Gorillaz

Gorillaz is not a conventional band, but an experiment that blends music, fiction, and visual art. Behind the four animated characters — 2-D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel — lies the work of Damon Albarn, a composer who left behind the *Britpop* sound of Blur to explore rhythms ranging from *hip hop* to electronic, passing through *dub* and Latin nuances. The result doesn’t sound like a conventional project: the songs are filtered through a narrative where the visual and the sonic feed off each other, with music videos that are short films and lyrics that engage with the aesthetics of comics.

The leap to popularity came with their debut album, Gorillaz (2001), where tracks like Clint Eastwood blended *trip hop* with touches of *punk* and Latin percussion. But it was Demon Days (2005) that solidified their style: six times platinum in the UK and featuring hits like Feel Good Inc., Dare, and Dirty Harry, songs that showed how Albarn could move between genres without losing his identity. That album also marked a shift in their presentation: less mystery, more spectacles where the animated characters came to life on stage.

Hip hop Rock alternative dance Alternative rock art pop 1990s

2 Albums

32 Songs

7M Listeners/mo

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Re-Hash

Gorillaz · 2001

3:40 02

5/4

Gorillaz · 2001

2:42 03

Tomorrow Comes Today

Gorillaz · 2001

3:14 04

New Genious (Brother)

Gorillaz · 2001

3:59 05

Clint Eastwood

Gorillaz · 2001

5:43 06

Man Research (Clapper)

Gorillaz · 2001

4:32 07

Punk

Gorillaz · 2001

1:38 08

Sound Check (Gravity)

Gorillaz · 2001

4:42 09

Double Bass

Gorillaz · 2001

4:46 10

Rock the House

Gorillaz · 2001

4:11

2 album|s · 2001 — 2005

Full discography

2005 ★ Essential

Demon Days

16 song|s · Hip hop

2001 ★ Essential

Gorillaz

16 song|s · Hip hop

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More about Gorillaz

Biography

Then came albums like Plastic Beach (2010), where environmentalism seeped into the music, or The Fall, recorded on tour with an iPad as the sole instrument. In 2017, Humanz returned with unexpected collaborations, while The Now Now (2018) reduced the guest list to focus on Albarn’s voice. The Song Machine project (2020) broke the mold even further: a series of singles with self-contained videos, culminating in Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. Their latest work to date, Cracker Island (2023), refined their formula without betraying it, and The Mountain (2026) took their sound toward India, exploring melodies that no longer sound borrowed but a natural evolution.

Live performances have played with the idea of the hidden: in their early years, the real musicians played behind screens while the animated characters "performed." Over time, they abandoned the trick and took the stage with a full band, though always ensuring the spectacle didn’t overshadow the music. Among their accolades — a Grammy, multiple MTV Awards, and four European Music Awards — and nominations like those for the Brit Awards, where they won *Best British Group* in 2018, their focus isn’t on accumulating recognition but on staying in motion. Because Gorillaz isn’t a band: it’s a universe that keeps growing, where every song, every video, every tour is another piece of a puzzle that never quite finishes assembling.