Gorillaz

Gorillaz turned the idea of a band into an animated world. Formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, the English virtual group is fronted by four fictional characters: singer and keyboardist 2-D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, guitarist and keyboardist Noodle, and drummer Russel Hobbs. Albarn provides 2-D’s voice and remains the project’s only permanent musical contributor, while the characters’ universe has unfolded through videos, interviews, comic strips and short cartoons.

The group’s 2001 self-titled debut moved Albarn beyond the Britpop sound associated with Blur, combining hip hop, electronic music, trip hop, punk rock, dub and Latin influences. Driven by the single “Clint Eastwood”, the album went triple platinum in the UK and double platinum in Europe. Its follow-up, Demon Days (2005), reached six-times platinum status in the UK and double platinum in the United States. The album produced “Feel Good Inc.”, “Dare”, “Dirty Harry” and “El Mañana”, and helped make Gorillaz’s blend of animated imagery, guest voices and cross-genre pop a major international proposition.

Collaboration has remained central to the group’s records. Plastic Beach (2010) paired environmentalist themes with synth-pop elements and an enlarged cast of featured artists. Later that year, Gorillaz released The Fall, recorded on the road during the Escape to Plastic Beach Tour, primarily using Albarn’s iPad. The group’s live presentation has shifted with its music: early performances kept touring musicians out of view, later shows used computer-generated projections of the animated members, and since 2010 Gorillaz has toured with a visible live band.

Remi Kabaka Jr, who had voiced Russel for more than a decade, became a permanent percussionist and producer in 2015. Humanz followed in 2017, ending a seven-year gap between studio albums with a large array of guests, while 2018’s The Now Now placed greater musical focus on Albarn. In 2020, Gorillaz launched Song Machine, a web series built from standalone singles, videos and changing collaborators; it culminated in the seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez.

The eighth studio album, Cracker Island (2023), received generally positive reviews for refining the group’s established approach. Their ninth, The Mountain (2026), drew musical and thematic inspiration from India and was critically acclaimed, with several reviewers calling it their strongest work in years. Across the project’s career, Gorillaz have won a Grammy Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, an NME Award and four MTV Europe Music Awards. They won Best British Group at the 2018 Brit Awards, following 11 nominations at the ceremony.