Damon Albarn credits past drug habits for "crazy" falsetto vocals on Gorillaz debut
The frontman claims he was hitting notes he "didn't think he would be able to hit again" on the 2001 record, which featured hits such as 'Clint Eastwood'
Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn has said that his vocals on the band’s self-titled debut album were helped by the drugs he was taking at the time.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Albarn joked about the falsetto vocals he was hitting back in 2001 on their breakout record ‘Gorillaz’, which featured hit tracks like ‘Clint Eastwood’ and ‘Tomorrow Comes Today’.
“I can’t quite believe I can still hit the falsetto,” he said. “That first record has a crazy amount of falsetto – definitely related to the drugs I was taking!”
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He continued: “I was a much more irresponsible human being. I was hitting some notes I really didn’t think coming back I’d be able to hit again.”
In the same interview, bandmate Jamie Hewlett speaks on the “nostalgia” attached to their debut record. “I’m not into nostalgia, even though it’s a very powerful drug for some people,” he said. “I don’t care what you did 25 years ago.”
Gorillaz are currently celebrating their 25th anniversary with an era-spanning exhibition in London, and a string of shows at the Copper Box Arena.
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Four “celebratory, one-off live shows” began on August 29 and continue through until tonight, September 2, with each show celebrating a different album through the years, and one ‘mystery show’ to conclude the run of performances tonight.
In August, Albarn and Hewlett teased the release of new music in an interview with Channel 4. When asked if the group’s final ‘mystery show’ would feature new music, Albarn responded: “There might. I mean, yes, in that sense, yeah.”
[Via Rolling Stone]
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter
