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Damon Albarn never does anything quite the way one expects him to. You might think that the first Gorillaz album not to be released on a big label would be a less expansive affair, either in the production, the stylistic range, or the guest list. You'd be mistaken.While the previous Gorillaz release, 2023's Cracker Island, certainly had its share of high-powered features, the sonic focus was on danceable, ‘80s-influenced pop. On The Mountain, however, Albarn and company stretch out to occupy an exponentially larger space, both musically and conceptually.The Mountain matches the peaks of the first three Gorillaz albums, after which the quality dipped. It takes Albarn and Hewlett’s cartoon band to a new destination: India. The theme is death and the afterlife, inspired by Albarn’s trip to Varanasi to scatter his father’s ashes in the Ganges.Famous names from Indian music are joined by a diverse set of the world.Find tracklist and full story in comment.
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Tracklist:
01 – The Mountain (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash)
02 – The Moon Cave (feat. Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda & Black Thought)
03 – The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks)
04 – The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen)
05 – Orange County (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson & Anoushka Shankar)
06 – The God of Lying (feat. IDLES)
07 – The Empty Dream Machine (feat. Black Thought, Johnny Marr & Anoushka Shankar)
08 – The Manifesto (feat. Trueno & Proof)
09 – The Plastic Guru (feat. Johnny Marr & Anoushka Shankar)
10 – Delirium (feat. Mark E. Smith)
11 – Damascus (feat. Omar Souleyman & Yasiin Bey)
12 – The Shadowy Light (feat. Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash)
13 – Casablanca (feat. Paul Simonon & Johnny Marr)
14 – The Sweet Prince (feat. Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr & Anoushka Shankar)
15 – The Sad God (feat. Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr & Anoushka Shankar)
16 – Bolly Noir (feat. Niloy Ahsan)
17 – Noah’s Descendants (feat. Anoushka Shankar & Pamela Jain)
18 – The Mountain (feat. Hindu Jea Band Jaipur) [Live]
19 – Meri Sapno Ki Rani (feat. Hindu Jea Band Jaipur) [Live]
20 – The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks) (Radio Edit)
21 – Orange County (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson & Anoushka Shankar) (BZRP Radio Mix) . Damon Albarn never does anything quite the way one expects him to. You might think that the first Gorillaz album not to be released on a big label would be a less expansive affair, either in the production, the stylistic range, or the guest list. You'd be mistaken.While the previous Gorillaz release, 2023's Cracker Island, certainly had its share of high-powered features, the sonic focus was on danceable, ‘80s-influenced pop. On The Mountain, however, Albarn and company stretch out to occupy an exponentially larger space, both musically and conceptually. Damon Albarn is, by his own description, “very competitive”. Back when Britpop was in full swing, he threw himself into the publicity campaign of Blur and Oasis’s rivalry as if it were the FA Cup final. But he also has a contrary talent for collaboration. It has blossomed in his side-project, Gorillaz.
Albarn created Gorillaz as a cartoon virtual band with comic book artist Jamie Hewlett in 1998. Hewlett’s visuals were inspired by Japanese manga, while Albarn’s songs drew on whatever caught his magpie attention: hip-hop, bubblegum pop, Latin music. Immense chart success — 7mn sales for their self-titled debut in 2001, 8mn for its 2005 follow-up, Demon Days — allowed the scope to grow vaster. A madcap array of guests have appeared in Gorillaz’s songs, from Elton John and Bad Bunny to the Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music.The Mountain matches the peaks of the first three Gorillaz albums, after which the quality dipped. It takes Albarn and Hewlett’s cartoon band to a new destination: India. The theme is death and the afterlife, inspired by Albarn’s trip to Var