New Gorillaz Album is Finished - Release Date and more!

Damon Albarn recently announced that the new Gorillaz album is finished and that rehearsals are currently underway. The mega-successful cartoon band are currently gearing up to release their first full-length record since 2011’s ‘The Fall’, and last month released the first single – ‘Hallelujah Money’, featuring former Mercury Prize-winner Benjamin Clementine – from the as-yet-untitled album.

No official word has been spread about the possible release date. Jack Winstanley (@_JackWinstanley) posted a series of tweets after meeting the Blur frontman outside the gig venue where he works earlier this week, writing that Albarn had told him that the album is ‘finished’ and that tour preparations are underway.

With this in mind, perhaps a spectulative release date would be sometime within the next 2-3 months- perhaps in May or June. We should be expecting a single to be released earlier so this is great news for fans.

Stay tuned for more news.

Kaytranada says that a planned collaboration with Gorillaz failed

Artist Kaytranada has announced that a planned collaboration with Gorillaz, the UK's biggest virtual band, has fallen through. The Canadian music producer, who released his debut album ‘99.9%’ earlier this year, has worked with the likes of Anderson .Paak, The Internet and Craig David in the past year.

Taking to his Twitter for a fan Q&A last night (November 28), the 24-year-old told fans in a now-deleted tweet that an anticipated collaboration with Damon Albarn’s cartoon creations didn’t come to fruition (via The Fader). “I was supposed to, they hit me up one time and I didn’t hear back from them again,” he replied to a fan who asked him if he might feature on any new Gorillaz material. 

The band are rumoured to currently be making their fifth studio album.

Kaytranada did confirm that a new song with Chance The Rapper was in the works, however – but revealed that the Chicago rapper still needs to send him vocals for their as-yet-unfinished track ‘They Say’.

Gorillaz and Klaxons are working on New Music - 2016

Gorillaz and the English band Klaxons are working together on a new collaboration to release new music before the end of next year.

Gorillaz guitarist Jeff Wootton revealed the news to NME at an event at Abbey Road Studios on November 10th 2016, held to launch Stella McCartney’s first menswear collection.

Speaking before the show, Reynolds said the guests were: “A stellar line-up of teenage heroes.” He added that DMC had told the band it was the first time he had ever performed Run DMC classic ‘It’s Like That’ live. “He said he’d never played it live… did he not realise it was a mega smash hit?” said Reynolds. “He was going: ‘This sounds amazing live!’ He was so excited that we were playing that song.”

Wootton and Reynolds revealed that they’ve been working on a collaborative project since August, with a plan to release new music next year.

“We’re taking different backgrounds and cultures and trying to push music forward,” said Wootton. “It’s a perfect time now with what’s going on in the world and everything else. Me and Jamie have great chemistry together and it’s really magical. It’s very fast. You think of great bands like The Smiths and it’s always fast. This has certainly been like that. Even being asked to play tonight, it feels like something’s bubbling” he said.

As well as playing guitar with Gorillaz, Wootton has also played live with The Last Shadow Puppets, Beady Eye and Damon Albarn.

New Interview by 2D from Gorillaz Hints at New Album Direction - 2016

If you think Gorillaz aren't up to something- think again. The band has been making headlines all around the internet lately. Now their latest antic is to dish more excitement to fans out there in anticipation of their new album to be released in 2016 or 2017.

In an exclusive interview on High Snobiety, the lead singer of Gorillaz 2D gave an interview talking about his gap year, his journeys and bizarre adventures, ahead of their new album which has led fans speculating non-stop these few weeks. 2D even made a playlist for the interview.

Some excerpts from the interview can be read below.

What do you think is the most important thing you learned on your gap year? 

Being stranded on a tropical island taught me lots of survival skills. Like how to run away from crabs (sideways), and how to stay alive by eating your own clothes. Actually, when I was down to just my underpants, I learned my most important lesson – we don’t need all the things we think we do, like massage chairs, Capri Sun and 2 Broke Girls. We just need fresh air, sunshine and 2 Broke Girls. (I really love that show.)

Should everyone be required to take a gap year before university?

I don’t think people should be forced to do anything. Murdoc used to force me to dress up as a fox and run around the woods while he hunted me with his crossbow, which was really scary. Then again, he only did it because he’s an animal lover and would never hurt a real fox. That’s one of the things I admire about Murdoc.

After your extensive experience in eating whale meat, what is the best way one should prepare and eat it? 

I wouldn’t normally eat whale because I understand their plight – I’ve seen Free Willy. But when I’d eaten my last sock, it was do or die. I didn’t have a microwave so I developed a pioneering new slow-cooking method: put a big piece of whale blubber in tropical sunlight and wait for it to turn green. Normally takes about three weeks. Finally, season with a sprinkling of coarse yellow sand.

What’s one of the strangest things to ever happen to you while on tour? 

One time after a show Murdoc got very drunk. He pointed at me then one of the security guards escorted me to his trailer. When I got inside, Murdoc gave me strawberries and told me about all the tragedies in his life, stopping only to cry or smoke a joint. Afterwards he said I was a good listener, and not like all the other girls. We hugged, exchanged numbers, and I left. He never called.

