The Eleventh Hour: A Conversation with Gorillaz
Hypebeast, July 2017
Humanz is the proverbial party playlist at what feels like the literal end of the world.
Interviewing a band of fictional assignment. But in the age of Trump, seems a little more believable, almost hyperreal. No group better encompasses this idea of hyperreality than Gorillaz. The band has never looked, sounded and felt more solid since their re-emergence in promoting their latest release, Humanz. Vocalist 2D and bassist Murdoc have sat for live interviews and built facsimiles of their Spirit Houses across the United States; not to mention the myriad billboards, installations, VR experiences, apps, filters, widgets, pop-ups and pop-unders that accompanied the album’s seemingly all-encompassing rollout.
Far from shying away from close inspection, Gorillaz had been teetering on the brink of the uncanny valley. Not the real-life blokes, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, though. The cartoons had all seemingly taken a more corporeal shape: 2D (vocals, keyboard, “fuck all else”), Murdoc Niccolz (bass), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, “other sounds,” briefly replaced by an android doppelganger, but more on that later) and Russel Hobbs (drums and riddims). And to be quite honest with you, reader, the prospect of interviewing cartoon characters left me, for lack of a better word, starstruck.
Researching fictional characters sounds like a nerd’s dream job: getting paid to deep-dive through graphic novels and short films, videos and shimmering holographic live footage. But even with an extensive knowledge of the band’s canon, it felt mad—like studying to interview Bart Simpson, Jake the Dog, or Beavis and Butthead at the same damn time. All in a day’s work, really.
So I typed out a string of questions that, when read aloud, makes me sound like a madman. I clicked “Send” and exhaled for the first time all day.
Then Humanz dropped and Gorillaz went ghost—well, on our questions, anyway. “How crowded could a cartoon’s schedule be?” I wondered. It makes sense, though: even animated rock stars are busy.
There is an undeniable sense of urgency running throughout Humanz. The album’s opener “Ascension” pits a frenetic Vince Staples against a storm of tornado siren synths. “The sky’s fallin’ baby, drop that ass ‘fore it crash!” repeated ad infinitum until it becomes a mantra of sorts. Frantic gospel abuts psychedelic Britpop and chiptune dancehall. Humanz is the proverbial party playlist at what feels like the literal end of the world.
The group had been working with a star-studded ensemble cast, including star turns by Pusha T, Vince Staples and Danny Brown. Mavis Staples, Carly Simon and Grace Jones bring an operatic grace to the project. Others still were tastefully curated close to the chest, like D.R.A.M.’s melodic cameo on “Andromeda” and an uncredited Noel Gallagher on the triumphant “We Got The Power.”
When you've got names such as these in your phonebook, an email from a sneaker magazine might fall by the wayside. But lo and behold, a response: Gorillaz had come through in the 11th hour.
Q&A
Let's start with the basics: how is everyone doing? I've been reading up on your exploits, but | wanted to know: what have you all been up to since we last heard you on The Fall?
Murdoc: The usual cocktail of chaos and depravity, really. Russel got harpooned by whalers and banged up in North Korea, 2D got himself marooned on a tropical island, Noodle went on a quest and beheaded some evil demon, and | did hard time in a maximum-security prison where | mastered cross-stitch and wrote a lot of hate mail.
2D: Oh, were all those letters from you?
Murdoc: Yep.
2D: Even the embroidered one?
Murdoc: Of course. Took me bloody ages to knit the words “purpled-haired wanker.” But you're worth it. Plus, in thousands of years’ time, people will be worshipping that like the Bayeux Tapestry. So everyone's a winner.
Murdoc mentioned that he was locked up in a secret prison underneath Abbey Road Studios, but where have you been recording all of this material?
Russel: All around the world. Especially Chicago. That place is the soul of the record. Pevan, Tone, Pusha T, Jamie Principle. He's like the crown prince of Chicago house, y'know? Imagine all the guests on the album, on one flyer, in one warehouse, for one night. That's sure as hell a party | wanna be at. That's the record right there. Y'know, these days folks are livin’ it up in fancy converted warehouses. But back in the day, they were broken and decayed—corpses of a dead industrial age. But from those forgotten shells, something beautiful emerged. Like a sweet, funky-ass butterfly. You could say hip-hop started in New York, but house? That's Chicago. And so is Humanz.
Is Kong Studios back up and active?
Noodle: Not yet, but | would like that. | miss that place. Apart from a few zombie outbreaks and weak phone reception, it was a very good studio. We might use the insurance money to rebuild it.
Murdoc: Ah, yeah. | actually spent all that. What a fucking great night that was.
