Lightning in a Bottle

For anyone into music, a band most people would at least recognize Gorillaz. The UK based "virtual band" head-manned by Damon Albarn of Blur fame with animation and ads by Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett has been a part of contemporary music for the better part of almost two decades. Some would, and fairly so, classify them as a super-group, getting more and more guest vocalists and producers involved to to further the bands sound, as the whole concept is to make music for a world that doesn't exist. With such a lofty undertaking, a group of minds is better than a giant solo project. How Gorillaz started can be linked back to Damon Albarn being influenced by the sounds of Hip-Hop/Trip-Hop producer Dan the Automator and Del the Funky Homosapien's collaborative project, Del-Tron 3030. The connection is in the self-titled debut for Gorillaz.

^Sample of music from the concept Hip-Hop album Del-Tron 3030.

Damon Albarn had done a simple vocal sample performance for Del-Tron 3030, but the trio were inspired form each other's work. Dan the Automator had been crafting concept albums since his introduction with the Dr. Octagon project, another collaborative project with Kool Kieth in 1996. Del was similarly on a creative peak around this time, what with Del-Tron 3030 and plenty of solo efforts to establish himself at the time. Having worked with both Dan and Del before on Del-Tron, Damon saw an opportunity to bring the Gorillaz project to life.

The band's single, Clint Eastwood(above), was an international best selling single, instantly putting the band on the map. It's no coincidence Del is featured on this track. Dan the Automator produced the entire album, crafting a unique sound for the concept for the world where the Gorillaz exist, that being a wasteland or purgatory. The concept of the band was spawned from Damon and Jamie watching MTV and commenting that it was a vapid wasteland. While the debut is anything but a wasteland of creativity (still one of my favorite albums of all time, if a bit indulgent), it gave Dan the creative fuel to put together the incredibly varied sounds to encompass the feeling of traversing this world.

Without these three meeting one another through their mutual respect for each other's previous works, we might not have gotten the Gorillaz we did. It's a rare thing to see three artists at their creative peaks come together and feed off of each other's influence to craft the sound they did on this, and many other projects in the future. Still, Gorillaz and their debut album, stand tall as the introduction to the world and band and without Dan the Automator's production, Del's playful energy and creative lyrics and Damon's name recognition and added production and vocal performances, this album doesn't happen.

It stands very much as a lightning in a bottle! Get it?