, May 13th 2012
This recent development is certainly generating great hype amongst Blur's fan base. Could this, once again, be another comment to throw fans off another direction? Or is it genuine, positive news?
The Blur camp has been full of emotional ups and downs lately. Moods have been soaring sky high with the announcement of the Olympics Hyde Park summer gigs (when it was thought 2009 was their last). Moods dipped to an all time low when previously, Damon Albarn announced Blur are 'over', and that they will quit after the summer gigs.
Damon have also said Blur will not record new songs. The Guardian did a revealing interview where Blur were made to sound like it's over permanently. Damon Albarn later seemingly changed his mind (or perhaps it was the biased reporting) and quashed his statements in ShortList magazine. He, apparently, "completely lost it" when he made those statements.
Damon on the cover of The Guardian interview, which rocked the Blur fan-base
Guitarist Graham Coxon and Drummer Dave Rowntree also made several statements deeming the bleak future of Blur. Bassist Alex James also said many varied things about the band's prospects, and not all of it was positive. Who can we believe?
Another revealing new development: William Orbit (producer of Blur's 13) made a harsh tweet calling Damon Albarn a 'pig' recently. Straight off his twitter feed was the agressive remark:
"Blur. Awesome band. Damon, brilliant. No question. + hard working as can 100% relate. But as a person, turned out to be a pig."
Could this be the beginning of a feud between Blur and the super producer? We speculate that perhaps Damon and the band recorded several new tracks with Orbit at the beginning of this year, but some how, things did not work out for the collaboration. Maybe Damon was fickle in his choice and opinions, ideas and music talents clashed.
Quite possibly, the news that Blur are "recording again" means that they were re-recording the tracks they recorded with Orbit after being displeased with the results. Orbit is appearing on BBC Radio 6 to speak about this fall-out - but we have to ask, why is he making public attacks on Damon Albarn? Why the bitter remarks? Is this another random massive fall out between strong minded people of the music business?
Damon with violin - back to Modern Life is Rubbish / The Great Escape orchestral, wispy sounds?
Or, Blur could be reuniting with their early producer Stephen Street for a different sound. After all, Street is producing and remastering the whole Blur catalogue for the 'Blur21' massive compilation box set, set for release in July 2012. They could have chosen anyone otherwise if nothing was up.
No one knows what is going to happen yet this year. Blur, being Blur, keeps us guessing - imagine Damon taunting: "It really really could happen" and then changing his mind!
A very young Blur - will their new tracks sound 'Leisure'-esque?
After all, Blur is an unpredictable band that changes constantly. The sounds range from early Indie tunes like in ''Leisure', to the Britpop sounds of 'Modern Life is Rubbish' and 'Parklife', to the American Rock sound from 'Blur', melancholic / sonic sounds from Orbit's '13' and finally, the low-fi rock of 'Think Tank'.
Maybe Blur decided they have outgrown Orbit's sonic, psychedelic sound of the early 2000s and want to embrace something new. Or perhaps Damon's leaning towards more of a 'Fool's Day' feel, the ballads that matches drums and piano tunes together in an almost 'The Good The Bad and The Queen' style. Damon's new opera 'Dr Dee' definitely shows traces of his love for folk, piano ballad pop, which seems to be cropping up a lot in Damon's post-Blur projects.
Hot off BBC 6's twitter - What's up with Billy Orbit ?
Blur's latest song 'Under the Westway' certainly seems to be heading towards the general direction of what we mentioned above. Slow, sad and reflective... could this be Blur's new sound? Piano ballads? 'Apple-Carts'-esque tunes? If so, then it would be very interesting to hear what new tracks Damon and company are currently recording. Maybe Dave's drums will only feature on limited tracks.
That's not to say that Blur will release a new album any time soon. There seems to be no album plans in store for the immediate future. At most, perhaps we will get a few new tracks from the band. Or will these "new tracks" and recordings even see the light of day? What if Damon changes his mind yet again?
Damon, after all, did say he was recording with Graham Coxon again recently (click to read). Is he planning some sort of solo album with Graham only? Certainly, he seems to be getting on with the guitarist very well lately, more so than "the other two" ? Is a Graham Coxon/ Damon Albarn album in the works? Note- Dave and Alex had little to say in the media recently about their band.
Future two man show ?
Listen to the latest Blur interview chat below (credit to Gorillaz Unofficial for the recording) where Damon revealed there may be more than 1 new song and feel free to leave a comment, vote on our poll and tell us your views on what you think of all the new developments.
Blur can now move on to many possible roads- it's up to the boys to decide which road to take. Which one would they choose ?
Stay Tuned, leave us a comment below and Get The Latest Blur News delivered straight to you- BlurBalls is the most updated Blur fan site on the internet!
Damon Albarn's opera Doctor Dee has now reached the end of its run as part of the Manchester International Festival and has received almost universal acclaim and positive reviews.
"I'm making an album for Warp," Damon reveals in The Guardian's latest article on Doctor Dee, his new opera . This is the only new thing that the article reveals, oh, and that Damon stumbled quite a lot around the stage during his opera....
Warp is a Sheffield-based record label usually renowned for techno.
"I'm taking six young English producers with me and we'll make it in a week. Then I'm going on a six- week holiday to dispel rumours I'm a workaholic." said Damon.
And my thoughts on this is exactly northernmonkey's, which goes like this:
A six weeks holiday should recharge the creative juices for getting started on a new Blur album!!!
Lastly, watch the recent short interview Damon Albarn did for BBC Two Culture Show on July 12th 2011 about his opera. Quite interesting.
Stay Tuned and remember to subscribe and"LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook, or email subscribe to receive the latest news on everything Blur, Gorillaz, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon!
If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!
