Promo Press Interview
EMI, March 2005
1. Did you expect your first album to be so successful?
Murdoc: Yeah 'course. Recording an album you don't think is gonna sell is like putting a bet on a horse you don't think is gonna win. We wouldn't have made it if we thought it wasn't gonna sell.
Russel: Well, Murdoc, some people record music just for the love of making it. Whether it sells or not
Murdoc: Really? That seems pretty pointless to me.
Russel: You can see in hindsight the reasons why it was successful. I think now that the Clint Eastwood video was groundbreaking, but at the time it felt like just a regular performance video in a graveyard with a bunch of dancing apes.
Noodle: You could feel a great energy and excitement very early on with Gorillaz. It seemed like something very many people want to be a part of and make work.
2. What was the secret of its success?
Russel: I think one of the core reasons why the Gorillaz are successful, is that we've never patronized kids.
2D: No-one had done what we had done before. Also I am good at singing.
Murdoc: I would say that it's down to a number of things. My superb bass playing, the incredible song writing and the razor-sharp image that makes up the whole Gorillaz package. Though if you really ask me to pin it down to a single solitary reason I would probably have to say it was because of the watertight deal I made with Satan. Beelzebub himself. 'Faust' is in fact my middle name.
2D: I asked someone the same question and they wrote the secret formula down on a piece of paper. It was quite detailed. But I’ve lost it.
Noodle: I think the reasons lie in the uncynical joy that we had in making our band. We were not only adventurous in the creation of the music, but also in the imagination of the videos. I think people from all age groups and all parts of the world could enjoy the colour and lightness in Gorillaz.
Russel: People picked up on the attention to detail we put in, right across the board.
3. Why did it take you three years to come up with a follow-up?
Russel: When you’ve got four different personalities that rotate in such different orbits it’s sometimes difficult to get them to come together as a single unit at the same time.
Murdoc: Also, well, after the American tour which ended in March 2002, we came back to England to write some new songs, but frankly, we were knackered. We played our last date together as a band at the Isle of MTV show in Portugal around June of 2002. Then that was it. After that we just concentrated on trying to make this er, turdy Gorillaz film.
2D: We got so many offers to make a film in America, at the time it seemed like a waste not to take the opportunity.
Murdoc: So, we all moved over to LA for a while, and, er, hired this big house out in Hollywood, up in the hills, so that we could be right in the hub of where we were meant to be filming. But there were a lot of great distractions, know what I mean?
Noodle: When it came to starting work on the new album it was important that we should do something that wasn’t rushed or simply relative to the success of the first album. We would have to focus our arrows, and that is something that requires consideration and…time.
4. What went wrong with the Gorillaz film?
Noodle: With most great works you need to have an element of vision and planning. A clear strong vision of the path that would need to be forged in order to reach the destination you wish to arrive at. However the people we worked with in Los Angeles were making everything up as they went along.
Russel: It became a romantic horror adventure comedy
2D: On Ice.
Russel: No-one was focused enough. 2D couldn't understand the difference between film and reality. Murdoc’s partying was relentless. He even got himself kicked out of the Playboy Mansions for stealing ashtrays.
Murdoc: And Russel got a big fat ego and then changed his name to ‘R Diddy’.
Russel: We would have persevered if we thought the outcome would have been worth it, but it felt like it would have been sub-standard. So, eventually we decided to cut our losses and take time off to recuperate.
Noodle: We still have a plan to make a Gorillaz film. But as is in keeping with Gorillaz sensibility it will be something that is instigated from an original Gorillaz idea and not something dreamed up in a film studio office. It must have a purpose and reflect something of value in the Gorillaz world
Russel: Not just a ‘girl meets toy’ cartoon caper film.
5. Is it true you've been in jail, Murdoc?
Murdoc: After the Gorillaz film dissolved I headed down South to try my luck in Mexico. But, you know, there was some mix-up with my, er, finances and I got accused of, er...
Russel: He was found using counterfeit cheques in a Mexican brothel.
