Gorillaz, brainchild of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, released their ninth studio album The Mountain on February 27th, 2026! Coming from many different corners of the world, including, India, Damascus, Miami, Ashgabat, New York, and London. Since the album has prominent themes of death and rebirth and focused on Indian and Middle-Eastern culture, some creators featured were alive and called to the studio to record while some were dead with previous audio clips of them inserted into songs. Five languages, English, Arabic, Yoruba, Hindi, and Spanish, appeared in the lyrics of many songs.

Collaborators on the album were Ajay Prasanna, Amaan and Ayaan Ai Bangesh, Anoushka Shankar, Asha Bhosle, Bizarap, Black Thought, Johnny Marr, Sparks, Trueno, Yasiin Bey, alongside many other previously featured artists like Bobby Womack, Dennis Hopper, Mark E. Smith, and Tony Allen. Virtual band members 2-D, Murdoc, Russel, and Noodle are featured in much art, including a short film called, “The Mountain, The Moon Cave, and The Sad God.” (Also, an amazing way to combat the unoriginality of generative AI!)

The tracklist shows the thrill of existence and the bittersweet closing of death and critiques the colonization of other countries and beliefs that hold people back. Gorillaz have once again proved that creativity, culture, and music will always triumph over corrupt and evil systems. 

Cites –

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/gorillaz-announces-album-the-mountain-trueno-idles-bizarrap-1235425716/ 

https://electronicgroove.com/gorillaz-release-new-album-the-mountain-share-single-and-visualizer-copy/

https://www.liveinlimbo.com/2025/09/13/news/gorillaz-announce-their-new-album-the-mountain-unveil-new-single-featuring-sparks.html