Interview with Veikko from Veikko's Blur Page - vblurpage.com

For long-time fans of Blur, we all know that there has been a host of Blur fan sites that have come and go over the last 10-12 years since the Internet began to bloom. Some pages have stayed (like this one!) but most Blur fan sites have disappeared off the internet. We are fortunate to talk to the founders of one of the biggest Blur fan sites in existence- Veikko's Blur Page. 

Founded by Veikko, the Blur site is regularly updated with Blur news plus the band's latest musical offerings and discography. The best part of the site is that it hosts a Blur forum where fans can gather and share their love of the band. Some fans may remember that the official Blur website used to contain a discussion forum which was shut down after Blur announced their comeback a few years ago. 

Read on for an exclusive interview with Veikko, who talks about his love for Blur and what inspires him to run one of the biggest Blur fan sites out there. 

1) How did you get into Blur? 

I first saw the videos of "Girls & Boys" and "Country House" on MTV, and a few months later my mum bought me The Great Escape album as a Christmas present. I got hooked to the album's diverse music style and started to explore the band's back catalogue with a wide smile.

2) Name your 3 favourite Blur songs and why! 

1. The Universal - a perfect song with a great arrangement. 

2. Tender - another beautiful classic. 

3. Beetlebum - a magical and brave tune. Love the guitar work!

3) How do you think the Blur fans community has changed over the years? 

I don't think it has changed at all, and that's a good thing! 

4) What inspires you to keep running VBlurPage? 

New releases and live shows from Blur and related artists like Gorillaz, feedback and support from fans, contributions (pictures, setlists etc.) that I can add to my site.

I want to say huge thanks to Moritz, Ewa, Diego and Vítek for providing me with a huge amount of material over the last few years. 

5) How do you encourage people to use your forums and what kind of blur fans are there? 

I try my best to keep the forums a nice and safe place for discussion. Forums may be out of fashion, but I think they are still the best platform to have discussions. It helps that most of the people on my board are very nice and moderation is very rarely needed. 

6) What do you think Blur will do in the future? 

My guess is that they will do a few live shows in 2022 or 2023. 

7) What do you think Blur fan sites should focus more on? 

There are no bosses in this hobby, so just do what you enjoy to do! :)

VBlurpage: http://www.vblurpage.com

Damon Albarn Confirms New Solo Album in 2021

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. 

The Real Reason Why Damon Albarn turned down Prince

Rumour has it, Damon Albarn turned down a meeting with Prince because of his love of cigarettes and drinking. In an interview from 2018, Damon told the interviewer that he was invited to go an play with Prince at the Purple One’s studio at Paisley Park, but he turned down the invitation after being informed that Prince didn’t want people smoking in his studio. 

Damon said: “I was having a drink and a fag—I don’t actually smoke anymore, knocked that one on the head—but if you can’t be who you... If I’ve invited someone to my studio, they’re my guest, and there aren’t any conditions like that.”

“Anyway, it’s like, I can have a cigarette outside if I needed it—I’d be fucking excited, right? Why the fuck would I not want to fucking go mad if I’m with Prince? I’d rather not do it and not get pissed off with the whole thing. It’s just one of those ‘could have been’... I’ve got a few of those.”

Damon is set to perform on stage in Glastonbury Festival in England on the 22nd May, as well as in the O2 London for his Gorillaz concert in August of the same year. 

Listen to Damon talk about his experience below! 

Damon Albarn On Playing To Cows At Glastonbury 2021

 Damon Albarn recently spoke out about playing to the "cows not the crowds" at this year's Glastonbury 2021. Damon was recently featured on ITV News talking about Brexit, Covid and playing at this year's live streaming event during Glastonbury 2021.

In response to what it was like playing to the cows instead of crowds, Damon responded that he quite "liked" playing to the cows. Dressed in a beanie cap, sunglasses and golden necklace, the singer gave a good-natured interview to the media and also discussed the challenges facing musicians during the pandemic outbreak. 

Damon also talked about Brexit. He talked about how a lack of travel and ties to Europe is hurting musicians' ability to travel to play. He concluded that if we can "meditate" on these serious issues during these tough times, then people can move forward and continue to create good music. 

On streaming culture, Damon said that the deals between the industry and artists has always been "outrageous" and "unbalanced". Damon empathised with how difficult it must be to have a livelihood when main source of income for musicians have evaporated. 

Watch the full interview below. 

Best Damon Albarn Quotes Of All Time

Damon Albarn has always had a way with words. He has said so many memorable things over his musical career. Here are some of the highlights from the man himself. 