Murdoc : Aahh, yes. ‘The Chicken Choker’. Wonderful place. Fantastic staff. Happy days! But unfortunately, yes, I did get held for a time in a Tijuana prison. But it wasn’t all bad.
2D: He made some very special new friends in jail.
Murdoc: I was going to say that it was there that I completed an Open University course in Medicine, actually. I was there for about 18 months in total before I felt that it was time to er... ‘put myself up for early parole’.
Russel: He got a couple of the other inmates to help him break out, by promising them a combination of money and free Gorillaz stuff. One of them plays guitar on the album. On the track ‘White Light’.
6. What have you been doing since the last album, Noodle?
Noodle: I had been in Japan for about a year researching my past as it had always been a mystery to me. It was during this period that I was awoken from my extended amnesia, and in doing so discovered many interesting facts about myself.
I discovered that I was one of 23 kids trained as part of an elite military team for the Japanese government. Every child was given a special individual skill of their own. I was taught as a musician. My weapon of choice was… ‘Guitar’!
But the real reason for our training was as a junior fighting militia capable of devastating destruction! However when the government decided to abandon the experiment, all of the children were to be ‘de-commissioned’. That is why I was smuggled over to England many years ago and my memory wiped clean for my own safety.
But on returning to Japan after the Gorillaz film, my memory has been regained, and all of my training skills have returned. I have also remembered the importance of my true mission
Murdoc: So all in all quite a good holiday.
7. How did the new album, Demon Days, get started?
Russel: Actually, Noodle wrote most of this album herself. Murdoc may try and take the credit for it, but from the basic sketches to the finished album, this was Noodle's vision.
Noodle: Before the other Gorillaz members arrived back I was all alone in Kong Studios for maybe six months. It was during this period that I began to outline tracks for the album. Initially I thought it would be in preparation for the others return, that when they got back we would all work on the songs together. Back as time moved on it became obvious that I had to complete these visions myself.
8. How does Demon Days differ from the first album?
Russel: Demon Days is more focused and considered than the first album. Maybe it has a greater gravity to it than the first record where we were still kinda learning the ropes.
Noodle: It was also important for us to change our targets. Fortunately the world provided us with enough external stimulus and subject matter not to have to force the issue.
Russel: Stylistically it's richer, denser and darker.
2D: Like someone has taken the first album and coloured it in.
Russel: Again the range of our influences is so extensive. The hip-hop, the rock, the funk, the bass, right down to the ballad. There's a whole community of instruments at play.
Last time it was about creating something new. This time it's more about proving that what we created and put into motion last time had a lasting value. That our Gorillaz sound, sensibility and insight wasn't a flash in the pan, here today gone tomorrow sensation.
9. Why is the new album called Demon Days?
Noodle: The title has many meanings. In one sense the Demon is a disease and the disease is an absence of thought, a state where people make action without consideration. This is the return of the ogre, the rise of the beats. Its time is now.
In another sense it is time to become the Demon. A time for an action, made with less contemplation, but from a disciplined and considered instinct. Strike with perfection and effect.
10. How is Damon Albarn involved this time round?
Noodle: Damon helped initially with the production of the record, but more in the sense of making it happen rather than a production of sound. It was on his advice that I downloaded Dangermouse’s Grey Album, which lead to Dangermouse becoming the producer. And also Damon came in with myself and Dangermouse at various points to suggest arrangements of songs or ideas for collaborators.
Russel: He also did some voice coaching for 2D. Personally I think 2D has lost a little of his own style and took on some of Damon’s. But it’s still an improvement from last time round.
Noodle: Damon also let us borrow many of his instruments for the recording, and would also send records round for us to listen to for musical references. He generally filled an all-round supportive role in the creation of the recording.
Murdoc: But after that he just er…‘Carried On Up The Khyber’. He’s probably negotiating the purchase of a Venezuelan eight-stringed nose flute as we speak.
