Gorillaz have dropped two new singles, ‘The Hardest Thing’ and ‘Orange County’, which feature collaborations from Bizarrap, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar. Check it out below.
They are the latest singles to be shared from their forthcoming album, ‘The Mountain’, which is set for release on February 27. Like all the songs on the tracklist, both were given a live preview by Gorillaz at their phone-free ‘House Of Kong’ mystery show in London back in September.
On the album, ‘Orange County’ is paired with a companion track, ‘The Hardest Thing’. That song opens with the voice of longtime collaborator and friend, drummer Tony Allen, who passed away in 2020.
Both tackle themes of grief and hope, like much of the album, although ‘Orange County’ has more of an uplifting, optimistic approach.
It sees Damon Albarn joined by songwriter and former U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate Kara Jackson on vocals, and by 14-time Grammy-nominated sitar player Anoushka Shankar.
Jackson co-wrote the song with Albarn, as did four-time Latin Grammy-winning Argentine artist, producer and musical innovator Bizarrap.
“You know the hardest thing is to say goodbye/To someone you love/That’s the hardest thing,” 2D (Albarn) sings in a melancholic tone, backed by simple, cheerful instrumentals. “Every face you forgot/ Father’s jaw/ They suspend the clock/ Another start/ Get another chance to love,” Jackson continues. Check both out below.
The new singles are the fifth and sixth to be shared so far from ‘The Mountain’, following on from ‘The God Of Lying’ (featuring Idles), ‘The Happy Dictator’ (feat. Sparks), ‘The Manifesto’ with Trueno and late D12 member Proof, and ‘Damascus’.
The latter features Syrian superstar of Bedouin music Omar Souleyman and rapper/singer Yasiin Bey (FKA Mos Def), and was also given a live preview at the huge Together For Palestine charity gig at Wembley Arena, organised by Brian Eno last year.
Other artists who have joined Albarn and Jamie Hewett for the record include Black Thought, Asha Puthli, Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Paul Simonon, Johnny Marr, The London Arab Orchestra, Demon Strings, Chris Storr, James Copus and Matthew Gunner.
As well as Tony Allen, other now-deceased acts to feature include Dennis Hopper, Bobby Womack, De La Soul‘s Dave Jolicoeur, and the late Mark E Smith of The Fall. They are billed as ‘Voices from Elsewhere’.
In March, Gorillaz will head out on a UK and Ireland tour, which includes a one-off headline show at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Before then, the band will also play some warm-up shows in Bradford, and go on to make stops at numerous European festivals over the summer, including Electric Picnic, Primavera Sound Barcelona and Porto, and Rock Werchter.
Last year, Albarn opened up about how the record was partly inspired after both he and Jamie Hewlett lost their fathers and went to India to cope with the grief.
“I did things I’d never done before. I swam in the Ganges in Varanasi. I watched the bodies being burnt on the banks of the Ganges. I took my dad’s ashes there and I cast them in the river. It was very beautiful.”
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