1. "I must admit that I always found it incredibly easy to get off with girls. When you’re a teenager, picking up girls is a bit like getting run over by a large vehicle. You see a juggernaut approaching and you have to know when to throw yourself under it. I always seemed to know when to throw myself on the floor and get what I wanted." (on getting girls)

2. "I don’t feel anything with a passion. I’m not a very passionate bloke. I can’t bring myself to actually believe in passion." (on his interests)

3. "Life is very different in my home. My status is extremely different. I’m not taken very seriously, in a good way. I walk around in my pants, which my daughter finds highly embarrassing. I’m just a normal, down-to-earth dad." (on fatherhood)

4."I’m actually really passionate about puppets. I had these puppets made of me when I was in Jakarta. I originally wanted to use them in a video for a song on the album, 'Hollow Ponds', which has a strong dateline of me growing up. So now I’ve got these ten puppets of me at home – and one of Barack Obama. I may turn it into a puppet show for kids. I love puppets." (on his passions)

5."That’s just been lost this year. I think that, even though we’re not necessarily aware of it at the time, we all evolve when something like this happens." (on Covid lockdowns)

6."When you’re in an indie band it’s like a marriage, you know? You’re married to everything about it. I was just at the front being a fucking knobhead frontman for quite a long period of time." (on Blur)

7."I was always accused of being a bit of a dilettante back in the day. I never really saw it like that. I was just interested in lots of different things, and I wanted to see how I could somehow articulate my own thing through other things. No one actually comes up with something that reinvents music." (on music)

8."Rock is the easy option. You can write mediocre songs, mumble words, put a lot of attitude into it and be successful. But pop is so much more of an expose. If 'Girls and Boys hadn't had something to say and the sounds that we used hadn't been thought through, it would have been embarrassing." (on writing pop songs)

9. "I don't think anybody understood the irony. I seriously doubt it. Modern Life Is Rubbish [1993] and Parklife [1994] were angry records. The Great Escape [1995, number one in the UK, and Blur's biggest-selling album worldwide to date] was a rather cynical album, everything seemed to be going down hill, and I was cynical, too cynical." (on his albums)

10. "We were together for eight years. Eight years are a long time, a very long time. Especially if the relationship is as public as our relationship was. I went through a phase where I thought I've got to justify my feelings, everything I invested in that relationship. As a musician usually music is your way out." (on his ex-girlfriend Justine Frischmann)

Gorillaz to play in the O2 London in August 2021- Buy Tickets Now

Head's up for all Gorillaz fans out there. Gorillaz the biggest virtual band in the world is set to play one of the biggest shows ever in The O2 in London on 11th August 2021. 

Gorillaz has embarked on a tour to promote their latest offering Song Machine: Season One - Strange Timez – one of their most well-received albums that has debuted online in 2020. 

In reviewing their album, the NME wrote: “‘Strange Timez’ is a varied affair that pulls from Albarn and the band’s perchance for exploration: punk rock sits effortlessly next to glitzy piano ballads, while playful hip-hop and melancholic post-rave ambience soothe our pounding heads. It’s a further reminder that while the post-genre mindset is now crucial to mainstream success, Gorillaz have always been ken to encourage emerging artists to embrace their diverse inspirations.”

Notable tracks from Song Machine include MLS, Aries and The Pink Phantom (featuring Elton John). The album is interesting in that it features many famous collaborators, such as Peter Hook, Beck, Slaves, GoldLink, St Vincent and others. 

Gorillaz have also announced a wide range of other new collaborations such as their new Fred Perry clothing line coming soon. 

Get tickets and reserve your place at the band's 2021 tour HERE! 

Versace Mixes Up Blur and Blue For Fashion Show

If you have been a Blur fan for long enough, you'll understand the familiar problem: you search for "Blur" songs and out pops "Blue", another 90s boy band with several hit singles. We have certainly had this problem before, but this time one of the members of Blue has spoken up about just how often the two bands have been mixed up. 

Blue has recently admitted that they once "stole" Blur's golden tickets to the fashion show in Milan. Apparently, Blur was invited to fly via private jet to the esteemed fashion show and was invited to meet Donatella Versace personally. However, there was a huge mix-up which resulted in the band Blue getting chauffeured all the way to Milan- and back. 

Antony Costa from Blue has regaled a hilarious story about his band getting mixed up with Blur near 20 years ago. "In 2001 we released our first single ('All Rise'), it was going really well for us and we got invited to Milan Fashion Week by Donatella Versace.” Costa told Ben Hanlin's Ben Behaving Dadly podcast.

“So we got kitted out by Versace at Bond Street. We got a private plane out there, they flew us out there. We landed, went to the fashion show, and afterwards they were like 'Look, we want you to meet Donatella’.” 