Murdoc, what did you learn from your fellow prisoners in Dungeon Abbey? What were the conditions of your release?
Murdoc: | was in isolation, wasn't I? Although having said that, the only person | ever leamed anything from is myself, so | imagine | learned fucking loads. The conditions of my release? Well the music industry was going down the toilet like an unloved goldfish, so they came crawling to yours truly to save the bloody day. They let me out on the condition | banged out another hit record. And whaddya know—wallop! Humanz is born. And it's only another SMASH. You're all very welcome.
Noodle classically handles guitar duties for the group, but this album's futuristic sound doesn't feature much guitar work at all. Is this because of Cyborg Noodle's absence?
Noodle: We evolve, or get left behind. Gorillaz are like sharks—if we stop swimming, we die. There are some guitars, but | also worked on a ton of other sounds. Cyborg Noodle—she’s still with us. | now use her head as a plant pot in our living room. A visual reminder that, for now, ‘Humanz’ are still in control. Just…
Noodle, how have you adjusted to your new role in the group, sonically?
Noodle: Please see previous answer.
Murdoc: Sorry about her, she’s in a stinker of a mood today. Probably all that talk of Cyborg Noodle. It reminds her of the time | apparently tried to kill her and replace her with a robot. Still, we're all friends again now.
Noodle: | hate you.
2D, | wanted to ask about your gap year in Mexico. What was that like and what sort of hijinks did you get into?
2D: It was a great experience. Being stranded on a tropical island taught me lots of survival skills. Like how to run away from crabs (sideways), and how to stay alive by eating your own clothes. Actually, when I was down to just my underpants, I learned my most important lesson--we don't need all the things we think we do, like massage chairs, Capri Sun and 2 Broke Girls. We just need fresh air, sunshine and 2 Broke Girls (I really love that show).
Your music videos are always media events and your visuals have always pushed conventions--from AR to 360 video. What's your on-set craziest video story?
Russel: The “Saturnz Barz“ video was a great shoot. Until Murdoc insisted on having a bath and stripping down to his nuts 'n' bolts.
Murdoc: What are you moaning about? That was the most successful VR YouTube video ever. And that was WITH my crown jewels pixelated! Fans were furious about that actually. Someone called MadMurdy69 wrote loads of hate in the comments box, demanding my dragon be released.
2D: Isn't MadMurdy69 your YouTube name?
Murdoc: We're done here.
Interviewing a band of fictional assignment. But in the age of Trump, seems a little more believable, almost hyperreal. No group better encompasses this idea of hyperreality than Gorillaz. The band has never looked, sounded and felt more solid since their re-emergence in promoting their latest release, Humanz. Vocalist 2D and bassist Murdoc have sat for live interviews and built facsimiles of their Spirit Houses across the United States; not to mention the myriad billboards, installations, VR experiences, apps, filters, widgets, pop-ups and pop-unders that accompanied the album’s seemingly all-encompassing rollout.
Far from shying away from close inspection, Gorillaz had been teetering on the brink of the uncanny valley. Not the real-life blokes, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, though. The cartoons had all seemingly taken a more corporeal shape: 2D (vocals, keyboard, “fuck all else”), Murdoc Niccolz (bass), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, “other sounds,” briefly replaced by an android doppelganger, but more on that later) and Russel Hobbs (drums and riddims). And to be quite honest with you, reader, the prospect of interviewing cartoon characters left me, for lack of a better word, starstruck.
Researching fictional characters sounds like a nerd’s dream job: getting paid to deep-dive through graphic novels and short films, videos and shimmering holographic live footage. But even with an extensive knowledge of the band’s canon, it felt mad—like studying to interview Bart Simpson, Jake the Dog, or Beavis and Butthead at the same damn time. All in a day’s work, really.
So I typed out a string of questions that, when read aloud, makes me sound like a madman. I clicked “Send” and exhaled for the first time all day.
Then Humanz dropped and Gorillaz went ghost—well, on our questions, anyway. “How crowded could a cartoon’s schedule be?” I wondered. It makes sense, though: even animated rock stars are busy.
There is an undeniable sense of urgency running throughout Humanz. The album’s opener “Ascension” pits a frenetic Vince Staples against a storm of tornado siren synths. “The sky’s fallin’ baby, drop that ass ‘fore it crash!” repeated ad infinitum until it becomes a mantra of sorts. Frantic gospel abuts psychedelic Britpop and chiptune dancehall. Humanz is the proverbial party playlist at what feels like the literal end of the world.
