The recent Gorillaz interview on Apple Music It has become one of the key moments for understanding the current stage of the virtual group created by Damon Albarn and Jamie HewlettIn an extensive conversation with Zane Lowe, the band discusses the origins of their new album, how they dealt with loss, and how they have redefined their relationship with the animated characters that have accompanied them for a quarter of a century.
Recorded in House of Kong, in Los AngelesAn immersive experience created to celebrate 25 years of Gorillaz, the talk functions almost as an emotional and creative making-of The MountainThroughout the interview, Albarn and Hewlett weave together memories, artistic decisions, and personal anecdotes that help to understand why this work is perceived as a turning point in their career.
House of Kong and the 25th anniversary of Gorillaz
For this Apple Music appearance, Zane Lowe travels to House of Kong, a space set up in Los Angeles that serves as a celebration of 25th anniversary of GorillazMore than just a set, the venue is designed as an immersive experience that connects the audience with the band's visual and sonic universe, reinforcing the idea that the project has always been about more than just music.
In that context, the interview functions as a kind of guided tour of the group's history: Albarn and Hewlett look back on their beginnings, the evolution of the characters, and the decisions that have led them to the present.This look back is especially relevant for the European audience, where Gorillaz built a very solid fan base from their first albums and where many of those concerts and visual premieres were experienced in real time.
The Mountain: an album heir to Plastic Beach
One of the central points of the conversation is The MountainThe new Gorillaz album. Zane Lowe comments that the album feels like a very unified work, something Damon Albarn echoes, stating that, for him, This work is almost a natural continuation of Plastic Beach.Between these two points lies a more dissonant stage, with interesting ideas but less cohesive at a narrative level.
Albarn insists that, in this new project, that [element/qualification] exists again. a sense of adventure and a coherent worldIt's a kind of return to a concept where music, characters, and visual context fit together organically. Jamie Hewlett adds that the album's narrative practically imposed itself on them, as if it were inevitable, reinforcing the idea that The Mountain is not just a collection of songs, but a story with a beginning and an end.
Glastonbury, Roskilde and the shift in live performances
Another important part of the interview focuses on the way in which Gorillaz has been transforming their live performanceZane Lowe recalls how, after Plastic Beach, the band seemed to be moving towards a more conventional touring format, abandoning some of the initial mystery surrounding the project. According to Albarn, this change was partly motivated by a last-minute call to headline the festival. G.
At that time, they were still using the visual approach they had honed during the stage of Demon DaysWith the band almost in shadow, prioritizing the screen and limiting their physical presence on stage. However, in a venue as massive as the Pyramid Stage, a strange disconnect with the publicWhat looked good on television didn't quite work on the field, in front of tens of thousands of people.
The reaction was swift: for the next concert, in RoskildeAlbarn decided to break with those visual restrictions. Instead of hiding behind silhouettes and animation, he opted to make the most of the band on stage, assuming that to connect with audiences of that size, it was necessary to be more direct. Over time, he explains, they have managed redirect the live concept, seeking a balance between the animated identity of Gorillaz and the energy of a live band.
The awkward beginnings and the silhouette interviews
In a more relaxed tone, Zane Lowe recalls memories of beginning of Gorillaz's careerBack then, the first interviews were conducted practically in the dark, as if they were anonymous participants in a witness protection program. The intention was for the media to interview the cartoon charactersnot to the real people behind the project.
Jamie Hewlett explains that the underlying idea was eliminate the notion of celebrity associated with the musicians, something that fit perfectly with the concept of a virtual band. Damon Albarn admits, however, that they never quite mastered that game of identities. He recalls, for example, their first major interview in the United States, with Rolling Stone, where they each took turns playing the roles of 2D, Murdoc, or Russell over the phone, trying to maintain the fiction… without much long-term success.
When Gorillaz tried to be a hologram
The interview also revisits one of the band's most memorable technological experiments: concerts with hologramsZane Lowe confesses that, seeing it on television, he thought it worked very well, although he was aware that the experience in the theater was considerably more problematic. Damon Albarn agrees that, on television, the result was brilliant, but admits that things went wrong live.
Jamie Hewlett details the technical limitations of that eraThe technology wasn't really ready for a concert with the usual sound output, as the "invisible" screen vibrated with the bass and drums. This forced them to lower the volume so much that, at performances like the Grammys, some of the audience didn't even realize the show had started because the sound was so low.
In the middle of the conversation, the thought arises that, with that system, they could have organized dozens of simultaneous performances around the worldAlbarn recalls that this was precisely one of the big ideas that were debated before later projects, such as ABBA with their own avatars, had the budget and technology to make it a stable reality.
The connection with Daft Punk and the masks of fame
When discussing identity and anonymity, the comparison with Daft PunkAnother project that played with concealing faces. Jamie Hewlett points out that both emerged around the same time, creating the perception that they were exploring similar conceptual territoriesDamon Albarn admits that he saw something in common with them, although he believes that the French duo had an advantage: not dragging along the recognizable face of a Britpop figure trying to go unnoticed.
That struggle with fame, with being “a victim of your own face,” as Zane Lowe jokes, has accompanied Albarn for decades and explains part of his initial insistence on using personas as a shield. In the European context, where Albarn's persona was closely associated with Blur, Gorillaz was a vehicle for playing with another identity, less constrained by the expectations of traditional British rock.
