Mr Softy's Balloon Race

Mr Softy's Balloon Race

"(Del The Ghost Rapper) turned to me, the look on his face I'll never forget, and then he sort of looked down, and just said, "I gotta go. I knew that sooner or later (The Grim Reaper) would come. Y'know, you can't hide from him forever". Del had taken refuge inside me since he died in the drive-by shooting. But it was now time for him to go to his proper resting place. He gave me one last hug and then that was it... they were both gone."
- Russel Hobbs

A New Orleans funeral is different from the funerals held by the rest of the world. In New Orleans, the dead are carried in a parade filled with jazz musicians that goes all around the town. People come out and join the band, and some even become dancers in the "second line" of these parades. A New Orleans funeral is a party for the dead and a celebration of their life.

"Mr Softy's Balloon Race" is a track recorded in the early stages of "Demon Days". At this point the album was called "Reject False Icons" and used ideas from the scrapped Gorillaz movie "Celebrity Harvest". This track of course, didn't make it past the demo stages and was eventually snuck into Russel's room on the band's then website, Kong Studios.

The song is a 4 track recording with a percussive drum machine loop and a primitive synthesizer riff as the song's main beat. As the song develops more synth overdubs are added giving the song a similar feel to Joy Division's final confession, "Atmosphere". Damon's lyrics seem to convey a sense of confusion, not knowing where to go ("where do we go from here? Where do we go?"). The chorus refers to a "last one" not being there anymore, so it's obvious he's mourning someone. Yet despite the song's melancholic overtones, the song feels like a party. The driving percussion, the carnival type synths, an army of Damon vocals which chant and holler to the end of the song, the song even stops and starts again which is a classic trick for an upbeat song to pull. So what could it be about? And why is this song, with it's dips into art rock, psychedelica, and very un-hip hop type electronics, spinning on Russel's turntable?

One of the storylines of the "Celebrity Harvest" movie involved Del going evil and eventually being taken away by The Grim Reaper. This song is about Del's death, and is done in the style of a traditional New Orleans style funeral. Russell spun this on his turntable in place of Gorillaz single "Rock The House", which featured the former Gorillaz member, departed ghost rapper Del. Del being such a huge part of the Gorillaz early sound, Damon made a song to send him off in the happiest way possible. It's possible this didn't make it on to "Demon Days" for being too unconventional and lo fi, but if developed more it could have fit right in as Damon would further explore this style on future Gorillaz tracks such as "On Melancholy Hill" and "Ticker Tape" (the latter also being about a funeral parade). "Mr Softy's Balloon Race" is a brilliant work that was at least deserving of being a b-side, if not an album piece.

R.I.P Del The Ghost Rapper

Mix 2

Mix 2

In 2004, the band's fantastic website, Kong Studios, re-opened much to fans' delight. Some fans searched the site for new songs as on the original site there were multiple songs by the band which you could find in full length. One of the songs that was found was on Noodle's minidisc player in her room. The song was labeled under the name "Mix 2".

"Mix 2" is a sketch of a song that was recorded during the first part of the second album's sessions, back when the title for it was "Reject False Icons". It's title is likely a reference to what was at this point Damon Albarn's biggest claim to fame, Blur's "Song 2". Due to the song's lo fi quality, it was probably recorded on Damon's 4 track recorder, which he used for demos.

The song's main instrumental beat consists of a drum machine, a funky guitar riff and some industrial type synthesizer interjections. The song also has no bass, likely because it was only a demo. The song's vocals feature Damon in one of his most "2D" type performances yet as he raps the verses in an incomprehensible falsetto and sings the chorus in an army of voices harmonizing all in falsetto as well. The lyrics aren't meant to be made out (I'm not even sure if Damon knows what he's singing on this track) it's just a fun and funky track. A synthesizer that comes in during the chorus gives the track an 80's pop R&B feel which isn't present on any other Gorillaz song in this phase (this sound will come more into play in Phase 4 though).

