Gorillaz – Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (Deluxe) (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:05:07 minutes | 615 MB | Genre: Alternative Rock, Electronic
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK
Gorillaz started the year with Episode 1 – ‘Momentary Bliss ft. slowthai and Slaves’ – of Song Machine, a whole new concept from one of the most innovative bands around. Now, six episodes in, Noodle, 2D, Murdoc and Russel have visited Morocco and Paris, London and Lake Como, as well as travelling all the way to the moon, and Gorillaz is ready to bring you the full collection titled Song Machine: Season One – Strange Timez, out on 23rd October 2020.
Song Machine is the ongoing and ever-evolving process which has seen Gorillaz joined by an expanding roster of collaborators captured live in Kong Studios and beyond. The result is an expansive collection of tracks embracing a myriad of sounds, styles, genres and attitudes from a breath-taking line-up of guest artists including Beck, Elton John, Fatoumata Diawara, Georgia, Kano, Leee John, Octavian, Peter Hook, Robert Smith, Roxani Arias, ScHoolboy Q, Slaves, Slowthai, St Vincent and 6LACK, as well as CHAI, EARTHGANG, Goldlink, Joan As Police Woman, JPEGMAFIA, Moonchild Sanelly, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Skepta and of course Tony Allen.
Virtual band Gorillaz is singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, guitarist Noodle and drummer Russel Hobbs. Created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.
Two years after they returned to the scene with The Now Now, an album without any featuring artists, Gorillaz are going back to what they love doing best: collaborations. The singles were released sporadically throughout 2020 with a high-flying lineup. Damon Albarn released one song per month, with the whole thing making up Season 1 of Song Machine. The album opens with the brilliant and highly relevant track Strange Times featuring Robert Smith. Damon says that he worked with the singer from The Cure entirely over email. “What I gave Robert was something very vague. He completely and utterly made it what it is” he said. It’s a masterpiece that’s perfectly fitting for the pandemic. In the long guestlist we find Beck on The Valleys of the Pagans, Leee John on the soulful The Lost Chord and the sweet high notes of Imagination, Peter Hook and the young singer Georgia on the post-punk song Aries, Fatoumata Diawara on the hypnotic Désolée (where Albarn even sings in French) and the raunchy punk rap of Momentary Bliss with slowthaï. The more you listen to it the more you can appreciate its richness. That’s what makes the album so good: it brings together incongruent artists who take the songs in a whole range of different directions. You never know where you’re going next. The Gorillaz lead you through a whole array of styles, adding a common varnish to each layer. The Deluxe edition includes six new tracks including MLS with JPEGMafia and the excellent Opium by the Southern duo EarthGang who are signed to J Cole’s label Dreamville. This is an eclectic, profound and very large scale project that’s stamped with Albarn’s impeccable production. And we’ve even got Season 2 and a Netflix documentary to look forward to! – Charlotte Saintoin
Tracklist:
1-1. Gorillaz – Strange Timez (feat. Robert Smith) (03:47)
1-2. Gorillaz – The Valley of The Pagans (feat. Beck) (03:00)
1-3. Gorillaz – The Lost Chord (feat. Leee John) (04:03)
1-4. Gorillaz – Pac-Man (feat. ScHoolboy Q) (03:12)
1-5. Gorillaz – Chalk Tablet Towers (feat. St Vincent) (03:02)
1-6. Gorillaz – The Pink Phantom (feat. Elton John and 6LACK) (04:13)
1-7. Gorillaz – Aries (feat. Peter Hook and Georgia) (04:13)
1-8. Gorillaz – Friday 13th (feat. Octavian) (03:35)
1-9. Gorillaz – Dead Butterflies (feat. Kano and Roxani Arias) (04:33)
1-10. Gorillaz – Désolé (feat. Fatoumata Diawara) [Extended Version] (05:33)
1-11. Gorillaz – Momentary Bliss (feat. slowthai and Slaves) (03:41)
1-12. Gorillaz – Opium (feat. EARTHGANG) (06:50)
1-13. Gorillaz – Simplicity (feat. Joan As Police Woman) (02:44)
1-14. Gorillaz – Severed Head (feat. Goldlink and Unknown Mortal Orchestra) (03:34)
1-15. Gorillaz – With Love To An Ex (feat. Moonchild Sanelly) (03:01)
1-16. Gorillaz – MLS (feat. JPEGMAFIA and CHAI) (03:13)
1-17. Gorillaz – How Far? (feat. Tony Allen and Skepta) (02:46)
