Damon Albarn Revives Blur Songs On Piano

Damon Albarn is undoubtedly having a musical revival in 2021- and this time's he's back in his full glory with his 2021-2022 Piano Tour. The singer, who has spent lockdown writing songs and releasing a new solo album 'The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows', has recently been seen on tour in England and just played at the Union Chapel, London, on 15th December 2021. 

However, fans will be delighted to know that Damon's new tour isn't just about promoting his new solo album. He also revives classic Blur and Gorillaz tracks by playing them with a piano band- featuring one bassist, two violinists and one cello player, an ensemble which accompanied him throughout his shows. Blurballs will review his Union Chapel performance exclusively, but we want to share some of his latest piano covers below for your enjoyment. 

1. No Distance Left To Run

2. Beetlebum

3. The Universal

4. For Tomorrow

Damon Albarn's latest Union Chapel show in London features piano versions of 'Girls and Boys', 'El Manana', 'End of a Century', 'For Tomorrow' and more. It looks like fans are in for a treat when they go and see Damon's latest tour. If you haven't booked tickets yet, we highly recommend you check out his tour now.

If you have any footages from his latest tour that you'd like us to post, please email our team! 

Damon Albarn's New Solo Album Is Out

Damon Albarn's long-awaited solo album may just be the hottest thing in 2021, and it's finally out for pre-order today. The album, titled The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows, is finally available for fans to order before it's official launch on 21st November 2021. 

The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows was originally not intended to be produced as an album, but as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Damon Albarn returned to Iceland where he found new musical inspiration and recorded this 10-track album which explores the themes of loss, fragility and emergence. The album is essentially a  story of Damon Albarn's journey with music, discovering Iceland and the loss of previous identities. 

A new track, titled "Royal Morning Blue", was released today via Youtube and is available for streaming online. You can listen to it below. 

TRACK LISTING 

1. The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows 
2. The Cormorant 
3. Royal Morning Blue 
4. Combustion 
5. Daft Wader 
6. Darkness To Light Esja 
7. The Tower Of Montevideo 
8. Giraffe Trumpet Sea 
9. Polaris 
10. Particles

Pre-order the album HERE. 

Damon Albarn Releases New Song 'The Tower of Montevideo'

Damon Albarn has released a brand new track. Titled ‘The Tower Of Montevideo’, it’s the latest to be lifted from his new solo album ‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’, which is set to arrive on 12th November 2021. You can check out the track now via a live video directed by Transgressive Records founder Toby L.

Speaking to NME ahead of the album’s release, Albarn expounded on how it was conceptualised as a way to lift him out of the “storms” of the outside world and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “I just felt like the beginning of this year was so grim and I had to do something to lift me out of those, I wouldn’t call doldrums, but storms – those terrible north wind storms that you get down by the sea in Devon sometimes,” he explained.

Damon Albarn is set to perform in a new tour next February for a run that includes two nights at London’s Barbican Hall.

The singer recently a cryptic message: "At the end of the world, Stay by my side" while posting a photo of himself playing the piano over the sunset. 

Damon Albarn debutes new song Polaris

Damon Albarn has released “Polaris,” the lead single from his upcoming solo album The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, out November 12th via Transgressive Records. The song arrived on Tuesday with an accompanying live performance video featuring Albarn on piano as he leads his band and a string quartet through the orchestral rock track. 

The “Polaris” clip is the first in a series of performance videos from Albarn titled Sublime Boulevards – Performance Films. Directed by Transgressive Records founder Toby L and shot in black and white, the video series will feature selections from The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, and will be premiered in stages leading up to the album’s release date. 

Albarn originally intended for his new album to be an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland. However, during the Covid-19 lockdown of 2020, he began to develop the 11 tracks further into narrative pop songs. 

The hybrid sound can be heard on the album’s title track, which Albarn previewed last month. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows takes its title from the poem “Love and Memory” by John Clare and marks Albarn’s first solo LP since 2014’s Everyday Robots.

Along with a digital release, Albarn is prepping a limited-edition color vinyl version of The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, as well as versions on CD and cassette. There will also be a deluxe version packaged in a casebound book with additional photography, original scanned lyrics, original artwork, a copy of the album pressed on white vinyl, and a bonus seven-inch featuring an exclusive song from the recording sessions.

Watch the video below to see the full performance.

 

Damon Albarn- Polaris (Lyrics)

Polaris

If you get blown off course

In filling in the parts of your life that have disappeared

Medicating

Quick step reflections

In the dark mirrors of our lives

Polaris

Watching the embers fall

On to sublime boulevards

Medicating

Joining the saline to start

The inspection of the lines

See the birds

They have been taken by the wind

They are not together now

They will have to wait until tomorrow

To see each other again

Polaris, Polaris

Polaris, Polaris

See the birds

They have been taken by the wind

They are not together now

They will have to wait until tomorrow

To see each other again

We sprawl out among the gutters

In the shadow of the world

I miss the alarm, the music therein

And so back to the visions

All around us

When you will be

Gone

Polaris, Polaris

Polaris, Polaris

Source: Rolling Stone

Damon Albarn on his Manchester Comeback

Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn has described his return to the stage as "kind of like getting back into a dating game". 

Albarn performed as part of the Manchester International Festival 2 weeks ago for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking at Manchester Central, he said: "These places need to be alive and if it's OK for Wembley to have 60,000 people, then it's definitely alright for this to have 10,000 people."

Watch a video below for an interview before his Manchester performance. 

How To Clean While Listening to Blur Music- LeJoy Robot Vacuum Cleaner Review

With the amount of time spent at home listening to Blur music, my house is getting pretty dirty and messy. Working from home isn't easy, but today I want to share a robot vacuum cleaner that I used to speed up my cleaning process.

LeJoy is a new brand selling robot vacuum cleaners, something that I've always wanted to try. Seriously, vacuuming takes me a long time and these gadgets have been around for years. I've never quite managed to save up enough to buy one, but this LD20 Robot Vacuum Cleaner is affordable (only around 290 GBP on Amazon) and shipping only took a day for Prime members.

This is my honest review of the robot vacuum cleaner, which came in a compact, beautiful box. Take a look below! 

For starters, this vacuum cleaner is ultra quiet. It enables me to listen to Damon Albarn singing while it cleans- yes it's that quiet. My normal vacuum cleaner was cheap and inefficient, and was so loud that it hurts my ears. This little device saved me from so much time! In terms of the power, the vacuum cleaner is strong enough to suck up all the dust from my carpets, and the hairs lying around. The rotating brushes picks up small pieces of dirt and does really well with cleaning crumbs and little bits of food on the floor.

This cleaner doubles up as a mop too, so it's fantastic if you have hard floors. Living in the UK means that there are lots of dust and dirt around the air, especially being in a city- vacuuming is such a chore. Overall, I'd rate this cleaner a 9/10 and would recommend it as an addition to any house. Note that it can't clean the whole house by itself as it's quite a compact package, so you'd probably add it to a cleaning routine rather than use it to replace your existing vacuum. 

Use FLOW15 for 15% off Lejoy! 

Note: this is a sponsored post. Blurballs may have received compensation for the review but all opinions are completely honest and genuine. 

Graham Coxon Revisits Modern Life Is Rubbish in 2021

Watch Graham Coxon talk about his love for Modern Life is Rubbish in a little snippet of nostalgia! Hope you Blur fans enjoy this gem of a video!  

Damon Albarn performs Aries Live

 Old news, but gold news nonetheless. Watch Damon Albarn perform "Aries" in one of his best live performances in a long time.

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