Gorillaz is a virtual British music group created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett in 1998. While Albarn takes care of the musical part, Hewlett is the artist behind all the visual part. The founding duo remains rather in the shadows, since the members of Gorillaz are presented as four cartoon characters: 2‒D (vocals), Noodle (guitar, keyboard), Murdoch Niccals (guitar, bass) and Russel Hobbs (drums). A rich universe around the fictional training has been built over the years through numerous video clips, short films and even interviews written in advance.
The Mountain is the band’s ninth studio album, released 25 years after their first project. It was conceived during a period of mourning for the creative duo, whose members both lost their fathers within the space of two weeks. Even if death is the main theme of the album, the tone is far from being melancholy. The fifth song, “The Orange County “, tackles the sadness of mourning with the help of a melody built around a jovial whistling: “You know the hardest thing / It’s saying goodbye to someone you love (tdlr) » (You know the hardest thing / Is to say goodbye to someone you love).Â
“Even if death is the main theme of the album, the tone is far from melancholic”
Albarn and Hewlett, during the creation of the album and their grieving process, made several trips to India which influenced the major themes addressed in The Mountain. This is particularly felt in the spiritual side of the album. Death is approached through the spectrum of reincarnation, which partly helps to alleviate its tragic side. The choice of collaborations testifies to this perfectly, because they are sometimes taken from old recordings of deceased artists, as is the case with the rapper Proof on “The Manifesto“, which is temporarily reborn for a few verses. The very structure of the project is reminiscent of reincarnation, since the opening melody is the same as the one that concludes the album. It is therefore ideal to listen to the album in its chronological order, from start to finish, to get the optimal experience. The project ends with “The Sad God », qui met en scène un dieu découragé et déçu par l’humanité : «ÂI gave you atoms, you built a bomb / Now there’s nothing left and I’m gone (I gave you atoms, you built a bomb / Now there is nothing and I have gone).
True to form, Gorillaz multiplies the number of collaborators and musical genres from which it draws. The Mountain is influenced by rap, trip hop, Indian classical music, alternative rock and more. It is the result of several collaborations between different countries, which creates a multicultural work with a rich and unique sound. This diversity is manifested, among other things, by the languages in which the guest artists sing: English, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish and Yoruba.
To accompany the release of the album, Gorillaz released an eight-minute short film entitled “Â The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God“, a title which alludes to three different songs. A true love letter to the golden age of animation, the film is greatly inspired by Jungle Book. The project, led by Hewlett and carried out by dozens of artists, took place over several months, since the group insisted that it be entirely drawn and painted by hand. The attention to the finest details testifies to the still living passion of Albarn and Hewlett. Thanks to this passion, Gorillaz manages to produce a monumental album that ranks among the best of the group.
The Mountain is available on all streaming platforms and in physical format. Gorillaz will be at the Bell Center on October 3, 2026, where we can see large screens broadcasting videos of the virtual group, while Albarn and around ten musicians will perform on stage. Tickets are already on sale on evenko​.ca.
