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Gorillaz

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Gorillaz is an animated hip-pop band, comprising of four animated band members: 2D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc (bass), Noodle (guitars) and Russel (drums, percussion). Gorillaz have a dark and humorous backstory, which involves Murdoc inadvertantly putting 2D into and out of a coma while trying to steal keyboards, Russel and his family re-rooting in England from New York due to Russel being on the wrong end of a drive-by shooting and Noodle's arrival in a FedEx crate from Japan. The band live in the also-fictitious Kong Studios, high upon a mountain in the centre of a cemetary in Essex.

Gorillaz was created by Damon Albarn (of Blur) and Jamie Hewlett (of Tank Girl fame) and was based on their interests, dreams and fears. Matter-of-fact references to horror films are everywhere, including samples from George A. Romero films and horror film locations stated on highway sign posts in the promotional video for "19-2000". There are also some rather obscure references made to people and things such as Tom Savini, Looney Tunes and the band Swell Maps, to name a few. Gorillaz have earned the Guinness World Record for being the Most Succesful Virtual Band.

History

The first single for the band was Tomorrow Comes Today, which was very well received in the UK underground music scene. The EP and video followed suit a few months afterward, generating a lot of word-of-mouth advertising, as well as a large shroud of mystery over who was behind Gorillaz and what they were to expect in the months to come. The band's website, a literal orgy of Macromedia Flash, was a representation of Kong Studios in the fullest sense of the word: inside, you could browse through each member's bedrooms, their recording environment and even the hallways and bathrooms. Each room also had bonus surprises and games to play: for example, the lobby had a remix machine, the cafeteria contained the messageboard on the wall and Murdoc's Winnebago (accessible only by using the enhanced section of Gorillaz, later stolen and found in the United States) contained a voodoo doll of 2D. Each member also had their own computer which contained pictures, sound bites from various takes of songs and their e-mail inboxes. Because of the nature of the site, an official fansite was created to hold the standard band website information, including a discography, touring schedules and more.

The Clint Eastwood single was released at the start of March, 2002. The blend of raw hip-hop, cheesy horror music and a haunting melodica solo struck chords around the world, thrusting Gorillaz into the global limelight. Due to this, the band's Hotmail accounts were abandoned (and later hacked) and the inboxes on the site were never updated. Later that same month, their first full-length, the self-titled Gorillaz was released, producing four singles: "Clint Eastwood", "19-2000", "Rock The House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today". Each of the videos contained humorous and often ridiculous storylines and imagery, though "Clint Eastwood" and "19-2000" were the only singles to break through the American music scene. The only time the video for "Tomorrow Comes Today" was played in the States was when Toonami broadcasted a "Midnight Run" special where they played animated music videos from Gorillaz, Daft Punk, and Kenna.

Around this time, a half-hour TV mockumentary entitled Charts Of Darkness was released, which follows Channel 4 news reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy attempting to track down Damon and Jamie after they were placed in an insane asylum. The special also interviews Rachel of S Club 7 fame and a few of the band's voice talents, who had been given roles to play. The end of the year brought 911, a collaboration with rap artists D12 (sans Eminem) about the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with the announcement of G-Sides, a compilation of the b-sides from the first three singles. The new year also saw a spectacular performance at the 2002 BRIT awards, featuring the band in 3D, weaving in and out of each other on four large screens along with rap accompaniment by Phi Life Cypher. The dub remix album Laika Come Home was released in June. The record was credited to Spacemonkeyz VS Gorillaz, containing most of the album reworked by Spacemonkeyz. The single to follow, Lil' Dub Chefin' (M1 A1), contained an original track by the Spacemonkeyz titled "Spacemonkeyz Theme".

On October 30th, 2002, as the band was passing into global obscurity, Kong Studios was closed by police, stating that a domestic disturbance involving a running nude man was reported at the site. The building was in shambles and it turned out that the band had fled to Hollywood to escape whomever or whatever that was trying to attack them. November saw the release of the DVD Phase One: Celebrity Take Down which features an abandoned 3D Kong Studios (only eight rooms, including the lobby, are accessible.) If someone waits in a room longer than a minute, zombie hands will appear and grab the viewer; in some instances, a nude man is seen laughing maniacally. The DVD contains all five videos (including the abandoned video "5/4"), the "Charts Of Darkness" documentary, the five Gorilla Bites (short vignettes), a tour of the website by the MEL 9000 server and much more. Rumours were circulating around this time that Gorillaz were busy preparing a film, though nothing has surfaced.

On December 8th, 2004, the website reopened with the announcement of a new album on the way, including production by DJ Danger Mouse and guest appearances by De La Soul. A contest was also announced which allowed fans to send in a minute-long video they had made; the prize included collaborating with the band in some way, shape or form and getting their own room in the newly rebuilt Kong Studios.

Live Performances

At all performances, the physical band plays behind a specially designed screen which covers the stage area. Videos, animatics and image collages are projected onto the audience side of the screen, while choreographed lights behind the screen light up silhouettes of the physical band, creating a meld of the physical and animated. For their first tour of the United States, two screens were used; one was simply the animatics, while the second, lower screen displayed the band's silhouettes along with various quotes from interviews.

Horror References

The band's art is deeply rooted in horror film imagery and ideals. Most of Gorillaz's fanbase have rented and/or bought these films. Here are just a few of the films they reference in their photos and videos:

Controversy

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There have been waves of controversy surrounding who is actually behind Gorillaz ever since the first single was released. In the half-hour TV mockumentary entitled Charts Of Darkness, it was explicitly stated that Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett were the two behind the project; quoting Albarn, "There could be fifty here, but there's two." Many fans have simply assumed that the guest artists in the liner notes (including Cibo Matto vocalist Miho Hatori and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien) complete the band. In actual fact, the only permanent member behind the music happens to be Damon Albarn. During the "hidden" credits to the DVD Phase One: Celebrity Take Down, it states the names of the creators, the voice talents and those responsible for performing live. Some are still under speculation and can be considered pseudonyms; for instance, Damon has said that he is solely responsible for 2D's speaking and singing voices, whereas Dan Left Hand is a pseudonym for Dan The Automator. All artwork and promotional videos are created by Zombie Flesh Eaters (Hewlett's own company) and Passion Pictures.

Voice Talents

Live Members

Discography

Albums and Singles

Videos

  • Tomorrow Comes Today (11/27/2000)
  • Clint Eastwood (03/05/2001)
  • 19-2000 (06/25/2001)
  • Rock The House (10/22/2001)
  • 911 (CM-size edit) (12/07/2001)
  • Lil' Dub Chefin' (M1 A1) (07/22/2002)
  • Rock It (12/08/2004)

External Links