\n<\/p>\n
\n\t \n\tThey made this album in the wake of some major personal losses and a pivotal trip to India that filled them with new ideas for animated characters Russel (drums), Murdoc (bass), Noodle (guitar), and 2-D (vocals). As they went through their vaults, the track list grew to include an remarkable array of posthumous contributors \u2014 Afrobeat icon Tony Allen<\/a>, soul great Bobby Womack<\/a>, rap trendsetter Dave Jolicoeur<\/a> of De La Soul<\/a>, post-punk barker Mark E. Smith<\/a> of the Fall, and more\u00a0\u2014 taking their place alongside living legends like 92-year-old playback singer Asha Bhosle, 23-year-old Argentinean rapper Trueno<\/a>, and the Roots\u2019 Black Thought<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tIn the end, The Mountain<\/em> stands as the most rewarding and substantive Gorillaz album in more than a decade. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of the next one after Plastic Beach<\/em>, really,\u201d Albarn says, referencing the acclaimed 2010 release that brought together Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, and half of the Clash. \u201cIt\u2019s an entire world itself.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tLater this month, on Feb. 22 and 23, they\u2019ll bring that world to life at a pair of special shows at the Hollywood Palladium, performing The Mountain<\/em> in full. Just a few days later, on Feb. 26, they\u2019ll bring their immersive House of Kong<\/a> exhibition to L.A. after a successful London run. (They hint that there may be more U.S. Gorillaz shows coming this fall.) Albarn is also composing a score and songs for Artificial<\/em>, director Luca Guadagnino\u2019s upcoming comedy-drama film about the rise of AI technology. \u201cI get to put music under Elon Musk,\u201d he says, before humming the Imperial March theme from Star Wars<\/em> and laughing.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tT<\/span>
\n\t\t<\/span>he first voice you hear on Gorillaz<\/a>\u2019s ninth studio album, The Mountain<\/em>, belongs to Dennis Hopper<\/a>, talking softly over a buoyant rush of Indian instrumentation. Close listeners will recognize the late actor\u2019s vocals as an outtake from the long-running cartoon band\u2019s 2005 masterpiece, Demon Days<\/em>. \u201cI just thought, if we\u2019re going to talk about the subject of death, I need some people who are dead to help me talk about it,\u201d says Damon Albarn<\/a>, sitting beside visual collaborator Jamie Hewlett<\/a> on a Zoom call from southwest England. \u201cSomehow they know more about it than me.\u201d<\/p>\n