Damon Albarn
| Damon Albarn | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Damon Albarn |
| Born | 23 March 1968 |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock, Britpop, alternative hip hop, world music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Singer-songwriter, Record Producer |
| Instrument(s) | vocals, guitar, piano, organ, violin, recorder, vibraphone, synthesizer, melodica, bass guitar |
| Years active | 1988 - present |
| Associated acts | Blur Gorillaz The Good, the Bad and the Queen Monkey: Journey to the West |
| Website | Blur Gorillaz The Good, The Bad And The Queen |
Damon Albarn, IPA: [ˈdɛɪmən ˈɔːɫbɑːn] (b. 23 March 1968 in Leytonstone, London), is a Grammy Award-winning English singer-songwriter and record producer whose eclectic musical style and observational lyrics have made him one of England's most successful musicians of the past 20 years. He has been involved in many high profile projects and collaborations throughout his career, but is perhaps best known internationally for being the frontman of rock band Blur, which is how he rose to prominence. He is also widely known for being behind popular virtual band Gorillaz, within which he serves as the principal songwriter and, under the alias "2D", lead vocalist. Subsequent projects have included The Good, the Bad & the Queen, Monkey: Journey to the West and Mali Music. Throughout his career, Albarn has composed six UK #1 albums and thirty-seven Top 40 hit singles, three of which ("Country House," "Beetlebum" and "Dare") reached #1. His song "Feel Good Inc." also reached #1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks, and stayed there for a total of 8 weeks. While his total record sales are unclear, he has sold in excess of 31 million albums as of 2008, and has earned considerable critical acclaim.[1][2]
Contents |
Blur
In 1989, Albarn, along with Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree formed a band in London. The band went on to popularize the Britpop genre throughout the early and mid 90's until changing their musical direction. The band was credited as to have changed Britpop genre, being the biggest Britpop band in Europe at the time. Their influence has extended deep into modern music and into the indie scene, and many cult fans believe them to be severely underrated and unappreciated.
Solo career
Albarn released Mali Music in 2002, recorded in Mali, during a trip he made to support Oxfam in 2000. He has also visited Nigeria to record music with African drummer Tony Allen. Albarn says he would like to produce a Blur album in Baghdad as he "likes the Iraqi style of music".
He also released Democrazy in 2003, a collection of demos he recorded while staying in hotel rooms on the U.S. portion of Blur's tour for Think Tank.
Albarn has also appeared on other unrelated works. His song "Closet Romantic" appeared on the soundtrack for Trainspotting alongside an early Blur recording, "Sing". The Rentals' 1999 Album Seven More Minutes features Albarn on the track "Big Daddy C". Fatboy Slim's 2004 release Palookaville featured Albarn's vocals on the song "Put It Back Together". Albarn provided the voiceover intro and backing vocals in the song "Time Keeps On Slipping" for the rap concept album Deltron 3030, and featured on the track "Lovage (Love That Lovage, Baby)" for the Lovage album Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By. Both albums were produced by Dan the Automator, who also produced Gorillaz' debut album. Albarn also composed the score with collaboration by Michael Nyman for the 1999 movie "Ravenous" with Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle. In 2000, he composed the main part of the soundtrack for the crime comedy Ordinary Decent Criminal.
During October 2007 Q Magazine released a 21st birthday special. Inside featured the "21 Artists who Changed Music" with 8 pages dedicated to Damon Albarn inside for his work in Blur, Gorillaz and The Good the Bad and the Queen. Within the article, Albarn expressed an interest in releasing a solo record under his own name comprised of romantic songs.
