Translated material
Primates, people and robots
On April 28, the Gorillaz group produces the Humanz album after a seven-year pause, which, as always, is a kind of musical quest stuffed with the names of invited musicians and cross-links for third-party projects. Radif Kashapov collected all the facts that you need to know about Humanz, and distributed them in vocabulary articles.
Quartet
Recall that Gorillaz is a virtual group that appeared in 2000, consisting of a disheveled vocalist of the 2D , a strange bassist of Murdok, drummer Russell Hobbs and a 10-year-old Japanese virtuoso nicknamed Nudles (Lapsha). It was invented by her leader Blur Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hughlett, who painted Tank Girl . After the release of the album " The Fall ” their paths diverged for three years (which is understandable, because Gorillaz gradually became a real group, and not just drawn), until the comrades drunk, fired at the scam of one of the concerts.
Gorillaz - "Clint Eastwood"
Damon
The author of many rock hits and two operas Damon Albarn , when he does not travel with tour, goes to the studio daily and is engaged in music. So in the years that Gorillaz stood on a pause, he recorded so many songs that it would be enough for a separate discography. Among them is the first sololer "EVERYDAY ROBOTS" , the debit of Superrio Rocket Juice & T He Moon with a bassist Red Hot Chili Peppers FLI and the legendary Nigerian drummer Tony Allen. In his projects with the participation of African musicians, it is not easy to figure out. Finally, Blur arranged a marathon in a studio in Hong Kong, from which the impressive disk “The Magic Whip” turned out. The British musician, meanwhile, continues to work on the second album of the Super group The Good, The Bad & The Queen , in which the bassist The Clash Paul Simonon and Tony Allen are occupied.
Damon Albarn - "EVERYDAY ROBOTS"
Technologies
The previous Gorillaz album " The Fall ” Damon Albarn recorded, in essence, alone, in hotel rooms and touring stamps using iPad applications. When preparing material for Blur and Humanz , he also continued to work on sketches in the Garage Band . In general, of course, in seven years, digital technologies have gone ahead, so Gorillaz has already managed to present a 360 -degree video in format, and launch several of their applications as a promo and promise digital surprises at concerts. You can settle the album by finding a doll house of Gorillaz (in Russia they were put in Museum and in the Mikhailovsky Garden). The group also built to familiarize themselves with songs in several cities the so -called Spirit House - spaces filled with music, installations, projections. As Jamie Hughlett says, the series “Gorillaz TV” of 10 episodes is being prepared.
Gorillaz - "Saturnz Barz (Spirit House) 360"
Donald Trump
“ Humanz ” is the American album Gorillaz . In fact, “Humanz” is a soundtrack for a party on the fact that the world has gone crazy, Damon Albarn summed up in an interview with Q. For each artist participating in the record, he proposed to present the future in which Donald Trump won in the US elections. The theory has become a practice. As a result, however, Damon Albarn removed all direct links to the new US president from Humanz . “I did not want to give the most famous person on earth even better fame,” he explained in an interview with Billboard .
Allusions remained. The first single, the song "Hallelujah Money" , appeared before the inauguration. In this song, Benjamin Klentinin, winner of Mercury Prize , who last year The New York Times called one of those who determined the culture of 2016, rises on the Trump Tower elevator. And he is very sad.
Gorillaz - "Hallelujah Money"
Musicians
The album was written in London, Paris, New York, Chicago and Jamaica. He has three producers - Gorillaz (obviously Damon Albarn), Anthony The Twilite Tone Khan (one of the authors of hit Kanye West "Mercy" ) and the drummer Remi Kabak. His father (full namesake) played with The Rolling Stones , Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and John Martin. The son collaborated with Damon Albarkan in the DRC Music project and on Bobby Wamak's album “The Bravest Man in the Universe” , he also conducts the Gorillaz Sound System .
Youth
As usual, there are a lot of invited vocalists on the record. At first, Damon Albarn wrote letters to them, then talked personally or on Skype, and then invited him to the studio, where he gave notes, texts or already ready -made songs for revision.
