Gorillaz Biography
Conceived as the first "virtual hip-hop group," Gorillaz
blended 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, which 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 Clint
Eastwood single; their self-titled full-length debut arrived in spring 2001.
Gorillaz
was a massive worldwide success and achieved platinum-level sales in the U.S.
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 went on hiatus as Albarn
resumed work with Blur
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's
Black
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. Heather Phares, All
Music Guide