Gorillaz

Gorillaz is the name of a British music group, consisting of the four cartoon characters 2D (lead vocals and keyboards ), Murdoc Niccals (bass ), Noodle ( lead guitar and background vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion).

The band was created in 1998 by Damon Albarn, the lead singer of the British band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett, the artist and co-author of the comic Tank Girl. It is not represented by a circle of real people, rather Albarn and Hewlett cooperate with a changing group of musicians and producers, so there is about the individual band members no real alter ego. The cartoon characters are provided with characteristics and detailed biographies, although unlike many other " fictional " music groups (such as Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Archies ) did not originally have been the subject of a comic book, an animated TV series, or the like.

Released in spring 2001 debut album Gorillaz sold over seven million copies and earned the band a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the " most successful virtual band". Published in mid-2005 with the second album, Demon Days, Gorillaz reached the top position on the British charts in Germany in second place and the sixth in the United States. It sold up to 2006 over six million copies worldwide and won a Grammy Award. In the spring of 2010, the band with their third studio album Plastic Beach ago. The end of 2010 followed by The Fall the fourth studio album.

  • 2.1 Studio albums

History

Formation

Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett came up with the idea to create a virtual pop band, when she in her London apartment community watched music television in 1998. They were angry about it together, that the artist had become interchangeable on MTV. Hewlett described the time in an interview later:

" ... If you watch MTV for too long, it's a bit like hell - there 's nothing of substance there. So we got this idea for a cartoon band, 's something that would be a comment on that. "

" ... To look too long MTV is a bit like hell - there's nothing with substance. So we had this idea of a cartoon band, something that would be a commentary on it. "

The group should then serve all the usual clichés. They put together from four stereotypes that brought Hewlett as cartoon characters on paper: a punk as a bandleader (2D ), an old rocker on bass ( Murdoc ), a funky Asian girl on guitar ( Noodle ) and a good-natured giant on drums (Russell ). Albarn and Hewlett identify additional potential in the spun ribbon: you may wish to change the genre and to work with a variety of guest musicians. For detailed biographies of the band members were drafted and presented on the website of the band, even before the first music published.

The first song, collected by the Gorillaz Ghost Train was. It was later released as a B- side of the single Rock the House and on the compilation G -Sides. The first musicians behind Gorillaz were Albarn, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and Dan the Automator; The three had previously worked together on Deltron 3030 the song Time Keeps on Slipping.

Phase One: Celebrity Take Down

The first release of the Gorillaz was the EP Tomorrow Comes Today in the year 2000. 's First single, Clint Eastwood, came on 5 March 2001 in the stores. That same month, followed by the first album, which bears the name of the band. From this, the singles 19-2000, Tomorrow Comes Today and Rock the House were next to Clint Eastwood, which was used in the same year in the commercial of the Opel Zafira, decoupled. On the debut album can be heard Miho Hatori, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Tina Weymouth and Ibrahim Ferrer. It gave the Gorillaz quick commercial success. In the U.S., it reached more than one million albums sold platinum status, over seven million copies were sold worldwide. In the Guinness Book of World Records Gorillaz were then entered as the " most successful virtual band". End of 2001, the song 911, a collaboration with the rap formation D12 (without Eminem ) and singer Terry Hall about the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. Appeared The B-side compilation G -Sides was released on 12 December 2001, first in Japan and early 2002 internationally.

On 20 February 2002, the Gorillaz have occurred in the presentation of the BRIT Awards. They were shown as three-dimensional animation on four large screens and accompanied on stage by rapper Phi Life Cypher. The band was nominated for six of the awards, including best in the categories British Group, Best British Album and Best British Newcomer, but left the event empty-handed.

In June 2002, the remix album Laika Come Home was released with new editions of works by Gorillaz Spacemonkeyz. The follow-up single Lil ' Dub boss ' contained a Spacemonkeyz - piece titled Spacemonkeyz Theme. Celebrity Take Down a compilation of materials related to the first album, such as storyboards and animatics on the market, to the music videos of the previous five singles: In November the DVD Phase One came.

Phase Two: Slowboat to Hades

The end of 2004 announced the Gorillaz on their website a new album and revealed in advance the video for the song Rock It online. A talent contest entitled Search for a Star presented to the winner of a collaboration with Gorillaz in view. Under the name Reject False Icons a viral marketing project was launched, which criticized the iconisation in pop culture. The first single from the new album was Feel Good Inc. released in Japan as an EP, as a single CD in Europe, America and Australia. In Britain, the homeland of the Gorillaz, the single peaked at # 2 on the singles chart in Germany it reached number 8 in the U.S., number 14 She was for a Grammy Award in 2006 in three categories, including single of the year, nominated and won the prize in the category Best collaboration with vocals - Pop.

The album Demon Days, produced by DJ Danger Mouse, came in May 2005 on the market. Musical support comes from De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley -Bird, Roots Manuva, MF DOOM, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder and Dennis Hopper the London Community Gospel Choir and the Children's Choir of San Fernandez. In the UK, the album was already in the first week after publication of the best-selling album in Germany it peaked at rank 2 and rank in the U.S. on 8 Until 2006 it sold worldwide over six million times. As more singles Dare, Dirty Harry and Kids with Guns / El Mañana were released, all of which reached the charts in Germany and the UK.

