Gorillaz just premiered the first episode of their Song Machine series by linking up with slowthai and Slaves on “Momentary Bliss.”
The Song Machine project involves an “ever-evolving roster” of collaborators, according to a press release. The cartoon band will forego a release schedule in favor of a “spontaneous delivery of episodes throughout the year.” The episodes will be created at Kong Studios.
slowthai jumpstarts their collage-like collaboration by taking aim at his haters:
Your potential, you lack credentials
And you are special, so fucking special (Rita)
Oh, how you need it, oh how you’re needed
And you keep squeezing the truth from the middle (Ayy, ayy, ayy, ayy)
You parted seas, but your arches, they ain’t golden (Ah)
And you was gangin' for some gags and now you’re rollin'
Bet you shut your trap and keep it hush (Hush)
It’s unclear if he’s directly referencing Radiohead’s “Creep,” but he previously mentioned that the UK band influenced him. The Guardian noted that he hung out with punks and skaters who introduced him to their music. “Obviously, ‘Creep’ was the one I related to,” he said.
At one point, Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn drops in a line reminiscent of The Beatles’ “Lovely Rita”:
Rita, Rita maid
Slaves previously produced slowthai’s “Missing.”
In the visual, studio footage of the IRL artists is spliced with animations of the Gorillaz crew. The fictional bassist, Murdoc Niccals even tweeted about the team-up:
Prior to the drop, the animated members featured in a skit called “Machine Bitez #1.” Each Song Machine installment will be accompanied by these “bitesized conversations between cartoon band members and real life collaborators.”
Fictional drummer Russel Hobbs put out a statement about the project. “‘Song Machine’ is a whole new way of doing what we do. Gorillaz breaking the mould ‘cos the mould got old,” he said. “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. Y’know, just in case.”
Gorillaz dropped their sixth album, The Now Now, in 2018. They recently featured in a documentary called Reject False Icons.
Read all the lyrics to “Momentary Bliss” as they’re updated on Genius now.
