Recorded at their London-based Kong Studios HQ, Song Machine was filmed and recorded as a livestream then released as an album, with numerous big name features including Slowthai, Robert Smith, Skepta, and the late Tony Allen in one of his last features.

Made possible by Trafalgar Releasing and LiveNOW, it is only in cinemas for one day, the 8th of December, in screenings across the globe. Tickets go on sale on the 11th of November and can be bought here.

You can listen to the Song Machine album below:

Alongside the announcement of this exciting new cinema release, Gorillaz have additionally announced a rerelease of their eponymous first album, celebrating its 20th Anniversary. Released in 2001, Gorillaz but the band on the map, primarily featuring Del tha Funky Homosapien, and spawning several Gorillaz standards, including ‘Clint Eastwood’, ’19-2000′, and ‘Rock the House’.

The rerelease is coming in the form of a formidable boxset: an eight-disc vinyl collection, a 27-page “Department of Music Correction” dossier of leaked documents, memos, faxes, and some early Hewlett sketches and drawings, according to liveforthemusic.com. A must-have for any hard-line Gorillaz fan, the boxset can be bought here for a whopping £170.

On the cinema release, Trafalgar Releasing CEO, Marc Allenby says, “We are delighted to be partnering with the LIVENow and Eleven Management teams to bring Gorillaz: Song Machine Live from Kong to cinemas worldwide. We saw great success with Gorillaz’ previous cinema event Reject False Icons, and we look forward to welcoming cinema audiences to experience their outstanding live show on the big screen, with immersive surround sound and exclusive bonus content.”

James Massing, Chief Commercial Officer at LIVENow says, “Our goal at LIVENow is to give fans unparalleled access to the ultimate live music experiences, so we’re delighted to partner with Trafalgar Releasing to bring Gorillaz’ Song Machine: Live from Kong to cinemas across the globe. Last year, we brought Gorillaz fans a one-off opportunity to watch the band perform their critically acclaimed album during a time where live music stopped. We’re proud to share the performance once again but on the big screen.”

Obviously avatars are second nature to Gorillaz, although 2D, Murdoc and the rest of the gang have a little more character than the round-faced, smiley Nintendo figures. It’s an ambitious crossover though, since they exist on two quite different ends of the same spectrum.

The musicians performed their new collaboration ‘The Valley of the Pagans’ which comes from Gorillaz’s new album Song Machine: Season One – Strange Timez. They were joined by Beck, the collaborator on ‘The Valley of the Pagans’, in The concept of a virtual live performance in this style doesn’t seem likely to replace live music any time soon, but it’s interesting to watch it being executed (and the song is certainly just as good over Animal Crossing). It’s a little less impressive than a fully blown Gorillaz VR extravaganza.

The interview begins at 48 minutes and the performance at 1 hr 27. Whether or not the Animal Crossing aesthetic is for you, the content of the interview is brilliant, with Albarn and Hewlett both very relaxed and honest.

“We share a little bit of creative DNA,” Whitta says, referring to the fact that Gorillaz and Animal Talking both inhabit the virtual world. They also speak about the power of the internet to bring people together, especially in these strange and distanced times. It’s true, that it feels comfortingly like a talk show to see Albarn and Hewlett sat next to one another on a couch, even if digitally.

Gorillaz have played with form since they first burst onto the scene, and Song Machine is no exception. In the press release, virtual Gorillaz member Russel Hobbs declared: “Song Machine is a whole new way of doing what we do, Gorillaz breaking the mould ‘cos the mould got old. World is moving faster than a supercharged particle, so we’ve gotta stay ready to drop. We don’t even know who’s stepping through the studio next. Song Machine feeds on the unknown, runs on pure chaos. So whatever the hell’s coming, we’re primed and ready to produce like there’s no tomorrow.”

‘Season One’ is released in ‘episodes’; the latest, ‘The Valley of the Pagans’, was leaked prior to its official release, but it will be with us soon. Gorillaz have always had stellar collaborations, and this is no different – the line-up features Robert Smith, Slaves, Slowthai, St Vincent and more.

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SONG MACHINE TOUR 2021 Pssst, for first access to 2021 tour tickets, purchase your copy of Song Machine with a Circle of Friendz Pass at gorillaz.com NOW Gorillaz.com/tour

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Gorillaz announced a huge show at the The O2 for August 2021. They also committed to returning to the virtual sphere for a live stream event to celebrate the release of their new album, which will take place in December. You can see the dates of their series of real-life shows below.

16/06/21 – Tanzbrunnen – Cologne
18/06 – Parkbühne Wuhlheide – Berlin
01/07 – Rockhal – Luxembourg
11/07 – The O2 – London

Both Hewlett and Albarn have been hinting at the return of the multimedia project for some time now, with Albarn claiming they were working on an album in September, and Hewlett posting pictures of Noodle, Russel and Murdoc on Instagram.

Now James Hewlett has confirmed the album will be out next year in an interview with DIY. Speaking about working on the Gorillaz’ new album he said:

“That’s next year. I’m working on it at the moment, and it’s going very well. I’m very excited. I don’t want to say too much about it, but I’m at that phase of experimentation. What I try not to do when I’m working in this creative period, the cooking of the mess, is go to other peoples’ exhibitions and look at other peoples’ work. I close my eyes, and don’t want to know what anyone else is doing. Doing that has kind of ruined the creative process for me in the past, and I don’t want to let that happen again.”

This will be Gorillaz’ fifth studio album after 2011’s iPad recorded The Fall, and their first studio album since 2010’s Plastic Beach.

Since then Albarn has been touring with a reunited Blur, with the band releasing The Magic Whip earlier this year. He also released a solo album called Everyday Robots last year. Hewlett, meanwhile, has recently announced that he is holding his first ever art exhibition called ‘The Suggestionists’. The exhibition will be held at the Saatchi Gallery in London on 18th November and runs until 2nd December. For more information on ‘The Suggestionists’ check out jamiehewlett.com.