On 3 November 2005, the Gorillaz came at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2005 live on. By using the Musion Eyeliner system were projected onto the stage three-dimensional computer-generated holograms of the band members. It was the first time ever that holograms appeared on a stage. Also as holograms opened the Gorillaz the show for the award of the 2006 Grammy Awards on February 8, 2006. Along with De La Soul and Madonna, they played a medley of Madonna's hit Feel Good Inc. and Hung up The holograms and the artists were from flesh and blood together on stage. For 2007-2008 a hologram live tour of Gorillaz was planned. The project was rejected due to technical difficulties and because of the high costs.

In October 2006 the DVD Phase Two were: published Slowboat to Hades and shortly after the official biography Rise of the Ogre. Slowboat to Hades is, along the lines of previous DVD Celebrity Take Down, materials for album Demon Days and the singles taken from it, but also contains records of the performances at the MTV Europe Music Awards and the Grammys. Rise of the Ogre is about 300 richly illustrated pages before the CVs of the four band members 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel. In February 2008, the documentary film Bananaz was shown at the Berlin Film Festival for the first time. It highlights both the fictional characters and real people who stand behind it.

Phase Three: Escape to Plastic Beach

Over longer time worked Damon and Hewlett on a new Gorillaz project under the working title Carousel, was defined without that, what form should it take. Angedacht were narrative film and stage forms, ultimately evolved from Plastic Beach, the third studio album by the Gorillaz. It was published in March 2010, almost five years after Demon Days; advance was the single Stylo published in January 2010. On the album a number of well-known artists are represented with Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, De La Soul, Bobby Womack, Mark E. Smith of The Fall, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, and Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of The Clash again. Plastic Beach each reached number 2 in the UK and U.S. and # 3 in the German charts (April 2010). On 5 October 2010, the band unveiled their latest song Doncamatic online in advance, which was published on 22 November in the UK and soon in Germany.

The fourth album, The Fall, was recorded in a time of 32 days during the Gorillaz North American Tour 2010 and presented on December 25, 2010. The individual titles of The Fall are devoted cities of the tour, in which they were taken. It is not in the recordings to live recordings, but securities that are ( as the picture on the cover shows ) were recorded mainly in hotel rooms. First, it was members of the official fan club Sub Division available as a free download from the other hand it could also be without pay, be listened to online. On 15 April 2011, it then appeared as a regular album by the band commercially. For the first time created a Gorillaz album made ​​it into the Top 10 on the British charts, which, according to Damon Albarn is no wonder, since you have The Fall four months offered as a free download. The idea, as Albarn, had been entirely different. So they would in the summer of 2011, an iPad app - based on the Korg iElectribe - bring to the market with loops and samples from the fourth album, so every user can thus create his own version of the song. The project 'm so Albarn, headed by the Gorillaz sound engineer Stephen Sedgwick, and Korg the company.

Discography

→ Main article: Gorillaz / Discography

Studio albums

Filmography

TV appearances

  • 2005: MTV Europe Music Awards: Feel Good Inc. (Live with De La Soul )
  • 2005: MTV Cribs: Gorillaz
  • 2006: Grammy Award: Feel Good Inc. & Hung Up (Live with Madonna)
  • 2006: Brit Awards: Dirty Harry (Live with Bootie Brown)
  • 2006: MTV The Essential: Gorillaz

Film

  • 2009: Bananaz ( film by Ceri Levy )

Awards

For her work Gorillaz including a Grammy in 2006, in which the song Feel Good Inc. was awarded the Grammy for best vocal pop collaboration were honored with various awards. In four other categories, the Gorillaz were also nominated in the year. In 2011, there were two nominations, but no price has been obtained.

At the GQ Awards of the magazine of the same Gorillaz were nominated in 2010 as a band of the year and this award could also win.

At the MTV Video Music Awards, the band won the 2005 with the video for Feel Good Inc. in the categories of Best Special Effects and Best experiment. In 2001, there were three more, in 2010 a further nomination. At the European offshoot, the MTV Europe Music Awards the previous three awards were won in 14 nominations. Two Awards 2001 ( Best Dances for the band as well as Best Song for Clint Eastwood ) and in 2005 ( Best Group ) were obtained.

In the NME Awards to date a premium was obtained as 2006, the price for innovation was recovered. Four times (once in 2006 and three times in 2011 ) the band went away empty-handed.

Three out of six nominations led at the Q Awards to awards. 2001 the band won the award for best video with Clint Eastwood and Dan Nakamura was nominated as Best Producer. 2005, prices were obtained in two nominated categories, both in the category Best Video (with Feel Good Inc.), and the Gorillaz and Danger Mouse as the best producer. 2010, there were indeed two more nominations, but neither in the category of Best Album ( for Plastic Beach ) yet in the area of ​​Best Video ( for Stylo ) a price could be obtained.

Less fortunate was the band at the BRIT Awards. With nine nominations not only awards could be won. In 2002 the band six times, twice in 2006 and 2011, a time was nominated.

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