Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by the musician Damon Albarn and the artist Jamie Hewlett. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards, melodica; vocals provided by Albarn), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, backup vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums). Their universe is presented in media such as music videos, interviews, comic strips and short cartoons. Gorillaz's music has featured collaborations with a wide range of musicians and featured artists, with Albarn as the only permanent musical contributor.
Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by the musician Damon Albarn and the artist Jamie Hewlett. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards, melodica; vocals provided by Albarn), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, backup vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums). Their universe is presented in media such as music videos, interviews, comic strips and short cartoons. Gorillaz's music has featured collaborations with a wide range of musicians and featured artists, with Albarn as the only permanent musical contributor.
With Gorillaz, Albarn departed from the distinct Britpop sound of his band Blur, exploring a variety of musical styles including hip hop, electronic and world music. The band's 2001 debut album, Gorillaz, which features trip hop, punk rock, dub and Latin influences, went triple platinum in the UK and double platinum in Europe, with sales driven by the success of the lead single, "Clint Eastwood". Their second studio album, Demon Days (2005), went six times platinum in the UK, double platinum in the US, and spawned the successful lead single "Feel Good Inc.", along with other hit singles such as "Dare", "Dirty Harry" and "El Mañana". The band's third album, Plastic Beach (2010), featured environmentalist themes, synth-pop elements and an expanded roster of featured artists. Their fourth album, The Fall, was recorded on the road (mainly on Damon Albarn's iPad) during the Escape to Plastic Beach Tour and released on 25 December 2010.
In 2015, after over ten years providing the voice of Russel, Remi Kabaka Jr became a permanent percussionist and music producer for the band. Their fifth album, Humanz (2017) was the band's first in seven years and featured a wide array of guest artists, while its follow-up, The Now Now (2018), focused musically on Albarn. In 2020 Gorillaz started the Song Machine project, a music-based web series with episodes that consisted of standalone singles and accompanying music videos featuring different guests, which culminated with their seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (2020). The band's eighth studio album, Cracker Island (2023), met generally positive reviews as a refinement of their usual style. The band's ninth studio album, The Mountain (2026), drew musical and thematic inspiration from India and was critically acclaimed, being regarded by several reviewers as their strongest work in years.
Gorillaz has presented itself live in a variety of different ways throughout its history, such as hiding the touring band from the audience's view in the early years of the project, projecting animated band members on stage via computer graphics and, since 2010, traditional live touring featuring a fully visible live band. They have won a Grammy Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, an NME Award and four MTV Europe Music Awards. They have also been nominated for 11 Brit Awards and won Best British Group at the 2018 Brit Awards.
Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by the musician Damon Albarn and the artist Jamie Hewlett. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards, melodica; vocals provided by Albarn), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, backup vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums). Their universe is presented in media such as music videos, interviews, comic strips and short cartoons. Gorillaz's music has featured collaborations with a wide range of musicians and featured artists, with Albarn as the only permanent musical contributor.
Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by the musician Damon Albarn and the artist Jamie Hewlett. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards, melodica; vocals provided by Albarn), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, backup vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums). Their universe is presented in media such as music videos, interviews, comic strips and short cartoons. Gorillaz's music has featured collaborations with a wide range of musicians and featured artists, with Albarn as the only permanent musical contributor.
With Gorillaz, Albarn departed from the distinct Britpop sound of his band Blur, exploring a variety of musical styles including hip hop, electronic and world music. The band's 2001 debut album, Gorillaz, which features trip hop, punk rock, dub and Latin influences, went triple platinum in the UK and double platinum in Europe, with sales driven by the success of the lead single, "Clint Eastwood". Their second studio album, Demon Days (2005), went six times platinum in the UK, double platinum in the US, and spawned the successful lead single "Feel Good Inc.", along with other hit singles such as "Dare", "Dirty Harry" and "El Mañana". The band's third album, Plastic Beach (2010), featured environmentalist themes, synth-pop elements and an expanded roster of featured artists. Their fourth album, The Fall, was recorded on the road (mainly on Damon Albarn's iPad) during the Escape to Plastic Beach Tour and released on 25 December 2010.
In 2015, after over ten years providing the voice of Russel, Remi Kabaka Jr became a permanent percussionist and music producer for the band. Their fifth album, Humanz (2017) was the band's first in seven years and featured a wide array of guest artists, while its follow-up, The Now Now (2018), focused musically on Albarn. In 2020 Gorillaz started the Song Machine project, a music-based web series with episodes that consisted of standalone singles and accompanying music videos featuring different guests, which culminated with their seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (2020). The band's eighth studio album, Cracker Island (2023), met generally positive reviews as a refinement of their usual style. The band's ninth studio album, The Mountain (2026), drew musical and thematic inspiration from India and was critically acclaimed, being regarded by several reviewers as their strongest work in years.
Gorillaz has presented itself live in a variety of different ways throughout its history, such as hiding the touring band from the audience's view in the early years of the project, projecting animated band members on stage via computer graphics and, since 2010, traditional live touring featuring a fully visible live band. They have won a Grammy Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, an NME Award and four MTV Europe Music Awards. They have also been nominated for 11 Brit Awards and won Best British Group at the 2018 Brit Awards.
