Words by Zanda Wilson
Gorillaz's long-awaited fifth studio album has the potential to blow 2017 wide open, such has been the hype leading up to its release, and the subsequent inflated levels of excitement that the band have generated by releasing the track and collaborator listing in full. Last week we copped the release of four singles from Humanz, a surprise that has left the music world hanging on for dear life and leaving little doubt about the fact that Gorillaz are back and ready to conquer the world once more.
It’s wild to think that it was almost two decades ago that that Damon Albarn and illustrator Jamie Hewlett’s virtual music project unveiled their debut, self-titled record Gorillaz. Its 2005 follow-up Demon Days is widely considered their best album to date, and five years later they unveiled another solid effort in Plastic Beach. It was more due to the sheer brilliance of these first three records than anything else that their next album The Fall was unveiled to mixed reviews, which to be fair was an experimental pet project of Albarn’s.
Now, less than a month from the full release of Humanz, we take a look at what Gorillaz can do, and have already done for music in 2017.
Gift The World Another Truly Great Gorillaz Album
This might be stating the obvious but based off what we know about Humanz it could very well be Albarn’s best work as Gorillaz since Demon Days. He established a mind-blowingly great standard of music on the band’s first two records; a standard was not quite matched with the next two albums. We Got The Power is an uplifting, synth-driven banger, Saturnz Barz is a full-bodied, dank and dark effort, Andromeda is a minor-tinged, up-beat love song, and Ascension is one of Albarn’s most inventive hip-hop tracks to date. Based off these early releases, Humanz certainly has the potential to be Gorillaz’ most diverse album yet.
Break Down Genre Barriers
Yes, this has been something that Albarn has used Gorillaz to do since 1998, but it’s no less a significant function of his virtual band. Just glancing down the list of collaborators on this album, it’s clear that Humanz will be a true reflection of the increasingly blurred lines between conventional genres explored frequently by musicians in 2017. Obviously there’ll be a strong sense of crossover between electro, rock and hip hop – with the likes of Vince Staples, De La Soul, Danny Brown and more to feature, but this record will see Gorillaz take cues from the world of dancehall (Popcaan), pop (Kali Uchis), avant-garde/classical (Benjamin Clementine), soul (Anthony Hamilton) and grime/R&B (Kelela). Humanz will also feature iconic category-defying songwriters including Grace Jones, Mavis Staples, and Jehnny Beth from Savages.
Shine The Spotlight On A Truckload Of Amazing Musicians
Collaborating with Gorillaz is a bloody amazing career move for just about any musician. Albarn has worked with stacked team of collaborators on this record, from Vince Staples to Popcaan, from De La Soul to Danny Brown, Pusha T, D.R.A.M, Grace Jones, Jenny Beth, Noel Freakin Gallagher and so many more. On Humanz, Damon Albarn has both worked with a slew of up-and-coming stars and shared his creative process with some absolute legends of music. This record will undoubtedly showcase the abilities of a stack of musicians to an audience that may not have come across them recently or at all.
Curate One Of The Most Anticipated Festivals Of The Year
Well, if you there were any connoisseurs of Gorillaz who weren’t madly excited for the band’s very own music festival this June in London, then the songs we’ve heard from Humanz thus far will have even the most calm punters feeling immense FOMO. Damon Albarn and his team of life musicians will perform at Demon Dayz Festival in Kent, with their very own lineup to feature. While it’s hard to know exactly what to expect from the notoriously secretive outfit, their secret show in London over the weekend including new illustrations from Jamie Hewlett provided a glimpse of their brand new live show.
