Gorillaz is an animated musical group of the XNUMXst century, similar to The Archies, The Chipmunks and Josie & The Pussycats.
The difference between the Gorillaz band and other 1960s artists is that the Gorillaz band is made up of several established, respected musicians and one famous illustrator, Jamie Hewlett (creator of the Tank Girl comic), who assume the identity of the cartoon characters.
This virtual group surprised many by releasing an album that has sold over 6 million copies worldwide.
And also won the MTV Europe Awards and hit the top 40 in the US charts. The Gorillaz group is classified into hip-hop, dub, reggae and punk, while their ancestors were only engaged in pop music.
Hewlett developed the Gorillaz concept with Damon Albarn, singer of the popular British rock band Blur, in 2000.
For some time they had to live in the same apartment, and it was then that they realized that they had a lot in common. Without hesitation, they decided to combine their artistic and musical talents to make something interesting.
This is where the idea of bringing together the four members of the band: 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel and Noodle (Hewlett and Albarn) came up, also invented detailed biographies for each. All the musicians who participated in the project insisted that the cartoon group exist in reality.
"We're just their mentors," Gorillaz producer Dan Nakamura told RES journalist. “Gorillas have their own personalities and characteristics.
We're there just to make sure everything goes well and Jamie's art gives a bigger picture of who they are."
What's more, the visual elements of the Gorillaz band are crucial to their overall appeal. Their website and video clips show Hewlett-style Japanese animation produced at his London-based Zombie Studio.
Instead of showing visitors the usual band information, the band's official website immersed them in the Gorillaz band environment and provided interactivity.
Instead of showing visitors the usual band information, the band's official website immersed them in the Gorillaz band environment and provided interactivity.
As he told Rolling Stone's Steve Baltin, "There's not much attention to celebrity. The people who work for Gorillaz are there because they love the idea and the idea of experimenting in the mainstream."
WHO IS BEHIND THE GORILLAZ?
They are Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett who formed the band in April 1998. They originally identified under the name Gorilla and the first song they recorded was Ghost Train (1999), later released as the B-side to their single Rock the House and G-Sides.
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The band's first album was Tomorrow Comes Today, released in 2000. It was very well received in the UK underground music scene and caused a lot of "word of mouth" publicity as well as a big mystery as to who is behind these guys.
Promoters distributed promotional pamphlets to develop the cartoon group's fictional backstory.
Previously, their official website was a virtual representation of Kong Studios, the fictional studio and home of the band. Inside, you could even view each member's bedroom, their recording environment, and even hallways and bathrooms.
Each room also featured bonus surprises and games, such as a remix machine in the lobby, and a cafeteria with a bulletin board on the wall.
Each member also had their own computer, which contained pictures, samples used in various Gorillaz songs, their favorite websites, and their mailboxes.
Due to the nature of the site, an official fan site was created: fan.gorillaz.com to host standard information about the band's site, including news, discography, and the band's touring schedule. Unfortunately, there is no such thing now. Now only their main tracks, tours and basic information are here.
DIFFICULT, BUT IT'S WORTH IT!
The band's first single, Clint Eastwood, was released on March 5, 2001. It became a real hit and put the Gorillaz in the spotlight. Because of this, many letters were sent to employees of the fictitious Hotmail group, and then the service was hacked. By the way, incoming mailboxes on the site have not been updated.
Later that month, their self-titled first full-length album Gorillaz was released, with four singles: Clint Eastwood, "19-2000", Tomorrow Comes Today and Rock the House.
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Each video for the singles contained humorous and funny storylines and imagery. Clint Eastwood and "19-2000" were the only singles to break into the American music scene. "19-2000" became popular after being featured in an Icebreakers commercial and also in EA Sports' FIFA 2001.
You can also hear the rhythms from Rock the House on various MTV shows.
The end of 2001 brought the song "911", a collaboration between Gorillaz and rap artists D12 (minus Eminem) and Terry Hall about the September 11, 2001 attacks. Meanwhile, G-Sides, a compilation of b-sides from the first three singles, was released in Japan and soon followed with international releases in early 2002.
The new year also kicked off with performances at the 2002 BRIT Awards. The show featured 3D animation that broadcast the members on four large screens along with rap accompaniment from Phi Life Cypher.
And in June 2002, the album Laika Come Home was released, containing most of the tracks from the Gorillaz album, reworked by the Spacemonkeyz group. The Lil' Dub Chefin' single contained an original Spacemonkeyz track called Theme Spacemonkeyz.
THEY WERE NOT CREATED FOR AWARDS
While the musical abilities of the Gorillaz cartoon characters remained debatable, the abilities of the real musicians playing behind them were undeniable.
Albarn's of Blur has been a British pop idol since the 1990s. With the talent of such participants, the debut of the same name could not but be interesting. The 15-track content has a light, fresh vibe that clubgoers, radio programs and MTV viewers love.
The band has a knack for writing catchy melodies and coming up with simple yet effective lyrics that are usually immediately memorable. The meanings of hip-hop are very obvious, but many songs also have slightly off-the-wall dub-reggae rhythms and reverb effects.
With its hopeless, screaming, quasi-reggae rhythm and mournful melodic riff, Clint Eastwood was one of the most unexpected hits of the decade.
Albarn sings, and Del sharply raps. They contrast with each other. Barry Walters, when interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine, once remarked, "Gorillaz is kind of unique music + amazing animation show... which is a playful slice of the pop art genre in its own right."
The Gorillaz were nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Awards in the UK, but Hewlett and Albarn turned it down in a media snub.
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INEVITABLE DVD
As you would expect from a band so dependent on visual effects, it released a 2002-disc DVD in 2003 in the UK and XNUMX in the US called Phase One: Celebrity Take Down.
With videos like Clint Eastwood, "19-2000", Tomorrow Comes Today, Rock the House and "5/4", Phase One also offered live visual shows, 2D interviews, Charts of Darkness documentary + bonus CD -ROM with screensavers and much more.
Discussing Phase One at Pitchfork Media, Rob Mitchum commented, “Hewlett fills the DVD with all sorts of interesting jumbles and details. However, his conclusion is negative: “The message that I wanted to convey with the DVD is that, surprisingly, the concept part of Gorillaz is far behind the music; despite all the details, there is not much character in the characters."
The Gorillaz also planned to produce a TV special, a feature film, and another album; a collaboration with the Powerpuff Girls from Cartoon Network could also be. “We don't have long term plans for Gorillaz. They're just there, they're not going anywhere with us," Albarn told Hugh Porter.