11. What has been Jamie Hewlett’s role this time round
Russel: Jamie still remains as our video director of choice. When we have a chosen a single to release he’ll send us a treatment for the video.
Noodle: A visual interpretation of what he thinks the song should look like.
Russel: If someone sent us a better idea then we would go with them, but so far that hasn’t happened
Noodle: But Jamie also takes our photographs for Gorillaz press shots. It’s something he did from the beginning. He would bring in a list of ideas, settings or suggestions for clothes that we should wear, and together would create a photo.
Murdoc: Er…sorry love, speak for yourself. I don’t think I would allow ‘Jamie Hewlett’ to choose my outfits. I’ve always styled myself, mate. Where’s he gonna find a decent pair of Cuban heels like these? Huh?
Russel: But I think Jamie will probably have a hand in designing the sets for the live show, so that it doesn’t look like a run of the mill stage routine.
2D: Sometimes both Damon and Jamie turned up at Kong together. They’d usually crash out in Murdoc’s van if they’ve been up late. Y’know talking all their rubbish.
12. Tell us about where you recorded the album.
Noodle: Kong Studios, where we live and record, has always been the place where we record the bulk of our work. However the place was in a bad shape when I returned. It had been lying dormant and empty during our absence.
Murdoc: It’s hard to get good staff to clean a haunted studio. So once we were back, it took a little while to get into the swing of things. I mean, it can be very distracting when you've got six or seven decomposing zombies stuck up your chimney flue.
Noodle: The studio needed a lot of repair work before we could really start. But it has a very un-sterile atmosphere. It is a good creative place to work.
Russel: We spent a lot of money extending the place, building more and more parts onto it. It's been broken into a couple of times while we were away. Some vandals sprayed a lot of anti-Murdoc graffiti on the walls.
2D: Things like, er… 'Murdoc is a twat'.
Murdoc: You mongrel. You still in a mood just 'cos Busted split up?
13. How long did it take to make Demon Days?
Noodle: I started writing near the beginning of the year, around March of 2004. I began just writing basic tunes on my Tascam four-track, sketching out ideas as I proceeded. The compositions began to take shape, and gradually the songs began revealing their true identities, and to which direction they needed to be taken.
Murdoc: When I returned in October, Noodle was already working on the main recording of the album.
Russel: It was over November and December that all over our parts were recording, some final over dubs. Then the album was mastered in New York in January.
Noodle: So in total it was almost a year of work.
14. Why did you approach producer DJ Danger Mouse to work on Demon Days?
Noodle: Early on, even though I could see that the songs I had chosen to work on had great potential, at that stage they lacked that certain life, and still required that spark of electricity that transforms a great song into something that has a magical life of it's own.
Murdoc: Well, I would have helped her out but, as I said, I was still in jail at this time.
Noodle: It was around then that I heard of DJ Danger Mouse. I was impressed with the work he had done on his own Grey Album. It was wonderfully inventive and showed a child-like creativity, artistic bravery and disregard for convention that I thought suited Gorillaz.
Murdoc: He wasn't overly keen on leaving sunny LA to go work in a run-down, haunted studio in rain-sodden Essex. Although I can't think why.
15. What was DJ Danger Mouse like to work with?
Noodle: The album took a leap into the incredible when Danger Mouse finally arrived. This would be around June 2004. Mr Mouse and myself immediately began an intricate pre-production session.
Murdoc: This mainly involved playing table tennis and listening to a load of old electro records…
Noodle: Finally when we knew we had what we needed, we all fled the confines of Kong and set up camp over at the Pierce Rooms in West London. It was here that we added the last of the overdubs and worked on the final mix down.
16. How do you feel about the current state of the music industry?
Murdoc: Most bands seem to just limp out there half-cocked. We always make sure our videos look fan-bleedin’-tastic, our sleeves are mind-blowing, the music sounds unbeatable. Y'know we have our whole battle plan together.