He said: “So we lined up, like we were meeting the Queen, and she looked at us. I said to Simon (Webbe), 'This is a bit weird, we're supposed to be one of the guests. Why wouldn't she want to say hello?' "Anyway, to cut a long story short, when we get back to London, and she had invited Blur and not Blue."

Costa continued: "The mad thing was I meant Alex James years later and he was mucking about and was like 'Oi you. You took or tickets!' I was like 'Mate, I didn't know!'"

Would You Listen to AI-Generated Blur Music?

 

In January of this year, the mental health charity, Over the Bridge, released an album called Lost Tapes of the 27 Club. As most music fans are aware, the 27 Club is that tragic group of legends – Hendrix, Cobain, Winehouse, Morrison – who died at that age, robbing the world of their mercurial talents. 

So, these lost tapes, what were they? Tracks that someone found in an attic? Reproduced songs that never made it to general release? Nope. Over the Bridge used AI (artificial intelligence) to make the tracks. It was, of course, a worthy cause for a mental health charity. But, boy, does it pose some questions for the music industry, including ethical ones. 

First, a quick overview of how it worked. Over the Bridge worked with Google’s Magenta AI. It fed the AI with samples of lyrics and music from the artists. After a while, the AI begins to learn the sound of the musicians and then produces its own versions. Producers selected the best tracks, and, hey presto, you have a new Nirvana song. 

Over the Bridge pulled off an impressive feat

You can find out more about the project here. But if we are to give our quick appraisal, it would be this: It’s impressive to hear an AI-generated song that really does sound like The Doors or Hendrix, but it is certainly not the finished article. However, you would be a fool to assume that they will not perfect this sooner rather than later. 

So, to the main question? Would you listen to an AI version of Blur? Say you really missed the Britpop, Parklife-era of Blur? Would you happily buy an AI-generated album to take you back to that cheeky and raw 90s sound of the band? For some, it might seem exciting. For others, it could be close to sacrilegious. 

But before dismissing it out of hand, it’s worth arguing that technology quickly changes our perceptions, even our ethics. In the 90s, the likes of Sean Parker (Napster) and the legendary gaming software developers like Microgaming were changing our perceptions of everything from music to gambling online. Later, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg were changing how we communicate. Today, we have the likes of Decentraland changing our perceptions of reality. 

Trends can change, and we might accept AI music

The point is that what is seen as unworkable now might seem different in 10 years’ time. Online dating used to be considered a niche thing, almost taboo, but it is so universal today that we almost forget how we felt about it a decade. Why not the same for AI-generated music?

There are, of course, many arguments that might be made. For instance, doesn’t the idea of AI regenerating artists’ music poses a problem for creativity? Bands like Blur and Radiohead, for example, are constantly pushing the boundaries, looking for a new sound. Damon Alburn moved on from Parklife, just as Thom Yorke moved on from The Bends. Most fans loved going on that journey of change with them. 

Of course, it’s worth remembering that we are only at the beginning of this process. But you can bet that it is going to become an important debate. Similar to casting older actors with CGI (Samuel L. Jackson in Captain Marvel, for example), there is a debate over not what we gain, but what we might lose. What Over the Bridge did was interesting and impressive, but we should be wary of what comes next. 

Gorillaz x Fred Perry Clothing Line - Sneak Peek and Release Date

2021 has been a great time for e-commerce and lots of musicians have collaborated with big-name fashion brands to launch exclusive collections. This year, Gorillaz has hopped on the bandwagon. Gorillaz is collaboating with clothing brand Fred Perry to launch an exclusive collection which will be available from Thursday 20th May 2021 at 11am. 

Damon Albarn, the lead singer of Gorillaz, is rarely seen without his signature Fred Perry shirts. The iconic brand is known for their preppy polo shirts and bomber jackets, as well as quintessentially "British" looking apparel. The shop pioneered the 90's trend of high-necked polo shirts, muted colors and chic vibes. This time, the brand has partnered with Gorillaz to launch a collection inspired by the 4 characters of the virtual band. 

The band was announced to be the new face of Fred Perry in April 2021. The new collection features bold prints, colorful polo shirts, stripey apparel, funky but retro designs and of course, their signature harrington jackets which are modelled by all four members of the band. The Fred Perry website also contains customised playlists that match the vibe of each of the clothing that the band members wore. 

Below are some of our favourites from the collection.

Fans will be able to explore the full collection of clothing online via the band’s motorhome (its virtual and current HQ) from May 20 2021. 

If you are interested in purchasing any piece, register your interest on Fred Perry's main site HERE.