Writers and critics have variously described Gorillaz as art pop, alternative rock, hip hop, electronic, trip hop, pop, dark pop, alternative hip hop, rap rock, indie rock, bedroom pop, dance-rock, new wave, funk, worldbeat and experimental rock. The band's aesthetic and general approach have been described as postmodern. According to AllMusic, Gorillaz blend Britpop and hip-hop, while The Guardian described the band as "a sort of dub/hip-hop/lo-fi indie/world music hybrid". According to PopMatters, the band's early work foreshadowed "the melding of hip-hop, rock, and electronic elements in pop music" that grew in significance in the next decade.
"[Influencing] to us, is the greatest achievement of Gorillaz. It's that we know that a very large percentage of our audience are kids, who go on gorillaz.com, who go on gorillaz-unofficial.com, and through seeing the cartoons and hearing the tune, buying the record, are finding out about this stuff that they knew nothing about. So they're learning about Vlad The Impaler, or Ronald Searle, or The Specials... so it's like an education. They really get into it. And they discover it, the music we grew up on."
— Jamie Hewlett,
Gorillaz' main musical influences include Fishmans, Massive Attack, the Specials, Big Audio Dynamite, Public Image Ltd, Tom Tom Club, Fun Boy Three, Unkle, A Tribe Called Quest, and their fellow collaborators De La Soul, as well as The Human League, The Kinks, XTC, Simple Minds, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Ween, Portishead, Beck, Wire, Fela Kuti, Sly and the Family Stone, Earth Wind and Fire, Augustus Pablo, Zapp and DJ Kool Herc. Gorillaz' primary visual influences include Hanna-Barbera, Looney Tunes, Mad magazine, The Simpsons, 2000 AD and Métal hurlant (Heavy Metal). Furthermore, Hewlett has also cited European artists such as Carl Giles, Ronald Searle, Moebius, Tanino Liberatore, Mike McMahon and Brendan McCarthy. The idea for Gorillaz was inspired by the many cartoon bands that came before them in the 1960s such as the Banana Splits, the Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, and Alvin and the Chipmunks, and real bands with fictional stage personas like ABC (circa How to Be a ... Zillionaire!) and Silicon Teens.
Musical artists and bands who have been influenced by Gorillaz's work include Major Lazer, Dethklok, Rat Boy, Chromeo, Flume, Foster the People, The 1975, 5 Seconds of Summer, Awolnation, Paramore, Grimes, Kesha, A.G. Cook, Finneas, Oliver Tree, Flatbush Zombies, Vic Mensa, IDK, Trippie Redd, The Internet, ASAP Rocky, Lupe Fiasco, Brockhampton, Odd Future, Machine Gun Kelly and Billie Eilish, who was joined by Albarn to sing her song, "Getting Older", and Gorillaz' song, "Feel Good Inc." with Posdnuos of De La Soul.
Source: wikipedia
Writers and critics have variously described Gorillaz as art pop, alternative rock, hip hop, electronic, trip hop, pop, dark pop, alternative hip hop, rap rock, indie rock, bedroom pop, dance-rock, new wave, funk, worldbeat and experimental rock. The band's aesthetic and general approach have been described as postmodern. According to AllMusic, Gorillaz blend Britpop and hip-hop, while The Guardian described the band as "a sort of dub/hip-hop/lo-fi indie/world music hybrid". According to PopMatters, the band's early work foreshadowed "the melding of hip-hop, rock, and electronic elements in pop music" that grew in significance in the next decade.
"[Influencing] to us, is the greatest achievement of Gorillaz. It's that we know that a very large percentage of our audience are kids, who go on gorillaz.com, who go on gorillaz-unofficial.com, and through seeing the cartoons and hearing the tune, buying the record, are finding out about this stuff that they knew nothing about. So they're learning about Vlad The Impaler, or Ronald Searle, or The Specials... so it's like an education. They really get into it. And they discover it, the music we grew up on."
— Jamie Hewlett,
Gorillaz' main musical influences include Fishmans, Massive Attack, the Specials, Big Audio Dynamite, Public Image Ltd, Tom Tom Club, Fun Boy Three, Unkle, A Tribe Called Quest, and their fellow collaborators De La Soul, as well as The Human League, The Kinks, XTC, Simple Minds, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Ween, Portishead, Beck, Wire, Fela Kuti, Sly and the Family Stone, Earth Wind and Fire, Augustus Pablo, Zapp and DJ Kool Herc. Gorillaz' primary visual influences include Hanna-Barbera, Looney Tunes, Mad magazine, The Simpsons, 2000 AD and Métal hurlant (Heavy Metal). Furthermore, Hewlett has also cited European artists such as Carl Giles, Ronald Searle, Moebius, Tanino Liberatore, Mike McMahon and Brendan McCarthy. The idea for Gorillaz was inspired by the many cartoon bands that came before them in the 1960s such as the Banana Splits, the Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, and Alvin and the Chipmunks, and real bands with fictional stage personas like ABC (circa How to Be a ... Zillionaire!) and Silicon Teens.
Musical artists and bands who have been influenced by Gorillaz's work include Major Lazer, Dethklok, Rat Boy, Chromeo, Flume, Foster the People, The 1975, 5 Seconds of Summer, Awolnation, Paramore, Grimes, Kesha, A.G. Cook, Finneas, Oliver Tree, Flatbush Zombies, Vic Mensa, IDK, Trippie Redd, The Internet, ASAP Rocky, Lupe Fiasco, Brockhampton, Odd Future, Machine Gun Kelly and Billie Eilish, who was joined by Albarn to sing her song, "Getting Older", and Gorillaz' song, "Feel Good Inc." with Posdnuos of De La Soul.
Source: wikipedia