Gorillaz Turn Their Back on Stardom to Seek Higher Ground on 'The Mountain'
Gorillaz, as a concept, has always thrived in the space between reality and fabrication, a digital asylum for a cast of characters and a parade of collaborators. Their latest venture, a new album titled ‘The Mountain,’ is a full-throttle dive back into that liminal space, announcing a new era not just with a record, but with their own new label, KONG. This isn't a mere follow-up to 2023's Cracker Island; it is a deliberate, ambitious narrative that finds the band's four animated heroes—Murdoc, Russel, 2D, and Noodle—having turned their backs on international pop stardom. Their next act is a spiritual and sonic journey through India, a move away from the manufactured clamor of fame and into the rhythms of "mystical music-making."
The new single, ‘The Happy Dictator,’ is a fitting introduction to this new pilgrimage. A collaboration with Sparks, it’s an adventurous, glimmering track that suggests the band is less interested in a conventional pop sound and more in sonic exploration. The guest list for the new record is a testament to this global and genre-defying approach. It’s a dizzying, improbable mix of artists from across the globe and musical spectrum: from the legendary Yasiin Bey and Johnny Marrto a host of voices from India, including Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash and Asha Bhosle. The production, helmed by the band alongside James Ford, Samuel Egglenton, and Remi Kabaka Jr., reflects this sprawling vision.
The album itself was recorded in a dizzying array of locations—from their Studio 13 in London to Mumbai, New Delhi, and even Ashgabat. The band’s drummer, Russel Hobbs, described the album in a press release as a “musical meditation infused with light. A journey of the soul, with beats…” It's the kind of earnest, pseudo-philosophical musing that only a cartoon character can get away with, but it perfectly encapsulates the project’s scope. The album features songs in five languages—Arabic, English, Hindi, Spanish, and Yoruba—a conscious decision to embrace a truly global soundscape.
The tracklist alone reads like a fever dream of collaboration and cultural exchange. It features disparate forces like IDLES and Omar Souleyman, Kara Jackson and Paul Simonon, all orbiting a core narrative of finding meaning in the mountainous terrain of life. The album promises to be a complex, aural tapestry, a beautiful chaos that only Gorillaz could orchestrate. In a world where every franchise is trying to feel authentic, Gorillaz continues to build a universe that is authentically, unapologetically, a work of fiction.