"Mix 2" wouldn't have fit on to the album that eventually became "Demon Days", but it would have fit right in on "Reject False Icons" which would have sounded like a cross between the sounds of Phase 1 and Phase 2 (see "RockIt" entry for more info). The catchy melody of the song might have been stuck in Damon's head, as 2D's Phase 4 song "Sleeping Powder" bears a strong resemblance to the structure of "Mix 2" (with the catchy synth melody and rap verses, I think it's even the same tempo, plus as much falsetto as a much older Damon can handle). "Mix 2" was probably a demo that Damon fell in love with and asked Jamie to sneak it into the website. Jamie probably left it in Noodle's room because it's a fun ditty, something sweet and uptempo for the youngest member to jam out to on her off time. Especially after all the stuff she goes through during this phase, but we'll get there in due time...

RockIt

RockIt

"Quite a bit of the "Demon Days" story came directly from things that were in (the unmade Gorillaz movie) "Celebrity Harvest", especially the darkness. "RockIt" has some similarities from some of these things."
- Jamie Hewlett

In 2003, Damon Albarn was touring and recording a new album with his "main" band Blur, but his mind was elsewhere. The album in question, "Think Tank", ended up sounding like a Gorillaz record minus Del and Jamie, and Damon would often spend his free time on tour writing songs for the next Gorillaz album. So in 2004, Damon had finally come back to Jamie with material that fit the movie Jamie was writing with Cass Browne. However by this point the movie was put on hold, so they decided to use some of the movie's themes in the album as well as the character's backstories during this phase. "RockIt" was one of the tracks which took a huge cue from what the movie was going to be.

Before we get into the song, the album that became "Demon Days" was recorded in three parts throughout the years of 2004 and 2005. The first part was Damon mainly making 4 track demos and taking his favorites at that moment to the studio. During this part the album was going to be "Reject False Icons". The second part of recording involved Damon evolving some more of the demos as well as making new tracks. It was during this part that the album started to evolve into the album we know it as today, changing the name of the album from it's second name, "We Are Happy Landfill", to it's final name, "Demon Days". The third and final part of recording involved getting producer Danger Mouse in to record new songs and expand upon older songs, as well as demos that Danger Mouse favored that Damon had not done much with.

"RockIt" was recorded during the first part of the studio sessions for "Demon Days", and it may have been the first track taken to 13 Studios. The song is steeped in electronica influences: from the weird & lo-fi tendencies of no wave to the delectable sounds of dance. In particular, the song bears a similarity to another song called "RockIt" made by hip hop & electronic fusion pioneer Herbie Hancock. Damon plays everything on it: the simple drum machine loop, all the crazy synths and even the groovy bass guitar riff. The vocals show Damon getting back into character as 2D, and were most likely done in one take as Damon ends up sounding more like himself than his blue haired alter ego (also you can hear Damon mess up one of his lines and laugh his way through it).

One thing that's notable about this song is that while 2D takes the lead for the most part, all four of the characters sing lines on this track. This means that this song isn't as much from the perspective of 2D as it is all four of the members. The song as well as the video expand upon the themes that would have been present in the band's movie, "Celebrity Harvest". The frequent usage of "blah blah blah" show how vapid music is these days. Nothing new is being stated, it's all the same ol thing. The people around them in the video are brain dead and consumed by the useless culture that surrounds them, spitting out meaningless catchphrases like "rock it", "collapse", "tazar yoot" as well as the dribble of "blah blah blah". These people are zombies, but not like the creatures Gorillaz have fought in the past, these people are real and they surround us everyday. As the band walks through they can't help but become one of them, 2D's song about his problem with drugs and alcohol becomes vapid and meaningless as he says "blah blah blah" more and more. But was it really his song to begin with? 2D's songs about heartbreak and drug addiction are much more personal, this sounds like it could have been written by anyone. Is this the most manufactured Damon & Jamie has ever gotten the band to sound? Does this best sum up what one of their original intentions was with the band back in the days of Phase 1? Because this has been done before, but hasn't everything been done before? What's new and original these days anyway, it's all just- BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

"RockIt" was never going to be a single, it was to be used to announce the band's comeback and spark interest for the upcoming album (similar to what the band did later with "Hallelujah Money" for "Humanz"). At the time this could have been the album's centerpiece, "Reject False Icons" being the new phrase Gorillaz were promoting as well as the album title at that point. But the album evolved into something that meant and would say so much more. "RockIt" not only gives us a taste of what the Gorillaz movie could have been, but serves as a link between the band's old style in Phase 1 and the new sound the band would develop during Phase 2.

