Gorillaz, Blur singer Damon Albarn speaks on new single Momentary Bliss, collaboration with Slowthai and Brexit
English lead vocalist of the rock band 'Blur' and virtual band 'Gorillaz', Damon Albarn, recently got talking with 'Hanuman Welch' of Apple Music's weekly show 'ALT CTRL' on Gorillaz's latest song 'Momentary Bliss', according to Rolling Stone
The song features a verse from U.K. rapper 'Slowthai' and some instrumental contributions from the punk band 'Slaves'. It was released on January 30, as the first episode on the 'Slow Machine' video series on YouTube which features a new song along with new featured guest artists, in every episode.
Albarn spoke on the bond he and Slowthai have, calling him a "kindred spirit" and saying, “You need to work with kindred spirits, people who are really in the same pocket as you are, about worldview and emotion". He adds, "That’s something where you have to kind of go on instinct, because you can listen to people’s music and be an admirer from afar, but until you’re actually in the room with each other, you really know whether there’s gonna be any kind of connection.”
The video shows in-studio jam sessions with Albarn, Slaves and some absurd interminglings of animations in the real world and of course the Gorillaz's famous cartoon characters playing instruments and mucking about.
Slowthai has had a fair share of nominations so far, and in 2020, it has been nominated as many as eight times for NME Awards which include Best British Album, Best Album In The World and Best British Song.
According to NME, Albarn has teased, that a future 'Slow Machine' episode may feature the psychedelic rock band 'Tame Impala'. He also revealed that he has six episodes of the video series taped so far.
Additionally, Albarn has shared his views on the recent political affairs in Britain, particularly in light of Brexit's finalization over the weekend. He expressed how Gorillaz has been using their music to combat political conservatism, saying, “We’ve been raging against [Brexit] for three years, and in the end, it was such an emphatic vote to leave that there’s an element of betrayal and disappointment and sadness”, adding, “But we all just have to move on from it”.
You can watch 'Momentary Bliss' here.
