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Damon Albarn has given his verdict on the best Gorillaz song and their most underrated album as part of a new interview that looks back on the career so far of his cartoon band.
Albarn was speaking to Vulture ahead of the release on Friday (October 23) of Gorillaz’s star-studded ‘Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez’ record.
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Read more: The best Gorillaz collaborations, from Vince Staples to De La Soul (and Shaun Ryder, of course)
Asked for his pick of the best Gorillaz song, Albarn selected ‘Clint Eastwood’ and said: “I mean you don’t get more perfect than that, really. It’s just complete hybrid, weird shit.
“And, you know, it came from switching on the Suzuki Omnichord [a portable electronic instrument] and the first preset was the beat. That can only happen once: [you take an] electronic instrument and the first thing you play you use, and it becomes a massive hit.
“As a result of that, in the proceeding 20 years I’ve bought a lot of electronic instruments hoping that that eventually would happen again. I mean, maybe we just peaked early, but for me, it wasn’t peaking early because I’d already done 10 years!”
While he wouldn’t be drawn on what the best Gorillaz album is (“they’re all works in progress, really”) or their most overrated album (“there isn’t one”), Albarn did name 2010’s ‘The Fall’ as the most underrated Gorillaz LP.
“I didn’t finish it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great album. If you can just imagine the songs being finished, it would be marvellous,” he laughed.
Albarn was also asked for his verdict on “the most Blur-like Gorillaz track”, with the frontman replying that he doesn’t “feel there’s a huge amount of difference between the two”.
“‘Girls and Boys’ could have been a great Gorillaz song. ‘Song 2’, too; Gorillaz has a drum machine: I play all the instruments, that’s the bloody difference!” he laughed. “When you hear Gorillaz, it’s just basically me when it comes to the music.
“But I mean, rhythmically, it’s different because I work with [producer and Gorillaz dummer] Remi Kabaka. I never worked with Remi when I was in Blur; it’s just different. But my contribution is the same. I don’t suddenly become a different person.
“In a sense, Gorillaz is what I would have been if I hadn’t been in Blur.”
Earlier this week, the first episode of Gorillaz’s ‘Song Machine Radio’ aired on Apple Music.
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