Film Music

Film Music

"An ego is a very dangerous thing to feed..."

"Film Music" is an odd piece, it was a song Damon planned to be included in the score for the Gorillaz film that never happened and was eventually tucked away as a b-side to the re-release of "Tomorrow Comes Today" music that played during a quiz game on the band's then website, Kong Studios. The song itself is just an instrumental Damon made using only synths, a drum machine loop and a Western type guitar. The song's eery yet disjointed Western cinema vibe is similar to the works of no wave band Wall Of Voodoo. However the song isn't fully developed, it's a loop of a song that could have been, it was made only to be background for the movie and not as a main focus.

The film if it was finished would have served most likely as a proper link between the style of Gorillaz first album with the more apocalyptic and socially conscious themes on their second album, "Demon Days". It was to be called "Celebrity Harvest" and only a bit is known about the film otherwise (what is known is very contradicting and isn't really worth getting into here, stuff about Russel & 2D's different madnesses, Murdoc becoming a zombie after being attacked by his old metal band lead by Del The Ghost Rapper, the Grim Reaper comes to take Del and probably interrogate with the band while he's there; it's complicated). What can be assumed is that there would have been music, mature humor (Jamie wanted to head for something like old Monty Python movies combined with Beatles and Sex Pistols movies), apocalyptic undertones ("the world being trapped in an endless night") and a satire of the pop industry and media as we know it. Jamie Hewlett and Cass Browne did write a script and were approached by companies such as Dreamworks to make the movie. However most of the companies wanted a movie with the characters that was more kid friendly, which was exactly the opposite of what Jamie wanted. So he sat on the script until he and Damon had enough money to make it under their terms. In the mean time, Damon & Jamie decided to take a break and work on other things before they got on to the next record.

End of Phase 1

Lonely Man/Gorillaz Routine

Lonely Man (Kid Koala Mix)
Lonely Man (Kid Koala Live Studio Session)
Lonely Man (Kid Koala Live, 2017)

"Lonely Man" (better known as "Kid Koala Routine", "Gorillaz Routine", "Routine" or just plain "Untitled") was a piece Dan The Automator recorded for one of his solo albums with Kid Koala & Damon Albarn under the guise of Gorillaz. Not much is known about this track as the original version has never been released. Apparently it would have featured both Gorillaz and rapper Mos Def on it. My guess would be Damon's lines as 2D would have been the song's hook and Mos Def would have rapped verses on to the track. Kid Koala must have liked the track a lot, as he used it in some of his DJ sets and released a remix of it, making it the only version of the song the public has access to. His mix must be different from what the finished track is as Mos Def is not present on it.

The instrumental is a classic Dan The Automator beat; the melody is played on synthesizers, it's very sample heavy and it is anchored by a drum machine breakbeat. My guess would be that Damon overdubbed some instrumentation as well (probably the string synths, the organ in the background and I can make out certain parts that sound like guitars), but I can't tell you for sure as very little is known about this track. Junior Dan and Jason Cox might be on the track as well (it sounds like live drums & bass are on the track) which might be part of the reason it was originally credited to Gorillaz and not Damon Albarn. Kid Koala's mix probably adds more samples and turntable scratches than were on it originally. Another logical guess would be that his mix only loops one section, which would explain the lack of Mos Def and the heavy use of scratches and samples to occupy space.

Damon sings one line for his repeated hook: "Packin' up, you don't believe me. Packin' up, believe me it's easy. All my day, washed away. Oh, now I'm a lonely man. Movin' on..." The song seems to be about moving on ("no shit" screamed the peanut gallery from a distance) and never turning back. "Don't Look Back In Anger" as Damon's former rivals once put it. It could be about a break up (maybe another one of Damon's Justine Frischmann songs?), if you stripped the instrumental down to just the organic instrumentation, the melody bears a resemblance to Blur's original last bow, "No Distance Left To Run". Damon's vocals are heartfelt, it might be one of his greatest 2D performances, and the orchestrated feel of the beat help conveys the power that this song contains. God, I hope they will eventually release the original version of this track.

