Feeling Glad Inc: What's going on in Gorillaz author Jamie Hewlett's head?. Part 3
- You probably know everything. One apartment for two, ex-celebrities abandoned by girls in the world of comics and the tired lead singer of Blur, a sofa and round-the-clock MTV. Who would have thought that this would end with a virtual band that would become a phenomenon? Hewlett himself admits that they decided to create Gorillaz because all the pop bands of that time were very boring, and fictional ones made it possible to come up with something completely wild and incredible.
So the leader and bassist of the band became the green-skinned Satanist Murdoch Nikkals, born on June 6, 1966. Keyboardist and lead singer Stuart Sweat (also known as 2D) has both eyes damaged (thanks to Murdoch), drummer Russell has the souls of dead friends in his head (remember Clint Eastwood?), and guitarist Noodle is a super soldier created by the Japanese government.
In 2007, the duo went even further and decided to film the classic Chinese story about Sun Wukong, Journey to the West. However, since one is a musician and the other is an artist, they did not find a better way out than to create a theatrical production. Albarn wrote the music, Hewlett created the scenery and decoration. Together they adapted the story, and the director was Chen Shi-Zhen ("we called him Susan," Jamie said). The play has received good reviews and is regularly shown in cities around the world. However, even this unusual idea could not tear the artist away from Gorillaz.
Many people don't think about it, but the four heroes helped Jamie experience a whole new kind of storytelling. He created the story of Murdoch, 2D, Russell and Noodle using clips, interviews, materials in publications and other unusual tools. Hewlett became the first comic book author who was able to bring his own characters into the real world. How do you like it, Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman?
Despite the fact that Gorillaz originated as a satirical parody, the further development of the band turned them into a mirror of the lives of Damon and Jamie. According to the artist, almost all the stories experienced by virtual musicians are based on real events. However, if Hewlett easily draws parallels between Albarn and Murdoch, he is silent about his own reflection.
But he says that working with a musical band does not let you get bored.:
I can draw anything. If there's nothing I can do or people would like to see, then I can experiment all the time. If you're known for Blur, the audience is waiting for something specific. With Gorillaz, we can do anything, we are free and we don't have to answer to anyone.
Jamie is actively taking advantage of the fact that the band's history is being created on-demand. In the three-year hiatus between Demon Days and Plastic Beach albums, he wrote the destruction of the band's studio, Murdoch's journey to Hell and back in search of Noodle and the creation of her cyber copy. The five-year hiatus that arose due to Albarn and Hewlett's quarrel was also quickly filled with the band's travel history, which could be found on Gorillaz's Instagram. The last thing the artist decided to do was to put Murdoch in jail (you could communicate with him via Facebook Messenger) and temporarily replace him with a minor antagonist. This was the reason for the change in the musical mood in the new album The Now Now, because after getting rid of the oppression of the green band leader, 2D (also known as Stuart Sweat) got the opportunity to influence the band's music. casino online chicken road