Gorillaz are a British virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. The band primarily consists of four animated members: Stuart \"2-D\" Pot, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs. Their fictional universe is presented in music videos, interviews and short cartoons. In reality, Albarn is the only permanent musical contributor, and he often collaborates with other musicians. Remi Kabaka Jr. became producer for the band in 2016 after several years providing the voice of Russel Hobbs and was listed as an A&R producer alongside Albarn and Hewlett in the 2019 Gorillaz documentary Gorillaz: Reject False Icons.[1]
With Gorillaz, Albarn departed from the distinct Britpop of his band Blur through hip hop, electronic music, and world music through an \"eccentrically postmodern\" approach.[2] The band's 2001 debut album Gorillaz went triple platinum in the UK and double platinum in Europe and earned the group an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band.[3] It was nominated for the Mercury Prize, but the nomination was withdrawn at the band's request.[4] Their second studio album, Demon Days (2005), went 6 times platinum in the UK[5] and double platinum in the US.[6][7][8]
The third album, Plastic Beach, was released on March 3, 2010. Their fourth, The Fall, was released on December 25 the same year, as a surprise gift for paying fan club members, then officially released on April 18, 2011. The fifth, Humanz, was released after a 6-year hiatus on April 28, 2017.[9] Their sixth, The Now Now, was released on June 29, 2018. Gorillaz are currently working on a project named Song Machine which releases new songs every month.[10]