If Gorillaz could score any film of their choice, what would it be and why? 

Gorillaz music often sounds happy, but it is actually quite dark and speaks about our greatest fears. So I would have to say Sharknado 4. There are lots of things to worry about in the world, but a sharknado has to be in my top three (behind global warming and Gok Wan). If you don’t know, a sharknado is a phenomenon where a tornado sucks up a shoal of killer sharks, then spins across the land eating and destroying everything in its path. Luckily, they’re quite rare.

What’s something in the world that you’d like to see fixed and why? 

There is a lot of pain in the world. I think part of the problem is that there are too many hard, sharp edges. If the world was softer, like if everything was covered in foam, there would be fewer accidents because when people fell over or walked into things they would bounce. I did have a slot on Dragons’ Den to present my idea, but on the way there my foam suit caught fire on a cigarette butt and I suffered quite severe burns. Which was a shame – I really wanted to meet Deborah Meaden and cheer her up. She always looks so sad.

Apart from the interview, 2D also made a new playlist for the site. At the bottom of the article, the site said: "Stay tuned for release information on the new Gorillaz album." This implies that a new Gorillaz album is definitely coming onto the scene at any moment now.

The playlist 2D made sounds very catchy and upbeat. It also strikingly contains "Leisure- All Over You" - which is the song of Blur's first ever album and also it's title track. We can be sure that this playlist is what Damon Albarn has been listening to in the past few weeks- maybe it alludes to the style of the new Gorillaz album.

Listening to the playlist will give us hints of the sound of a new Gorillaz album. If that's the case, then everyone should get excited about the new song- because it sounds more energetic and spunky than ever.

Read the full interview HERE.

Stay tuned for the latest Gorillaz news on the internet!

New Gorillaz Album Could Be Out in 2 weeks

Apologies for the hiatus, but Gorillaz’s newest single could be out by next Saturday night. In Damon Albarn's last interview, he had said the band’s new album could be finished in two weeks. It's almost two weeks later, and that may be the case as the band’s fictional guitarist Noodle has teased new music may be out soon.

As NME points out, the character shared an image on Instagram of the eye insignia for Beats 1 show Soulection, which airs Saturday nights, and tagged regular host Gilles Peterson.

The band also shared a new origin story for band member Murdoch. As with The Book Of Noodle and The Book Of Russel, this one follows the story of the band’s bassist from a rusty submarine to a new apartment in West London.

In their typical creative and mysterious humor, the legendary group has used this storyline to prepare fans for a new album, which is expected to drop sometime in 2017. Until then, you can follow the journey of the greatest cartoon band on Earth. Lead singer 2D is expected to get his own "book" next.

Follow it below and keep an eye out this weekend.

When Is the New Gorillaz album out? Speculations in 2016

Fans of Gorillaz who has been anticipating the virtual band’s fifth studio album ever since news that it was coming in 2016 will be excited by recent words from frontman Damon Albarn.

“I’m loving it and it’s getting there,” the Blur frontman and eclectic musician said during a recent interview with BBC Radio 6 Music. The singer says the highly anticipated album “should be ready fairly soon.”

The news that Gorillaz was making a new album came in September last year, but its progress has been stalled by Damon Albarn's various commitments. However, the album's recording process has remained fairly steady. Rumour has it that some of the collaborators include French musician Jean Michel-Jarre, rapper Vic Mensa, songwriter Liam Bailey, and producer Twilite Tone.

Chicago rapper Vic Mensa is known to be part of the collaboration too as photo of him in a studio was posted by producer Remi Kabaka. Mensa was also included in the studio with the animated band.

But despite Albarn’s hopeful 2016 agenda, his Gorillaz partner Jamie Hewlett has told fans that a 2017 release is more realistic, because the album is, “really fucking special,” and, “can’t be rushed.” The pair met when they were roommates in London in the 1990s amidst the heydays of Britpop where Damon was at his peak with Blur.

The new album will also be more catchy and uplifting, says Damon Albarn. "I'm determined that my next record will be very upbeat, and I will try to set myself the benchmark of 125 bpm and nothing underneath that."exclaimed the frontman.

Jamie Hewlett also talked about the band's new visual approach with Rolling Stone. "It's going to change – I can't tell you how. But of course it's going to be different, I can't do what I've already done, that's not interesting to me. In the same way Damon changes with his music and moves forward, I do the same. It's going to be a different look," he said.

Indeed, 2D looks much more larger in size according to pictures posted on Jamie's Instagram feed. The characters also feature new outfits and hairstyles, as seen in some of the newer images. Jamie Hewlett is known for updating his feed with unreleased photos of Gorillaz ahead of the official release of albums.

Gorillaz's last album was The Fall, which was released in early 2010. It's about time that fans of the band should get something new, and it looks like we will hear back from the band anytime soon.

Follow Jamie Hewlett on Instagram HERE.
Read 6 fun facts about Gorillaz HERE 

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