Rumours are rife that the third Gorillaz album is due for release early to mid 2010 with the working title of PLASTIC BEACH.
This is exciting news not just for the millions of fans who buy the CDs for the music but for people like me who are huge fans of the artwork, videos, storylines and assorted ephemera that has accompanied the last two albums.
Gorillaz have become a world wide smash and the most popular cartoon/virtual band in the world but it’s Jamie Hewlett and his company Zombie Flesh Eaters that have brought the whole project alive.
There was talk during 2007-08 that there was to be no more Gorillaz because Hewlett expressed annoyance at having to draw the band members again, He was quoted as saying: "I'm so fucking bored of drawing those characters. But then we had a moment where we had a new angle on it... I'm gonna adapt them.” In a later interview Hewlett said, "they'll be the same characters, but a little bit older and told in a different way."
Thank goodness for that I say.
The visuals and characters are what make Gorillaz for me,
Gorillaz as a concept has never replied on the music as a guide to the storylines and character development and work independent to the songs.
Each of the singles' videos contained humorous and often ridiculous storylines and imagery
The videos will often only have a vague reference to the song being featured while creating a new direction or help show of one of the group members personality traits.
The first albums videos Tomorrow Comes Today, Clint Eastwood. 19-2000 and Rock the House were exceptional pieces of art that made the band staples on MTV who were a perfect vehicle for a carton band.
This also made it possible for the band to be represented through interviews and Gorilla Bytes short 1 minute long vignettes that gave a humorous look at how the band members interacted with each other and give more glimpses into their personalities.
Artistically the Gorillaz never stood still.
With each video came new and bolder (and expensive) clips and when the band started to win awards they were actually able to play live thanks to Holographic technology and equipment.
From the very start Gorillaz embraced the web as way to communicate with it’s fans and promote itself.
The home of Gorillaz it’s web site has made it unnecessary to have a television show like the Monkees, The Archies, The Chimpmunks, Monk Rock and other famous cartoon bands and at the same time giving it a bigger audience.
Gorillaz.com has been voted Webby Artist of the Year: The Gorillaz, the world's most successful virtual band and a pioneer in fusing music and animation. and is heading for it 3 rd incarnation with the release of the 3rd album. The web page gives the fans a look at the hulking old house on the hill that is Kong Studios where Gorillaz live and make their music and reinvents itself with the release of each new album release or phase as they have become known.
When Gorillaz released Demon Days in 2005 It showed a more mature sound on record and a band who had discovered themselves during their hiatus.
Noodle discovered she was part of a secret experiment involving the creation of a super army involving child prodigies, Murdoch got arrested in Mexico and escaped, Russell became dispossessed and discovered a love of taxidermy while 2D regained some self esteem by returning home and working at the family run Fun Fair.
Introduced during this phase was the floating island with the lighthouse which for a while was tethered outside Kong studios.
Of course the quality of the videos skyrocketed with Feel Good Inc, El Mañana , Dare and Dirty Harry bring movie style animation to the video shows.
Phase two finished with Noodle disappearing during the filming of the El Mañana" video when the floating island was shot down by two armored helicopters.
Both albums (phases ) have been wonderfully chronicled in two DVD's
Celebrity Take Down and Slow boat to Hades.The excellent book Rise of the Ogre catalogues the history of Gorillaz up to this point but leaves the storyline open for more craziness to follow in phase three – which caused a major meld down of fans when it was mooted during 2008 that Gorillaz may not return because creators Hewlett and Damon Albarn were growing weary of the concept.