How did a track like this not make it on to one of Dan The Automator's albums? The snippet we get from Kid Koala's mix is so beautiful and astounding. It's a perfect end to the partnership of Damon Albarn, Dan The Automator and Kid Koala. This is what fans have been asking since it's sudden bootleg online and the trio have hard our prayers. At a 2017 show Kid Koala did, he debuted his remix on the public stage announcing that the finished track will show up on Dan The Automator's next studio album.

To be continued...

Don Quixote's Christmas Bonanza

Don Quixote's Christmas Bonanza

"Hail Santa"

"Don Quixote's Christmas Bonanza" is a track commissioned for a compilation made by a radio station to be rushed out for Christmas. Damon and crew recorded this during their break between the European and North American tours, when "911" was also recorded (EDIT: a terrible song that I have since removed mention of from this blog). You can tell it was rushed to be put together as the only lyrics are Damon singing "Happy Radio" in falsetto. The radio station's full name was "Happy Christmas KROQ Radio", so it's obvious that it didn't take long for Damon to come up with that for the song's only lyric.

Even when the Phase 1 Gorillaz band aren't trying, it still manages to sound cool. Junior Dan delivers a smooth dub bass line while Damon delivers some smooth piano lines, chilled out mystical synthesizers and a reverb and echo soaked guitar. However what brings the song down is the lack of effort from the crew. A drummer (either Jason Cox or Cass Browne) only plays sleigh bells and various lo fi sounding percussion in order to give this particularly non-christmas track a forced christmas feel. If Cox and/or Browne had used a drum set, the track could have had a nice Gorillaz style experimental post-punk dub reggae type thing going on. Instead the track feels as if it was made against their wills, yet somehow it still ends up being kinda good.

One thing that's worthy of noting is that on this compilation there is a parody of "Clint Eastwood" made by the Radio DJs under the name "Chillaz" to be about Frosty The Snowman. It's not good at all (in fact it's really fucking awful), but it's worth noting that this track is technically officially endorsed by the band as they are on the compilation as well. "Don Quixote's Christmas Bonanza" is a track that could have been great, but is instead forcefully re-routed into being something it's not.

The Sounder

The Sounder (Full Version)

"The Sounder" was a beat Cass Browne made backstage on the band's first tour on his laptop with Damon Albarn, bassist Junior Dan and the tour's in-house MC's, underground rap group Phi Life Cypher. Damon decided it was good enough to take to Dan The Automator and Kid Koala to make into a full fledged studio track and released it as a b-side to "Rock The House".

The song's beat is a typical hip hop beat with elements of psychedelic and Indian raga music. Cass Browne adds layers of drums to the beat including a standard drum kit, a drum machine and various pieces of Indian percussion. Damon then added an acoustic guitar riff, layers of sitars and various synthesizers. Junior Dan also added a dub bass line which doubles the synth bass Damon laid on the track giving the track a heavy bass sound. When it was taken to the studio, Kid Koala added some scratches on to it at key moments.

Damon Albarn had approached Phi Life Cypher to be on the band's first record, and they added their raps to early demos of both "Clint Eastwood" and "Starshine". Phi Life Cypher's rapping style (which in my opinion isn't that much different from the usual brag raps we get from mainstream rappers, despite their underground reputation) didn't gel well with the tracks so they weren't used. Phi Life Cypher finally got their dues paid however when Del The Funky Homosapien couldn't tour with Gorillaz due to the fact that he was touring his other project, Deltron 3030. So, Damon asked Phi Life Cypher to go on tour with them, rapping on the songs "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock The House". On "Rock The House", Phi Life Cypher used their unused verses from the "Starshine" demo as well as some new rhymes to make for a funky live version.  They decided to add these verses on to the beat Cass was making. Their raps on the track aren't anything special in my opinion, it's not a bad track, it just feels so effortless compared to the experimental Indian style beat Damon and Cass came up with. The spotlight of this track is Damon's vocals, whether it be his falsetto sung chorus or monk style chanting in the background.