Video clips, storyboards, and the shared creative process
Zane Lowe dedicates an entire segment to the Gorillaz music videosThis has always been a central aspect of the group's proposal. The level of detail is remarkable. storyboards and the amount of preparatory work that goes into the animation before it comes to life. Jamie Hewlett confirms that, far from limiting himself to simple sketches, he tries to make those storyboards as complete as possible so that the animators have a clear idea of the final result.
Over time, Hewlett even began to edit the storyboards with the musicgenerating animatics with hundreds of drawings for a single video of barely four minutes. This way of working, although demanding, allows them to arrive on set with a very defined vision. Damon Albarn fondly remembers the routine of those years: he would play a song, go up to Hewlett's studio in Busspace, and from there, the visual process would begin almost immediately.
Instead of the usual model where an external director proposes the concept and handles all production, in Gorillaz they are the ones who They direct the narrative from the storyboard.Hewlett explains that he listens to the song, develops the story, and discusses it with Albarn; if they both agree, he starts drawing. Later, when it comes to production, the budget sometimes forces him to cut or adjust ideas, but the creative foundation always stems from that dialogue between music and image.
Characters, personal stories, and creative freedom
In the final part of the conversation, Apple Music focuses on the personal relationship that Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett maintain with the characters of GorillazHewlett defines the project as a “continuous experiment” that adapts as they themselves change and evolve as artists. Part of the key to the virtual band's success lies in that freedom to do virtually whatever they want, without feeling tied to a single style or narrative.
The characters, however, are not simply fictional figures disconnected from reality. Hewlett admits that often They end up telling stories that are very similar to their own.Personal experiences, emotions, and life situations end up filtering through 2D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russell. Albarn, for his part, acknowledges that there was a moment when he felt something almost unsettling: he had the physical sensation that the characters were "just around the corner," as if they had taken on a life of their own.
The evolution of Murdoc, Russell, and the ideas sown in the long term
Hewlett explains that the development of the characters has been a cumulative process: You start with just enough to get going and add layers over the yearsThus, elements like Murdoc's satanic profile emerged relatively easily, while other concepts took much longer to develop. This is the case with Russell, conceived from the beginning as someone capable of summoning the spirits of deceased artists.
That idea, which at the time was barely hinted at with the presence of Del's ghost, has acquired new weight in the context of The MountainAfter 25 years in the business and collaborations with countless musicians, some of whom are no longer with us, the notion of Russell as a conduit for those voices now carries a different meaning, one more imbued with memory and experience. Many seeds planted in the early days have found their place within the band's overall narrative.
The movie that never came to be and the seed of Cracker Island
Another striking chapter of the interview revolves around The Gorillaz movie that was never filmedHewlett says that if it had been done 25 years ago, it might have made sense, but right now the idea of a film doesn't seem original or particularly appealing to them. Despite having a deal with Netflix, which promised them complete creative freedom and a large budget, the project ultimately fizzled out.
The constant internal changes to the platform, the departure of key personnel, and the bureaucracy of large companies caused development to progress at a frustratingly slow pace. Albarn speaks of the feeling of waiting an eternityWhile Hewlett admits that, faced with such stagnation, they decided to focus their energies on a new album. From that wait emerged a record that, in some ways, reflects precisely on that feeling of suspended time, an approach that would end up influencing works such as cracker island.
Grief, a trip to India, and the birth of The Mountain
The most intimate part of the interview comes when Zane Lowe asks about the specific origin of The MountainJamie Hewlett places the starting point during the filming of the live-action sequences for the video of “Silent Running,” from his previous album, in Serbia. Meanwhile, his wife was in India with her mother, who suffered a stroke, forcing him to abandon the shoot and travel urgently first to London and then to Jaipur.
Hewlett recounts that he spent around six or seven weeks in India, caught between worry and... transformative experience of living with very warm hospitalityUpon his return, he came back with the idea of returning to the country with Albarn to, perhaps, make a Gorillaz album there, without a big plan beyond experiencing the place and seeing what creatively emerged.
However, the course of events took a very harsh turn: in just a few days, Both lost their parentsFirst Damon's, and ten days later, Jamie's. A fact made even stranger by remembering that they themselves were born just ten days apart. This temporal coincidence made the situation difficult to process, forcing them to rethink how to move forward both personally and artistically.
Hewlett describes the feeling that, upon your father's death, you "level up in the great video game of life" and become a kind of patriarch, something experienced as a profound change regardless of the previous relationship. Albarn nods and summarizes that That experience changes you from the inside out.The disappearance of that protective figure, that kind of vital safety net, leaves a void that inevitably seeps into the music.
All that process of grief, travel, waiting, and emotional reorganization eventually crystallizes into The MountainThis album, as revealed in the Apple Music interview, is permeated by the need to understand loss and find a new place in the world. For Gorillaz fans in Europe and Spain, accustomed to seeing the group through its more playful and visual lens, this conversation offers a glimpse into the emotional underbelly of the project, showing how Albarn and Hewlett's experiences directly fuel the animated universe that has so profoundly influenced several generations.