Noodle: I would say that for many groups and artists there is a desire to add to a tradition or a history of music, rather than stand apart from it or advance it. They seem happy just to be in a band. For them that is enough. The security comes from the closeness of impersonation.
Russel: But that’s the great thing about music. The next greatest thing could come out from anywhere at anytime
17. You've just launched Search For A Star - what makes it different from every other talent contest?
Russel: Most talent contests are not about talent. They’re just singing competitions. What our search is about is to reveal and highlight the next wave of exceptional artists. Whether it’s animators, directors, illustrators, musicians, or writers. The choice is up to the contestant.
Noodle: As technology evolves the ability to create something truly impressive from very little resources become more realistic. Nowadays, people can write, record and produce a song, then create their own video, add their own sound effects and then send it to people digitally.
Russel: This is why we are hosting the Search for a Star competition online. It’s the world’s first internet online talent competition and the prize is to collaborate with Gorillaz in some way that we see fitting with us.
Noodle: We are looking for true artists. Special kids! We need fresh talents.
2D: Cowelly can stick his X-Factor right up his arse.
Murdoc: Everything he touches has got the 'Y' factor to it.
2D: Yeah, ‘Y’ bother.
Russel: Any fool can have a hit record. You've got to have real soul and talent to sustain it again and again.
18. Who are Gorillaz' icons?
2D: Kill all the icons! All icons are shit, rubbish and made up.
Murdoc: Pacman. For his sense of rhythm and his big orange head.
Noodle: Keith Moon from the Who band. A real magician. He make drum kits explode.
19. What have you learnt from your Gorillaz experience so far?
Noodle: Hmmm. I would say ‘Don’t look for all of your happiness in just one place’.
Russel: It’s OK to ask the big questions in life, but just don’t expect the answers.
Murdoc: I’ve thought about this for a very long time. And if I really had to choose. If there was no way out of it. I would have to say… prawn cocktail is probably my favorite flavor of crisp.
2D: Yes er... don't take it all too... no, wait a minute... er, you should always think ab... No that's wrong. No. Actually I don't think I have learnt... anything. That's a lesson in itself.
Murdoc: Yeah 'course. Recording an album you don't think is gonna sell is like putting a bet on a horse you don't think is gonna win. We wouldn't have made it if we thought it wasn't gonna sell.
Russel: Well, Murdoc, some people record music just for the love of making it. Whether it sells or not
Murdoc: Really? That seems pretty pointless to me.
Russel: You can see in hindsight the reasons why it was successful. I think now that the Clint Eastwood video was groundbreaking, but at the time it felt like just a regular performance video in a graveyard with a bunch of dancing apes.
Noodle: You could feel a great energy and excitement very early on with Gorillaz. It seemed like something very many people want to be a part of and make work.
2. What was the secret of its success?
Russel: I think one of the core reasons why the Gorillaz are successful, is that we've never patronized kids.
2D: No-one had done what we had done before. Also I am good at singing.
Murdoc: I would say that it's down to a number of things. My superb bass playing, the incredible song writing and the razor-sharp image that makes up the whole Gorillaz package. Though if you really ask me to pin it down to a single solitary reason I would probably have to say it was because of the watertight deal I made with Satan. Beelzebub himself. 'Faust' is in fact my middle name.
2D: I asked someone the same question and they wrote the secret formula down on a piece of paper. It was quite detailed. But I’ve lost it.
Noodle: I think the reasons lie in the uncynical joy that we had in making our band. We were not only adventurous in the creation of the music, but also in the imagination of the videos. I think people from all age groups and all parts of the world could enjoy the colour and lightness in Gorillaz.
Russel: People picked up on the attention to detail we put in, right across the board.
3. Why did it take you three years to come up with a follow-up?
Russel: When you’ve got four different personalities that rotate in such different orbits it’s sometimes difficult to get them to come together as a single unit at the same time.
Murdoc: Also, well, after the American tour which ended in March 2002, we came back to England to write some new songs, but frankly, we were knackered. We played our last date together as a band at the Isle of MTV show in Portugal around June of 2002. Then that was it. After that we just concentrated on trying to make this er, turdy Gorillaz film.