There are many young and fashionable artists. Damon Albarn explains this by the fact that he often just wanted to impress the 17-year-old daughter of Missa. Therefore, on the record, for example, Vince Stapls appeared (California rapper, a participant in the Cutthroat Boyz project, signed on Blacksmith Records , Artium Recordings and Def Jam Recordings ) and Danny Braun, Detroit hip-hop-master, named Spin and Metro Times "Artist of the Year." Rag'n'bone Man , whose debut “Human” was released in February, won the British Breakthrough of the Year and “Choice of the Year” in Brit Awards this year. Ray BLK is a British singer who received the BBC Music Sound of 2017. Popcaan -a Jamaician singer, a new Dance Hall star, who worked with Drake and Jamie XX . Kella, who is still writing a debut album. The rapper DRAM , known for the song “Cha Cha” (last fall, he released the album “Big Baby Dram” ). The star of Quir-hip-hop Zebra Katz . Verbal interludes are performed by Ben Mendelssohn, Australian actor, star of the television television series.
Veterans
There are not as many representatives of the older generations on Humanz as it was, say, on the album “Demon Day S ” . Of the past-the long-standing collaborators of Gorillaz -Rap-Trio De La Soul . In addition - rapper pusha t . Karly Simon, the star of the 70s, recorded more a dozen hits (in Russia the most famous is the Bondian "Nobody does it Better" from the film "The Spy that Love me"). Mavis Stepplz is a blues singer, a fighter for the rights of African Americans, starting back in the 60s, who received Grammy only in 2011. One of the fathers of modern House Jamie Principl.
The coolest experience in the studio happened with Grace Jones - she improvised for four hours, after which all her words were rewritten on the leaves, laid out on the floor and thought for a long time that they were leaving on the release.
Who is not here
Seck, Morrissi, Soul-Diva Dyon Warwick (performer of hits Berta Bakarak) refused to participate in the album. The latter - because it contradicted her religious views. “The second time she even came to the studio, I managed to play with her on the piano. But we still didn’t succeed with her, ”said Damon Albarn. Nothing managed to hide in the studio with a group of the French singer Christine and the Queens .
Battle
The album is closed by the song “We Got the Power” , in which Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher are singing together, Blur and Oasis leaders. Of course, this hook is designed, first of all, for media representatives, still remembering the Battle of British Pop, which happened 22 years ago, when both teams released single in one day. Moreover, initially the guitarist of Blur Graham Coxson sang in the record, but Damon Albarn reasoned that the recording was too “retro” and goes the wrong place. Therefore, in order to reduce the integrity of masculinity, a vocalist of the Savages of Savages Jenny Beth appeared in the track. “He is fantastic in the studio,” Damon Albarn said about Noel Gallachere. “It is fine when you see that someone knows their job.” He is cool. "
Gorillaz - "We Got the Power"
Nostalgia and sadness
We can say that, playing on the synthesizers in Gorillaz , Damon Albarn returns at the time when he was still a fan of electric sex, Disco was not a star of British rock. It is not surprising, for example, that the song “Andromeda” is inspired by the hits of Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” and the duo Hall & Oates “I canon go for that (no can do)” . The working name of the track was "I canon go for billie jean." The song itself is dedicated to the club of the same name in the native Albarn Kolchester for Damon, where he went to listen to Soul, and Ethel, the mother of his friend Albarn Susie Winstenley. Ethel died at the time when Damon wrote this song, which reminded him of his departure by his other friend, Soul hero Bobby Wamak, whom Gorillaz leader produced the last album “The Bravest Man in the Universe” .
Gorillaz - "Andromeda"
Festival
On June 10, the group will hold in the county of Kent its Demon Day Z festival, on which Gorillaz is distorted, and many participants in the studio record will perform with their sets. Gorillaz has not given concert performances since 2010. Damon Albarn is already talking about the time when it will be possible to release 2D , Murdok, Russell Hobbs and Nudles on the stage - in the form of a certain likeness of robots with artificial intelligence, so that the musicians talk, jump into the crowd and do anything, completely independent of the will of the creators.