Gorillaz

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by yaizaci01

by yaizaci01

Gorillaz are an English virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The band consists of four animated members: 2D (lead vocals, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboard, and backing vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). These members are completely fictional and are not personas of any "real life" musicians involved in the project. Their fictional universe is explored through the band's website and music videos, as well as a number of other media, such as short cartoons. The music is a collaboration between various musicians, with Albarn being the only permanent musical contributor. Writers and critics have described their music as alternative rock, Britpop, trip hop, hip hop, electronica, indie, dub, reggae and pop.

Years Active: 1998-present

Members: Non-Virtual: Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett; Virtual: 2D, Russel Hobbs, Murdoc Niccals and Noodle

Albums: Gorillaz (2001), Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), The Fall (2010)

Story: Okay, the Gorillaz story is fucking amazing. It's so amazing they managed to write a freaking book. It's called Rise Of The Ogre and I really recommend it to you. It's amazing. 10/10, I enjoyed it.

They don't pay enough to do this. Meh.

Update: Okay so.... I found this and wanted to add it to the story.

Conceived as the first "virtual hip-hop group," Gorillazblended the musical talents of Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, Blur's Damon Albarn, Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori, and Tom Tom Club's Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz with the arresting visuals of Jamie Hewlett, best known as the creator of the cult comic Tank Girl.Nakamura's Deltron 3030 cohorts Kid Koala and Del tha Funkee Homosapien rounded out the creative team behind the Gorillaz quartet, whose virtual members included 2-D, the cute but spacy singer/keyboardist; Murdoc, the spooky, possibly Satanic bassist and the brains behind the group; Russel, a drummer equally inspired by "Farrakhan and Chaka Khan" and possessed by "funkyphantoms" that occasionally rise up and provide some zombie-style rapping; and last but not least, Noodle, a ten-year-old Japanese guitar virtuosa and martial arts master. The group's website, www.gorillaz.com, showcased Hewlett's visuals and the group's music in eye- and ear-catching detail.

Gorillaz debuted in late 2000 with the Tomorrow Comes Today EP, which they followed early the next year with the popular Clint Eastwood single. A self-titled, full-length debut album arrived in spring 2001. Gorillaz was a massive worldwide success and achieved platinum-level sales in the U.S.; worldwide, it sold over seven million copies. The group's Svengalis were quick to capitalize, and released the B-sides collection G-Sides, the Phase One: Celebrity Takedown DVD, and the dub-inspired remix album Laika Come Home in 2002. The project soon went on hiatus, however, as Albarn resumed work withBlur for their seventh album, 2003's Think Tank.

When he was ready to begin the next Gorillaz album,Albarn turned to Danger Mouse (the DJ behind The Grey Album, the infamous mash-up of the Beatles'White Album and Jay-Z'sBlack Album) and a host of other collaborators, including De La Soul, Shaun Ryder, Debbie Harry,Dennis Hopper, and Martina Topley-Bird. Although Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Nakamura did not return, 2-D, Russel, Murdoc, and Noodle were all present and accounted for on Demon Days, another Top Ten hit, which arrived in spring 2005. The album went double platinum in America and enjoyed even more success in the U.K.; it also received a host of Grammy nominations, a sign that the band had secured critical as well as commercial approval.

Gorillaz broke ground for a new album in 2007, but the project wasn't released until 2010, when Plastic Beachmarked the band's third studio effort. Greeted to generally positive reviews,Plastic Beach received more attention for its tour, as ex-Clash members Paul Simonon and Mick Jones were both part of Gorillaz. During that tour, Albarn recorded a new Gorillaz album called The Fall on his iPad. Initially digitally released to fan club members on Christmas Day 2010, The Fall saw a wide official release in the spring of 2011.

Songs I recommend you: "The Dare" , "Kids With Guns" and "Clint Eastwood."

Curiosities:

Ever wonder why Hewlett and Albarn called their project Gorillaz? Both artists were born in 1968, which is the year of the Monkey, which led to the name.

In case you didn't pick this up already, both Hewlett and Albarn are big fans of Chinese theater. A few years ago, they adapted one of China's most beloved tales into a Cirque du Soleil-type of opera called Monkey: Journey to the West. The project features music by Damon Albarn and designs by Hewlett.

In 2008 Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett were hired to produce one for theBeijing Olympics-one of the coolest commercial we've seen for the Olympics so far.

Aside from appearing in the Guinness Book of World Records under "Most Successful Virtual Band," the band recently broke another record for the most views on YouTube after the release of their newest music video, "Stylo," featuring Bruce Willis. The video earned 900,000 views in the first 24 hours.

Celebrities can make the most outrageous requests on their rider while on tour. From clean socks and underwear, a giant bowl of M&M's to "Diamante-studded bananas" (what else would a member of Gorillaz eat? ಠ_ಠ )

Albarn is the frontman for the British rock group Blur. Hewlett draws comic books. He is most famous for Tank Girl, which was made into a movie starring rapper Ice-T and Stooges frontman Iggy Pop. Nakamura specializes in fantasy hip-hop, coming from the underground group Deltron 3030, which put its members into the year 3030, traveling the galaxy.

On its first album, Gorillaz featured the musicianship of Tom Tom Club/Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz, Deltron 3030 rappers Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and Kid Koala, Buena Vista Social Club singer Ibrahim Ferrer, and Cibo Matto singer Miho Hatori.

The group is a mixture of Nakamura and Albarn's music and Hewlett's animation. They designed four cartoon characters to be members of the group a la Spinal Tap. Murdoc is the devil-worshipping bass player, 2-D is the melancholy lead singer, Noodle is the 10-year-old Asian female guitarist, and Russel is the drummer/rapper.

Albarn and Hewlett were roommates. They got the idea to create this group after each ended long-term relationships. After the appropriate grieving period, they decided to make good use of their time and began work on the look and sound of their pet band.

In 2002, they went on tour. The band played behind a video screen that displayed their cartoon images. Albarn was the only member who played every show.