Damon Albarn has been “incredibly busy making music”, reveals “new Gorillaz record is in four languages”
Damon Albarn has revealed he’s been “incredibly busy making music” – and said the “new Gorillaz record is in four languages”.
The Gorillaz frontman told The Sun he has been hard at work since the return of Blur, telling the publication “there was so much going on” following their reunion. “I was doing an opera in Paris and starting on the new Gorillaz record,” he added. “It’s been crazy, it really has. But the world’s gone crazy so it doesn’t seem in any way strange.”
He went on to say that “I’ve been incredibly busy making music — it’s what I love to do”, continuing: “I suppose I’m going to have to share some of it soon. Inevitably there will always be a dustbin bag full of stuff that needs dropping off at the recycling!”
In a separate interview with The Times, Albarn also said that the album would not arrive until 2026 – going against his remarks earlier in March that the record would land this year.
He did, however, reveal that “my new Gorillaz record is in four languages!”.
"I’ve been incredibly busy making music — it’s what I love to do — so I suppose I’m going to have to share some of it soon. Inevitably there will always be a dustbin bag full of stuff that needs dropping off at the recycling!" Damon Albarn x @TheSun
— Damon Albarn Unofficial (@DamonUnofficial) July 11, 2025
Takeway from the new Damon interview in The Times: "My new Gorillaz record is in four languages!" (and, "Apart from a few live dates later this summer, Albarn’s cartoon behemoth will not return until next year.")
— Damon Albarn Unofficial (@DamonUnofficial) July 13, 2025
In the same Sun interview, Albarn said he was “happy to concede defeat” in the legendary Britpop rivalry between Oasis and Blur.
The two bands famously went head-to-head in the 1990s, culminating in a mighty chart battle which saw Blur’s 1995 single ‘Country House’ outsell Oasis’ ‘Roll With It’ when both were released on the same day.
However, with Oasis underway on their giant reunion tour, Albarn told the publication that “Oasis won the battle, the war, the campaign, everything”, adding: “well, it was obvious, wasn’t it?”
He continued: “They are the winners. They take first place. In the face of such overwhelming evidence, I am happy to accept and concede defeat. It’s their summer and God bless them. I hope everyone has a wonderful time but I’m going to be in a very, very different place.”
Albarn also told a separate publication that he was “prophetic” in predicting the band’s reunion, saying: “Well, you can’t think that two brothers can’t reconcile, sooner or later. It’s a good thing, the way I see it.”
Meanwhile, in the same Times interview, Albarn shared his aims of working with musicians “in Palestine and Israel” amid the war, describing the way Bob Vylan addressed the conflict in their Glastonbury set “a spectacular misfire”.
The rap-punk duo led chants of “death, death to the IDF” during their Glastonbury set, resulting in huge backlash and them being dropped from multiple gigs.
“It was one of the most spectacular misfires I’ve seen in my life,” Albarn said. “Especially when he started to goose-step in tennis gear. I mean I’ve had my moments — not quite as catastrophic as that but you do get carried away. The old testosterone gets you going. But it’s unfortunate. Everyone’s just so hysterical.”
Meanwhile, Gorillaz are set to play a series of one-off shows, where they’ll play their iconic albums in full.
The gigs will be held between August 29 and September 3 at the Copper Box Arena in London, and will coincide with the closing week of their House of Kong exhibition at the venue.
Albarn will perform on stage with the full Gorillaz live band, with visuals by co-founder and artist Jamie Hewlett. Each record will be played in full, from beginning to end, in a limited-capacity setting.
There will also be a “mystery show” held on September 3 – no details on this gig have been given so far.
Tickets are on sale now – visit here for tickets.
The post Damon Albarn has been “incredibly busy making music”, reveals “new Gorillaz record is in four languages” appeared first on NME.
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