Gorillaz (2001)
Gorillaz is a 2001 alternative hip hop album by Gorillaz.
Gorillaz began as a cartoon: four animated characters fronting a very real record made by Blur's Damon Albarn and producer Dan the Automator. Their debut album fuses trip-hop, dub, hip-hop and pop into a loose, sun-faded groove, recorded partly in Jamaica and stitched together with guest voices like Del the Funky Homosapien and Cuban legend Ibrahim Ferrer. The single Clint Eastwood, with its lazy melodica hook, made the whole strange project click. Melancholy, catchy, and genre-blind, it turned a joke about manufactured pop into one of the era's most distinctive debuts.
Quick answers
What is Gorillaz about?
Gorillaz began as a cartoon: four animated characters fronting a very real record made by Blur's Damon Albarn and producer Dan the Automator. Their debut album fuses trip-hop, dub, hip-hop and pop into a loose, sun-faded groove, recorded partly in Jamaica and stitched together with guest voices like Del the Funky Homosapien and Cuban legend Ibrahim Ferrer. The single Clint Eastwood, with its lazy melodica hook, made the whole strange project click. Melancholy, catchy, and genre-blind, it turned a joke about manufactured pop into one of the era's most distinctive debuts.
When was Gorillaz released?
Gorillaz was released in 2001.
Who made Gorillaz?
Gorillaz is by Gorillaz.
Similar albums
Explore Gorillaz guides
A few thoughts on Gorillaz
That cartoon-band conceit connects to the anime-music worlds of Interstella 5555, Daft Punk's animated film, while the woozy trip-hop DNA runs back to Massive Attack's Mezzanine. For the same playful genre-hopping in game form, try the rhythm-soaked skate world of Jet Set Radio, all attitude and beats.
Genre-blind trip-hop and moody art-pop
Gorillaz turned a cartoon gimmick into a sun-faded fusion of trip-hop, dub and hip-hop. These are its neighbors on the shelf, the moody electronic and art-pop landmarks that share its restless, genre-blind ear, from the band's own follow-up to the records that first shaped the sound.