2D: We got so many offers to make a film in America, at the time it seemed like a waste not to take the opportunity.
Murdoc: So, we all moved over to LA for a while, and, er, hired this big house out in Hollywood, up in the hills, so that we could be right in the hub of where we were meant to be filming. But there were a lot of great distractions, know what I mean?
Noodle: When it came to starting work on the new album it was important that we should do something that wasn’t rushed or simply relative to the success of the first album. We would have to focus our arrows, and that is something that requires consideration and…time.
4. What went wrong with the Gorillaz film?
Noodle: With most great works you need to have an element of vision and planning. A clear strong vision of the path that would need to be forged in order to reach the destination you wish to arrive at. However the people we worked with in Los Angeles were making everything up as they went along.
Russel: It became a romantic horror adventure comedy
2D: On Ice.
Russel: No-one was focused enough. 2D couldn't understand the difference between film and reality. Murdoc’s partying was relentless. He even got himself kicked out of the Playboy Mansions for stealing ashtrays.
Murdoc: And Russel got a big fat ego and then changed his name to ‘R Diddy’.
Russel: We would have persevered if we thought the outcome would have been worth it, but it felt like it would have been sub-standard. So, eventually we decided to cut our losses and take time off to recuperate.
Noodle: We still have a plan to make a Gorillaz film. But as is in keeping with Gorillaz sensibility it will be something that is instigated from an original Gorillaz idea and not something dreamed up in a film studio office. It must have a purpose and reflect something of value in the Gorillaz world
Russel: Not just a ‘girl meets toy’ cartoon caper film.
5. Is it true you've been in jail, Murdoc?
Murdoc: After the Gorillaz film dissolved I headed down South to try my luck in Mexico. But, you know, there was some mix-up with my, er, finances and I got accused of, er...
Russel: He was found using counterfeit cheques in a Mexican brothel.
Murdoc : Aahh, yes. ‘The Chicken Choker’. Wonderful place. Fantastic staff. Happy days! But unfortunately, yes, I did get held for a time in a Tijuana prison. But it wasn’t all bad.
2D: He made some very special new friends in jail.
Murdoc: I was going to say that it was there that I completed an Open University course in Medicine, actually. I was there for about 18 months in total before I felt that it was time to er... ‘put myself up for early parole’.
Russel: He got a couple of the other inmates to help him break out, by promising them a combination of money and free Gorillaz stuff. One of them plays guitar on the album. On the track ‘White Light’.
6. What have you been doing since the last album, Noodle?
Noodle: I had been in Japan for about a year researching my past as it had always been a mystery to me. It was during this period that I was awoken from my extended amnesia, and in doing so discovered many interesting facts about myself.
I discovered that I was one of 23 kids trained as part of an elite military team for the Japanese government. Every child was given a special individual skill of their own. I was taught as a musician. My weapon of choice was… ‘Guitar’!
But the real reason for our training was as a junior fighting militia capable of devastating destruction! However when the government decided to abandon the experiment, all of the children were to be ‘de-commissioned’. That is why I was smuggled over to England many years ago and my memory wiped clean for my own safety.
But on returning to Japan after the Gorillaz film, my memory has been regained, and all of my training skills have returned. I have also remembered the importance of my true mission
Murdoc: So all in all quite a good holiday.
7. How did the new album, Demon Days, get started?
Russel: Actually, Noodle wrote most of this album herself. Murdoc may try and take the credit for it, but from the basic sketches to the finished album, this was Noodle's vision.
Noodle: Before the other Gorillaz members arrived back I was all alone in Kong Studios for maybe six months. It was during this period that I began to outline tracks for the album. Initially I thought it would be in preparation for the others return, that when they got back we would all work on the songs together. Back as time moved on it became obvious that I had to complete these visions myself.
