OVERVIEW

Gorillaz is a virtual band created by Damon Albarn, frontman of Blur, and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of Tank Girl. Unlike other fictional bands, Gorillaz was not designed as a parody, a children's act, or a TV band but as a multimedia project intended for an older audience, using the internet as its main platform. Their music is known for blending genres, primarily hip-hop, dub, electro, and pop, while later incorporating R&B, soul, and Chicago house. Musically, they draw inspiration from artists like Massive Attack, The Specials, De La Soul, Daft Punk, and Beck, while their visual style is influenced by Hanna-Barbera cartoons, cyberpunk films, Mad Magazine, and The Simpsons, which Albarn and Hewlett admired for its ability to invade and comment on pop culture.

The band debuted with the Tomorrow Comes Today EP in 2000, followed by their self-titled album Gorillaz in 2001, featuring hits like Clint Eastwood and 19-2000. The album sold 7 million copies worldwide and earned them the Guinness World Record for "Biggest Virtual Band." Their second album, Demon Days (2005), propelled them to greater success with singles like Feel Good Inc., DARE, and Dirty Harry, selling 8 million copies globally and reaching 6× Platinum in the UK. In 2010, they released Plastic Beach, which, despite critical praise, was less commercially successful, selling 1.4 million copies. This was followed by The Fall, recorded entirely on an iPad, which had a more modest reception. After a falling out between Albarn and Hewlett, the band went on hiatus from 2012 to 2016.

Gorillaz returned in 2017 with Humanz, marking the inclusion of Remi Kabaka Jr. as the band's real-life drummer and producer. The album reached #2 in both the UK and US, followed by The Now Now (2018), which took a more stripped-down approach. In 2020, they launched Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, a web series releasing music and short videos monthly, with the album reaching #2 in the UK. In 2021, they released Meanwhile EP in tribute to the Notting Hill Carnival. Their most recent album, Cracker Island (2023), debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart, marking their first chart-topping album since Demon Days. Today, Gorillaz continues to push creative boundaries, combining music, animation, and technology while maintaining their status as one of the most innovative and influential virtual bands in history.

Damon Albarn is an an English-Icelandic singer and songwriter who gained fame as frontman of rock band Blur, though as of late, Albarn has been more active as a member of Gorillaz, Africa Express, Electric Wave Bureau[1] and as a solo artist. He has released two solo albums named Everyday Robots and The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows.

Past projects of him include Albarn & Benediktssen, Malian Musicians, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Monkey, DRC Music and Rocket Juice & The Moon.

Albarn also works as a producer outside of his own projects, working with artists such as Roots Manuva, Kano and Bobby Womack.

Gorillaz (also stylized as ɢoʀiʟʟaᴢ or GoRiLLaZ) is a virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett that consist of four fictional animated band members: 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle.

-Meet the Band-