The band's first tour was plagued by difficulties. In order to bring the characters to life on stage, they played behind a screen in a move inspired by one the underrated craftsmen behind Public Image Ltd. pulled at their live shows in 1981. The screen projected visuals made by Jamie and an elaborate light show was done in order to show the silhouettes of the band playing behind the screen (including Noodle's voice actress Haruka Karouda who wore Noodle's signature headset and mimed playing an electric guitar). The character's voice actors would often talk to each other as well, giving the illusion that the characters were actually behind the screen. People didn't understand the concept and griped at the lack of real stage presence (one guy even chanted "show yourselves" between songs at their first show). Also due to the short set time of only one hour and no encore, some people felt they didn't get their money's worth. When the band got to America with an improved screen set up that let you see clearly the silhouetted band members behind the screen, Junior Dan was arrested for drug charges leaving them without a bass player for the first show. The tour was ahead of it's time, now DJ's and EDM artists use screens and visuals as the main aspect of their live shows and they get admiration for it. So, "The Sounder" was a fun and simple track made by a tight yet frustrated band to get over their stress on the road. Despite my opinion, it's a track that primarily features Cass Browne, who has been an important part of Gorillaz in both the musical aspect and the aspect of the character's story, so it is still an important piece of the Gorillaz discography.

Faust

Faust

"Faust is a scholar who is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures."

"Faust", one of the b-sides to "Rock The House", is a track that is lead by Miho Hatori as Noodle. The track is a reflection on double meaning, how words can mean different things to different people. Milo Hatori and Damon Albarn as their characters Noodle and 2D, respectively, repeat the same phrase over and over again and despite the words being the same, their tones and emotions couldn't be any more different.

Due to Dan The Automator fading the track out early, the song is mainly instrumental. The vocals don't come in until about two and a half minutes in. Dan The Automator sets off a simple drum machine loop to start off the track, in the background you can hear Damon fiddling around on an acoustic guitar as if he's figuring out what to play. Quickly the guitar leaves, and in it's place we get calming synthesizers. Everything about this track is synthetic, even the pulsing bass riff. Damon glides from different melodic ideas on his synths, giving one the idea that he's coming up with this all on the spot. It's sweetness in tone as well as it's call and reflective atmosphere is reminiscent to the long intro of the Talking Heads' touching song, "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)". "Now this is all well and good...", you're thinking as you read this, "But what about your idea about how words meaning different things to different people? How does that come into affect?" Yes, your right, sorry for getting off track...

Noodle comes in, singing this phrase in Japanese, "After a hard day, it's time to wake up. I need a make up." Translations into another language, particularly into English, always come out a little weird. Basically what Noodle is saying is after a bad day she loves getting home and unwinding. Her home is the brightest room in Kong Studios and has all her favorite things. Soon 2D sings the phrase with her in English, but while Noodle sings the phrase joyously, 2D sounds sad and regretful. His home isn't any better than Noodle's, they both live with the same people they spend all day with in a zombie ridden hell hole. However Noodle possesses something 2D doesn't have, innocence. 2D sees Kong for what it really is, and even if he has all of his favorite materials in his room, he still is with the same people that he spent the "hard day" with. When 2D gets home, he retreats into his "make up"; painkillers, heroin and marijuana. He uses these to "wake up" in his own world of calming numbness, hence the synths used throughout this song. 2D represents the "Faust" character of this song, a successful musician who is unhappy with his life. His drug addictions represent the devil whom he sells his soul to, in order to have "pleasure" in his life. Soon the instrumental gets more glitchy and sinister as a chilling organ and synth wails take over the soundscape. Noodle then gets drowned out and we only hear Damon's army of voices as 2D. Soon enough, Dan The Automator fades the track out leaving 2D to suffer alone.

