GORILLAZ
SHARE STUNNING HAND-CRAFTED ANIMATED SHORT FILM
THE MOUNTAIN, THE MOON CAVE & THE SAD GOD
WATCH HERE
NEW ALBUM THE MOUNTAIN OUT NOW
LISTEN HERE
Film Still – Credit: Gorillaz
To mark the release of new album The Mountain, out today on the band’s own KONG label, Gorillaz has shared a new eight-minute short film titled The Mountain, The Moon Cave & The Sad God. Directed by Jamie Hewlett and THE LINE studio, the animated epic follows the adventures of band members Noodle, Murdoc, 2D and Russel as they journey across India, while exploring album themes from the journey of life to the thrill of existence. Watch HERE.
The film sees artist and Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett return to the purest form of his art to bring a detailed and beautiful intricacy to his distinctive, yet ever-evolving style. Directed by Hewlett, along with Max Taylor and Tim McCourt of BAFTA-nominated London-based animation studio THE LINE, the film was made across 18 months and thousands of artist hours, a hand-crafted homage to the golden era of 2D animation that reimagines Gorillaz through a classic cinematic lens. Hewlett collaborated with THE LINE on a vision to reinterpret Gorillaz through the timeless aesthetic of 1960s animated features. The result is a richly textured short film that honors the animators who paved the way for today’s studios. The process was steered by a determination to honor traditional craftsmanship with a hybrid analogue-digital workflow favoring hand-painted backgrounds, real materials, practical effects and period-accurate limitations over contemporary shortcuts – a true celebration of 2D animation and human creativity.
Circumstances now find Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, 2D and Noodle in India, having made their way to Mumbai with the help of four fake passports courtesy of a New York business acquaintance of Murdoc. The band has turned its back on international pop stardom, with our heroes now immersed in the rhythms of mystical music-making, as they navigate the mountainous terrain of this thing called life.
PRAISE FOR THE MOUNTAIN
“Epic… Gorillaz’s White Album”
—NPR Music
“One of their best, as ambitious and absorbing as anything they’ve done since 2010’s Plastic Beach.”
—FLOOD
“The Mountain stands as the most rewarding and substantive Gorillaz album in more than a decade.”
—ROLLING STONE
Download High Res Press Imagery HERE.
About The Mountain
The Mountain is Gorillaz’ ninth studio album, the first release on the band’s own new label KONG, an expansive sonic landscape of instruments and sounds, richly layered with voices, melodies and addictive beats, spanning a collection of 15 songs that embody the very essence of Gorillaz’ collaborative ethos. The record features an extraordinary list of artists and collaborators including: Ajay Prasanna, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash, Anoushka Shankar, Asha Bhosle, Asha Puthli, Bizarrap, Black Thought, Gruff Rhys, IDLES, Jalen Ngonda, Johnny Marr, Kara Jackson, Omar Souleyman, Paul Simonon, Sparks, Trueno and Yasiin Bey; as well as the voices of friends and collaborators who have gone before us, including Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Dennis Hopper, Mark E Smith, Proof and Tony Allen. The Mountain is a playlist for a party on the border between this world and whatever happens next, exploring the journey of life and the thrill of existence.
Produced by Gorillaz, James Ford, Samuel Egglenton and Remi Kabaka Jr., plus Bizarrap (Orange County), The Mountain was recorded at Studio 13 in London and Devon, various locations in India including Mumbai, New Delhi, Rajasthan and Varanasi, as well as Ashgabat, Damascus, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. The album features artists performing in five languages: Arabic, English, Hindi, Spanish and Yoruba.
The Mountain – Album Tracklisting:
- The Mountain (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash)
- The Moon Cave (feat. Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda and Black Thought)
- The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks)
- The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen)
- Orange County (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar)
- The God of Lying (feat. IDLES)
- The Empty Dream Machine (feat. Black Thought, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
- The Manifesto (feat. Trueno and Proof)
- The Plastic Guru (feat. Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
- Delirium (feat. Mark E. Smith)
- Damascus (feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey)
- The Shadowy Light (feat. Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash)
- Casablanca (feat. Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr)
- The Sweet Prince (feat. Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
- The Sad God (feat. Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna and Anoushka Shankar)
The Mountain is available in the following formats: Digital Download; Standard CD; Deluxe 2CD (incl. booklet and 4 brand new exclusive bonus tracks recorded during album sessions); Standard Vinyl; Hardback Book Vinyl Edition; Limited Edition Collectors Box (incl. Art Prints). Listen HERE.
About Gorillaz:
Created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz is singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, drummer Russel Hobbs and Japanese guitar prodigy Noodle. The BRIT and Grammy-winning virtual band formed following a collision of mishaps, meetings and pure luck to blow up a pre-digital world with their colourful backstory and ground-breaking virtual ways. Based at Kong Studios, Gorillaz settled into a life of musical innovation with an eye-wateringly exciting roster of collaborators, a list that includes musical legends, geniuses and future stars from Elton John to Little Simz, MF Doom to Jean-Michel Jarre, Grace Jones to slowthai, Kali Uchis to Sidiki Diabaté, plus so many more. With nine albums to their name, Gorillaz (2001), Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), The Fall (2011), Humanz (2017), The Now Now (2018), Song Machine: Season One – Strange Timez (2020), Cracker Island (2023), and the newly released The Mountain, Gorillaz is a truly global phenomenon, achieving success in entirely new and unique ways, touring the world from San Diego to Syria, Montevideo to Manchester and winning numerous awards including the coveted Jim Henson Creativity Honor.
About KONG:
KONG is Gorillaz’ own label. The band’s ninth studio album The Mountain is KONG’s first release, with global digital and physical distribution via The Orchard.
About THE LINE:
THE LINE is a BAFTA nominated studio, founded by Tim McCourt, Sam Taylor, Wesley Louis, James Duveen, Bjørn-Erik Aschim and Max Taylor – who describe their dynamic as “doing what we love with the best people we know”. This high end, hand drawn 2D animation studio has an impressive portfolio ranging from collaborations with Gorillaz to Marvel to Mercedes, and the studio has spent a decade creating captivating content. For more information on THE LINE visit www.thelinestudio.com. Subscribe to THE LINE on YouTube and follow @thelineanimation on Instagram, Facebook & TikTok and @thelinestudio on X.