8. How does Demon Days differ from the first album?
Russel: Demon Days is more focused and considered than the first album. Maybe it has a greater gravity to it than the first record where we were still kinda learning the ropes.
Noodle: It was also important for us to change our targets. Fortunately the world provided us with enough external stimulus and subject matter not to have to force the issue.
Russel: Stylistically it's richer, denser and darker.
2D: Like someone has taken the first album and coloured it in.
Russel: Again the range of our influences is so extensive. The hip-hop, the rock, the funk, the bass, right down to the ballad. There's a whole community of instruments at play.
Last time it was about creating something new. This time it's more about proving that what we created and put into motion last time had a lasting value. That our Gorillaz sound, sensibility and insight wasn't a flash in the pan, here today gone tomorrow sensation.
9. Why is the new album called Demon Days?
Noodle: The title has many meanings. In one sense the Demon is a disease and the disease is an absence of thought, a state where people make action without consideration. This is the return of the ogre, the rise of the beats. Its time is now.
In another sense it is time to become the Demon. A time for an action, made with less contemplation, but from a disciplined and considered instinct. Strike with perfection and effect.
10. How is Damon Albarn involved this time round?
Noodle: Damon helped initially with the production of the record, but more in the sense of making it happen rather than a production of sound. It was on his advice that I downloaded Dangermouse’s Grey Album, which lead to Dangermouse becoming the producer. And also Damon came in with myself and Dangermouse at various points to suggest arrangements of songs or ideas for collaborators.
Russel: He also did some voice coaching for 2D. Personally I think 2D has lost a little of his own style and took on some of Damon’s. But it’s still an improvement from last time round.
Noodle: Damon also let us borrow many of his instruments for the recording, and would also send records round for us to listen to for musical references. He generally filled an all-round supportive role in the creation of the recording.
Murdoc: But after that he just er…‘Carried On Up The Khyber’. He’s probably negotiating the purchase of a Venezuelan eight-stringed nose flute as we speak.
11. What has been Jamie Hewlett’s role this time round
Russel: Jamie still remains as our video director of choice. When we have a chosen a single to release he’ll send us a treatment for the video.
Noodle: A visual interpretation of what he thinks the song should look like.
Russel: If someone sent us a better idea then we would go with them, but so far that hasn’t happened
Noodle: But Jamie also takes our photographs for Gorillaz press shots. It’s something he did from the beginning. He would bring in a list of ideas, settings or suggestions for clothes that we should wear, and together would create a photo.
Murdoc: Er…sorry love, speak for yourself. I don’t think I would allow ‘Jamie Hewlett’ to choose my outfits. I’ve always styled myself, mate. Where’s he gonna find a decent pair of Cuban heels like these? Huh?
Russel: But I think Jamie will probably have a hand in designing the sets for the live show, so that it doesn’t look like a run of the mill stage routine.
2D: Sometimes both Damon and Jamie turned up at Kong together. They’d usually crash out in Murdoc’s van if they’ve been up late. Y’know talking all their rubbish.
12. Tell us about where you recorded the album.
Noodle: Kong Studios, where we live and record, has always been the place where we record the bulk of our work. However the place was in a bad shape when I returned. It had been lying dormant and empty during our absence.
Murdoc: It’s hard to get good staff to clean a haunted studio. So once we were back, it took a little while to get into the swing of things. I mean, it can be very distracting when you've got six or seven decomposing zombies stuck up your chimney flue.
Noodle: The studio needed a lot of repair work before we could really start. But it has a very un-sterile atmosphere. It is a good creative place to work.
Russel: We spent a lot of money extending the place, building more and more parts onto it. It's been broken into a couple of times while we were away. Some vandals sprayed a lot of anti-Murdoc graffiti on the walls.
2D: Things like, er… 'Murdoc is a twat'.
Murdoc: You mongrel. You still in a mood just 'cos Busted split up?
13. How long did it take to make Demon Days?
Noodle: I started writing near the beginning of the year, around March of 2004. I began just writing basic tunes on my Tascam four-track, sketching out ideas as I proceeded. The compositions began to take shape, and gradually the songs began revealing their true identities, and to which direction they needed to be taken.