The group had been working with a star-studded ensemble cast, including star turns by Pusha T, Vince Staples and Danny Brown. Mavis Staples, Carly Simon and Grace Jones bring an operatic grace to the project. Others still were tastefully curated close to the chest, like D.R.A.M.’s melodic cameo on “Andromeda” and an uncredited Noel Gallagher on the triumphant “We Got The Power.”
When you've got names such as these in your phonebook, an email from a sneaker magazine might fall by the wayside. But lo and behold, a response: Gorillaz had come through in the 11th hour.
Q&A
Let's start with the basics: how is everyone doing? I've been reading up on your exploits, but | wanted to know: what have you all been up to since we last heard you on The Fall?
Murdoc: The usual cocktail of chaos and depravity, really. Russel got harpooned by whalers and banged up in North Korea, 2D got himself marooned on a tropical island, Noodle went on a quest and beheaded some evil demon, and | did hard time in a maximum-security prison where | mastered cross-stitch and wrote a lot of hate mail.
2D: Oh, were all those letters from you?
Murdoc: Yep.
2D: Even the embroidered one?
Murdoc: Of course. Took me bloody ages to knit the words “purpled-haired wanker.” But you're worth it. Plus, in thousands of years’ time, people will be worshipping that like the Bayeux Tapestry. So everyone's a winner.
Murdoc mentioned that he was locked up in a secret prison underneath Abbey Road Studios, but where have you been recording all of this material?
Russel: All around the world. Especially Chicago. That place is the soul of the record. Pevan, Tone, Pusha T, Jamie Principle. He's like the crown prince of Chicago house, y'know? Imagine all the guests on the album, on one flyer, in one warehouse, for one night. That's sure as hell a party | wanna be at. That's the record right there. Y'know, these days folks are livin’ it up in fancy converted warehouses. But back in the day, they were broken and decayed—corpses of a dead industrial age. But from those forgotten shells, something beautiful emerged. Like a sweet, funky-ass butterfly. You could say hip-hop started in New York, but house? That's Chicago. And so is Humanz.
Is Kong Studios back up and active?
Noodle: Not yet, but | would like that. | miss that place. Apart from a few zombie outbreaks and weak phone reception, it was a very good studio. We might use the insurance money to rebuild it.
Murdoc: Ah, yeah. | actually spent all that. What a fucking great night that was.
Murdoc, what did you learn from your fellow prisoners in Dungeon Abbey? What were the conditions of your release?
Murdoc: | was in isolation, wasn't I? Although having said that, the only person | ever leamed anything from is myself, so | imagine | learned fucking loads. The conditions of my release? Well the music industry was going down the toilet like an unloved goldfish, so they came crawling to yours truly to save the bloody day. They let me out on the condition | banged out another hit record. And whaddya know—wallop! Humanz is born. And it's only another SMASH. You're all very welcome.
Noodle classically handles guitar duties for the group, but this album's futuristic sound doesn't feature much guitar work at all. Is this because of Cyborg Noodle's absence?
Noodle: We evolve, or get left behind. Gorillaz are like sharks—if we stop swimming, we die. There are some guitars, but | also worked on a ton of other sounds. Cyborg Noodle—she’s still with us. | now use her head as a plant pot in our living room. A visual reminder that, for now, ‘Humanz’ are still in control. Just…
Noodle, how have you adjusted to your new role in the group, sonically?
Noodle: Please see previous answer.
Murdoc: Sorry about her, she’s in a stinker of a mood today. Probably all that talk of Cyborg Noodle. It reminds her of the time | apparently tried to kill her and replace her with a robot. Still, we're all friends again now.
Noodle: | hate you.
2D, | wanted to ask about your gap year in Mexico. What was that like and what sort of hijinks did you get into?
2D: It was a great experience. Being stranded on a tropical island taught me lots of survival skills. Like how to run away from crabs (sideways), and how to stay alive by eating your own clothes. Actually, when I was down to just my underpants, I learned my most important lesson--we don't need all the things we think we do, like massage chairs, Capri Sun and 2 Broke Girls. We just need fresh air, sunshine and 2 Broke Girls (I really love that show).
Your music videos are always media events and your visuals have always pushed conventions--from AR to 360 video. What's your on-set craziest video story?
Russel: The “Saturnz Barz“ video was a great shoot. Until Murdoc insisted on having a bath and stripping down to his nuts 'n' bolts.
Murdoc: What are you moaning about? That was the most successful VR YouTube video ever. And that was WITH my crown jewels pixelated! Fans were furious about that actually. Someone called MadMurdy69 wrote loads of hate in the comments box, demanding my dragon be released.
2D: Isn't MadMurdy69 your YouTube name?
Murdoc: We're done here.