Damon Albarn plans to release a new album in latter 2008. The new album will feature over 100 musicians, including a Chinese choir and an orchestra. However, he would not be drawn on the name of the project or whether it ties into any of his previous work. Albarn told BBC 6Music: "The new album got about 80, 90 musicians on it – something in that region. It's got a 100-piece Chinese choir on one of the tunes. That plus the orchestra probably goes to about 120, 130 people." Albarn hinted that this project may have something to do with his recent opera, 'Monkey: Journey To The West.' He says that the title of the project had "something of monkeys in there. There's a monkey or two in there at least – a bit like Gorillaz as well. It's not an opera [though], it's a proper record".[3]
The Good, the Bad and the Queen
In May 2006, NME reported that Albarn was working with Danger Mouse on his first solo album, tentatively titled The Good, the Bad and the Queen. However, in July 2006, NME reported that those plans had been switched to the formation of a new band titled The Good, the Bad and the Queen. This proved to be inaccurate, as Albarn and other members of the group have indicated that The Good, the Bad and the Queen is the name of the album and not the band itself.[4][5][6]
The album was awarded Best Album at the 2007 Mojo Awards on 18 June.[7]
The group's line-up is composed of Albarn, former Clash bassist Paul Simonon, The Verve/Gorillaz guitarist Simon Tong, and drummer Tony Allen of Fela Kuti's band, Africa 70; Danger Mouse produced the album and decided on the final track listing.
The first single by the line-up, "Herculean", was released in late October 2006, and peaked at #22 in the UK Singles Chart. A second single, "Kingdom of Doom", and the band's debut album were then released in January 2007. That single fared slightly better than "Herculean", peaking at #20, while the album peaked at #2 in the UK Albums Chart and went gold during its first week of release in the UK. "Green Fields" was released as the third single from the album in April 2007, just missing out on the Top 50.
On 27 April 2008, The Good The Bad And The Queen headlined the Love Music Hate Racism Carnival in Victoria Park where they introduced on stage several guests including ex-Specials keyboard player Jerry Dammers.
Monkey: Journey To The West
In their first major work together since Gorillaz, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, along with acclaimed Chinese theatre and opera director Chen Shi-zheng, adapted for stage the ancient Chinese legend Journey to the West. as Monkey: Journey to the West, which received its world premiere as the opening show of the 2007 Manchester International Festival, on June 28, 2007 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester.[8] Albarn wrote the score, Hewlett designed the set and costumes.
The opera was Albarn and Hewlett's second collaboration with the Manchester International Festival. In November 2005, they staged the first-ever live performances of Demon Days Live involving many of the artists who had played on the successful Demon Days album, as a launch event for the festival.
Personal life
Albarn had a long-standing relationship with Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann. His involvement with her profoundly influenced his songwriting in Blur in the mid-to-late 1990s. "Yuko and Hiro" from The Great Escape (1995) is about Damon's love and infatuation with Justine and their inability to see each other. "Beetlebum", their single from the eponymous Blur (1997) was about Justine's rumoured heroin addiction, while some songs as "Tender" and "No Distance Left to Run" from 13 (1999) are about their break-up. He now lives in Bayswater, London with artist Suzi Winstanley, and their daughter Missy, born in 1999. Albarn and Frischmann remain good friends.
Albarn was very close to his grandfather, Edward Albarn, who had been a conscientious objector in the Second World War and was involved in a farming community in Lincolnshire. Albarn himself is outspokenly anti-war and has criticised British involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2002 he and Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack took out full page advertisements in the NME challenging the need for war. Albarn contributed backing vocals to a song on Massive Attack's 100th Window, released the following year.
In 2005 Albarn, among others, criticised the London Live 8 concert for not featuring enough black artists; among the few included were Ms. Dynamite, Snoop Dogg, and Youssou N'Dour. Eventually the organisers added a separate Somerset concert to the programme in order to showcase African musicians. Albarn said he did not want to perform at Live 8 because he thought it was too "exclusive" and may have been motivated by self-gain.[1]
In the nineties he spent a good deal of time in Reykjavík and for a time he became something of a permanent fixture in the "Kaffibarinn", a café/bar/inn of which he was part owner. He currently owns a house in Grafarvogur, a suburb of Reykjavík. He composed the soundtrack to the 2000 Icelandic film 101 Reykjavík.
