Of all the major brit-pop bands, the genre that obliterated all major charts in the 90s, Blur came on top. Oasis broke up because of constant infighting among the Gallagher brothers, Suede was scarred by drug abuse, and Pulp took a break that doesn't seem to have an end point. Well, Blur took a break too, but Damon Albarn, the founder and main vocalist of the act, remained famous well after brit-pop disappeared from people's playlists. As the 90's were growing to a close, he decided to go in a totally different musical direction.
He started the virtual band Gorollaz, a band that has nothing to do with brit pop, as a response to the ”lab grown” bands that plagued labels. Gorillaz was exactly the opposite. The band members were literally 2-D. Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs are characters drawn by Jamie Hewlett, a visual artist. In reality, Damon Albarn is the front man, the producer, the multi-instrumentalist, and the songwriter. The success of the project brought them the World Guinness Record: ”World's Best Virtual Band”. If you're still not convinced you have to see them at Electric Castle, here are some other reasons:
They've got an eclectic style
As opposed to what Damon Albarn was up to in Blur, where he was playing pure rock, Gorillaz has a more experimental vibe about it. Starting with their debut in 2001, Gorillaz combined a multitude of musical genres. You can hear alt rock influences, a good dose of hip-hop, synth pop, dub, trip-hop, and world music. This is the advantage of having a virtual band. You can do whatever you want, as long as it sounds good. Thankfully, this has never been a problem:
Everything they put out sounds fresh and memorable
When you play with so many different sounds, often results are split into two categories: 1. you fail miserably or 2. you're celebrated for your postmodern approach, for your courage to merge more than one influences into something with a fresh sound. As you can imagine, Gorillaz falls into the second category. It's also important to mention they managed to launch huge hits such as ”Feel Good Inc.”, a song played on a weekly basis in every place that serves alcohol in the world, ”Clint Eastwood”, ”Dirty Harry”, and ”Kids With Guns”. You're gonna hear them at Bonțida.
Concerts are as real as they get and quite incredible
Gorillaz is a virtual band. The music is real. The concerts are live, not just a projection with a soundtrack. Or worse, holograms. Damon Albarn is a real musician. That means he's really careful with his music's on stage presentation. He's got really talented musicians, rappers, and a lot of backing vocals that seem to come out of nowhere. Everything is reaaaaaaaly professional.
Even the way they release their albums is revolutionary
”Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez” has seen the light of day in October, in a really unusual way. As the name suggests, the album is split in episodes. We've started consuming media in episodes, so why not music as well? Wanna understand how eclectic the band is? Here's the artists featured on the album: Schoolboy Q, Slowthai, Elton John, Beck, The Cure's Robert Smith, and Slaves, a band we've already seen in the Hangar. The next season is due next year and then, the concert. After all that's happened in 2020, imagine how ”Feel Good Inc.” is gonna seem like. In Bonțida.