Murdoc: When I returned in October, Noodle was already working on the main recording of the album.
Russel: It was over November and December that all over our parts were recording, some final over dubs. Then the album was mastered in New York in January.
Noodle: So in total it was almost a year of work.
14. Why did you approach producer DJ Danger Mouse to work on Demon Days?
Noodle: Early on, even though I could see that the songs I had chosen to work on had great potential, at that stage they lacked that certain life, and still required that spark of electricity that transforms a great song into something that has a magical life of it's own.
Murdoc: Well, I would have helped her out but, as I said, I was still in jail at this time.
Noodle: It was around then that I heard of DJ Danger Mouse. I was impressed with the work he had done on his own Grey Album. It was wonderfully inventive and showed a child-like creativity, artistic bravery and disregard for convention that I thought suited Gorillaz.
Murdoc: He wasn't overly keen on leaving sunny LA to go work in a run-down, haunted studio in rain-sodden Essex. Although I can't think why.
15. What was DJ Danger Mouse like to work with?
Noodle: The album took a leap into the incredible when Danger Mouse finally arrived. This would be around June 2004. Mr Mouse and myself immediately began an intricate pre-production session.
Murdoc: This mainly involved playing table tennis and listening to a load of old electro records…
Noodle: Finally when we knew we had what we needed, we all fled the confines of Kong and set up camp over at the Pierce Rooms in West London. It was here that we added the last of the overdubs and worked on the final mix down.
16. How do you feel about the current state of the music industry?
Murdoc: Most bands seem to just limp out there half-cocked. We always make sure our videos look fan-bleedin’-tastic, our sleeves are mind-blowing, the music sounds unbeatable. Y'know we have our whole battle plan together.
Noodle: I would say that for many groups and artists there is a desire to add to a tradition or a history of music, rather than stand apart from it or advance it. They seem happy just to be in a band. For them that is enough. The security comes from the closeness of impersonation.
Russel: But that’s the great thing about music. The next greatest thing could come out from anywhere at anytime
17. You've just launched Search For A Star - what makes it different from every other talent contest?
Russel: Most talent contests are not about talent. They’re just singing competitions. What our search is about is to reveal and highlight the next wave of exceptional artists. Whether it’s animators, directors, illustrators, musicians, or writers. The choice is up to the contestant.
Noodle: As technology evolves the ability to create something truly impressive from very little resources become more realistic. Nowadays, people can write, record and produce a song, then create their own video, add their own sound effects and then send it to people digitally.
Russel: This is why we are hosting the Search for a Star competition online. It’s the world’s first internet online talent competition and the prize is to collaborate with Gorillaz in some way that we see fitting with us.
Noodle: We are looking for true artists. Special kids! We need fresh talents.
2D: Cowelly can stick his X-Factor right up his arse.
Murdoc: Everything he touches has got the 'Y' factor to it.
2D: Yeah, ‘Y’ bother.
Russel: Any fool can have a hit record. You've got to have real soul and talent to sustain it again and again.
18. Who are Gorillaz' icons?
2D: Kill all the icons! All icons are shit, rubbish and made up.
Murdoc: Pacman. For his sense of rhythm and his big orange head.
Noodle: Keith Moon from the Who band. A real magician. He make drum kits explode.
19. What have you learnt from your Gorillaz experience so far?
Noodle: Hmmm. I would say ‘Don’t look for all of your happiness in just one place’.
Russel: It’s OK to ask the big questions in life, but just don’t expect the answers.
Murdoc: I’ve thought about this for a very long time. And if I really had to choose. If there was no way out of it. I would have to say… prawn cocktail is probably my favorite flavor of crisp.
2D: Yes er... don't take it all too... no, wait a minute... er, you should always think ab... No that's wrong. No. Actually I don't think I have learnt... anything. That's a lesson in itself.