Albarn is a vocal critic of celebrity culture, saying "We need to dismantle very significant parts of our culture and really re-examine them. I suppose you start with the celebrity thing.... you have to get rid of things like The X Factor immediately."[9]
Albarn is a fan of classic rock band The Kinks which inspired his former band Blur. Albarn performed Waterloo Sunset with Ray Davies in the mid 90s.
The glass bead necklace he frequently wears was a gift given to him by his mother when he was six.
Discography
- See also: Blur discography, Gorillaz discography, and The Good, the Bad & the Queen
Albums and Chart Positions
| Year | Album | UK | US | US Heat | AUS | GER | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Leisure | 7 | - | 20 | - | - | Gold (UK) |
| 1993 | Modern Life is Rubbish | 15 | - | 6 | - | - | Gold (UK) |
| 1994 | Parklife | 1 | 152 | 6 | 45 | - | 4x Platinum (UK) |
| 1994 | The Special Collectors Edition | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1995 | The Great Escape | 1 | 150 | - | 10 | 35 | 3x Platinum (UK) |
| 1996 | Live at the Budokan | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1997 | Blur | 1 | 61 | - | 22 | 23 | 2x Platinum (UK) Gold (US) |
| 1998 | Bustin' + Dronin' | 50 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1999 | 13 | 1 | 80 | - | 12 | 6 | Platinum (UK) |
| 1999 | The 10 Year Limited Edition Anniversary Box Set | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1999 | Ravenous OST | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2000 | Blur: The Best Of | 3 | 186 | - | 23 | 35 | 2x Platinum (UK) |
| 2000 | Ordinary Decent Criminal OST | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2001 | Gorillaz | 3 | 14 | - | 17 | 3 | 2x Platinum (UK) Platinum (US) Gold (AUS) Gold (GER) |
| 2002 | G-Sides | 65 | 84 | - | - | - | |
| 2002 | Laika Come Home | - | 156 | - | - | - | |
| 2002 | 101 Reykjavik OST | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2002 | Mali Music | 81 | - | - | - | - | |
| 2003 | Think Tank | 1 | 56 | - | 30 | 8 | Platinum (UK) |
| 2003 | Democrazy | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2005 | Demon Days | 1 | 6 | - | 2 | 2 | 5x Platinum (UK) 3x Platinum (NZ) 3x Platinum (IRE) 2x Platinum (US) 2x Platinum (AUS) Platinum (CAN) Platinum (HK) |
| 2007 | D-Sides | 63 | 165 | - | - | - | |
| 2007 | The Good, the Bad & the Queen | 2 | 49 | - | 13 | 8 | Gold (UK) |
| 2008 | Journey to the West | 5 | - | - | - | - |
References
- ↑ Chris Morrison » South West Sound 08 speakers (reflective of Blur album sales)
- ↑ FFWDWeekly.com - January 25, 2007 (reflective of Gorillaz album sales)
- ↑ Damon Albarn to release '130 musician' album | News | NME.COM
- ↑ "It's all a bit of a blur for Damon" (2007-02-02). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ↑ "Good, Bad and super" (2007-02-03). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ↑ "The band with no name" (2007-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ↑ "Osbourne scoops 'icon' at Mojo Awards" (2007-06-18). Retrieved on 2007-06-20.
- ↑ Totally catchy monkey, Guardian Unlimited 2 July 2007
- ↑ "Albarn condemns celebrity culture", BBC News (2007-12-27).
Sources and external links
- Damon Albarn pieces including video interviews on BBC Imagine...
- Damon Albarn interview
- Albarn's Mali mission - BBC News
- Blur biography
- IMDB entry on Damon Albarn
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Albarn, Damon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | English singer-songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 23, 1968 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leytonstone, London, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |