Damon Albarn is a man whose whole creative ethos is based on change. His career spans over three decades now, with thirty albums released. His band Blur have released 8 studio albums, with Park Life released in 1994 the same year that Oasis released Definitely Maybe. It defined an era, making Blur synonymous with the 90s and the term Britpop. As co-founder of Gorillaz with Jamie Hewlett he has sold over 25 million records worldwide.
He is prolific collaborator, forming various bands, like The Good, the Bad & the Queen with Paul Simonon of the Clash, Simon Tong of the Verve, and Tony Allen of Fela Kuti and Rocket Juice And The Moon, again with Tony Allen and flea from Red Hot Chilli Peppers. He’s worked with the Strokes, Bobby Womack, De La Soul and so many more! Damon has also created film scores, composed an opera, written music for a musical called Wonderland and is one of the people behind the Africa express movement, a platform for exchanges between African and western musicians.
Damon is 53 now, with a grown up daughter and spends him time between London and Devon and Iceland, where he has just received Icelandic citizenship. He is as busy as ever. His latest solo album The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, has had rave reviews and is out now. You can buy it here: https://damonalbarn.ochre.store/?ffm=FFM_bc82b474204774cc44f23dbfe8711498
We met at Damon’s studio in Tottenham before Christmas and had a lovely meandering conversation starting with Damon as a teenager going through bullying in school, moving to rural Essex, the start and the end of Blur, the inception of Gorillaz, social media addiction, metal detecting, and being witchy …
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