"Faust" almost made it on to the album along with the other Noodle led track, "Left Hand Suzuki Method", but eventually was cut from the final version. This may be because the song was mainly instrumental, and it's a real shame that a lot of these b-sides couldn't make it on to the final album. Imagine the band's first record was a double album that gave you even more of an in-depth look at the characters and their environment, these tracks paired with the album we got would have made a more complete story. Luckily they all were eventually compiled on "G-Sides", an album released in Japan (and later worldwide) due to the fact that the band's first record had not been released in their region yet. "Faust" is one of the more depressing tracks the band has made, but the shaky ride of 2D's horrors is made more pleasant by the presence of Noodle's contrasting emotions.

Ghost Train

Ghost Train

"Zombie Rock"

"Ghost Train" is one of the best things Gorillaz ever did. The song is a masterpiece from start to finish and the fact that it isn't more present among the band's massive discography, astounds me. "Ghost Train" (along with album track "Punk") was one of the first tracks ever recorded by the band. It was done before Dan The Automator, Kid Koala and Del got involved, just Damon Albarn and the 13 Studios crew mucking about somewhere between 1998 and 2000.

At this point, Jamie Hewlett only made a couple sketches of the band. The main sketch (pictured above) showed that the band was called "Gorilla" and had 2D's then girlfriend Paula Cracker as the guitarist instead of Noodle. It also had an actual gorilla in the band who played bongos (which explains the frantic percussion that appears on this track).

The song starts with a the sound of a record being repeatedly turned on and stopped, this song appears in the background throughout the entire song. Then Damon starts singing in falsetto while an army of vocals clap and chant "Ghost Train" back to him. It's like a gospel song gone to hell with Damon's smooth yet fragile falsetto and his choir of backing vocals egging him on. But then the song changes...

All of a sudden the track is anchored by a sample of the main riff of The Human League's "Sound Of The Crowd". As awesome as The Human League are, I think there's a strong argument that Damon used their riff better. The synthetic bass and drum machine is a powerful back up to the soul influenced vocals Damon started before. Damon also adds another hook in to egg the listener on: "C'MON! C'MON! C'MON! (GHOST TRAIN!!)" The percussion and synths get more frantic till soon everything stops and comes back again. This time it's just the sample alone with Damon's vocals, stripping the track down after the chaos that came before.

Now all of the track's previous instrumentation comes back while Damon delivers a gonzo attempt at rap that remains incoherent and distorted by his production. Then the guitars come in and all of a sudden the track becomes anthemic. It's as if Damon decided that his big hit with Blur, "Song 2" ,with it's catchy "woo hoos" wasn't hype enough and wanted to one up it. The guitars mesh with the sample and synths for one last hook to egg em on: "C'MON! C'MON! C'MON!", he chants. Soon the track ends in a mess of guitar feedback and synth wails, a big rock ending for a fantastic song.

Damon's lyrics aren't really the muscle behind the track, more of the melody and notes he uses to convey his writing. However in the lyrics, Damon seems to be afraid, there may actually be a ghost train coming after him. In the band's home, Kong Studios, there are demons and spirits all around so it's not impossible that 2D is singing about his fear of a ghost train coming to get him. Some of the synths even sound like a train coming closer and closer.

"Ghost Train" ended up being forgotten, it didn't make it on the album possibly because it was too "rock" for the direction Damon wanted to take the album in. It eventually was released when the villain character, Dr Wurzel, stole bassist Murdoc's winnebago and found the demo tape for the song inside the vehicle. He then released it online on his website "Dr Wurzel's Surgery", where it could be downloaded for free. The band eventually did release it as a b-side for their single, "Rock The House".

The fact that "Ghost Train" was never played live is shocking. This song seems built for the stage with it's anthemic stomping groove and catchy melody. It would have been a perfect encore for the band's first tour (a problem which the band was facing, having played all of their material as an hour long main set, audiences were often disappointed when the band didn't come out for an encore). I have a band who often uses "Ghost Train" as an encore piece in shows and it ALWAYS kills. Keep in mind that some of the people in these crowds probably have never heard of Blur or Damon Albarn, or even have listened to any Gorillaz tracks other than "Clint Eastwood" or "Feel Good Inc." Yet you can still see them singing along to the track's hook and feeling the rhythm of an obscure b-side by a band that they don't really know! "Ghost Train" is a powerful track and is one of the many gems in the Gorillaz catalog.