0:08
Cool, isn't it?
Search this video
0:10
I mean, we're not going to call it a retrospective, but it's nice to look back over the last 25 years.
0:15
>> Yeah, it's a reminder. Thank you. Should we say reminder?
0:17
We don't do nostalgia, you say. >> Obviously. No, not normally.
0:20
No, we're anti-nostalgia.
0:24
>> [laughter] >> I mean, even just one of these frames, there's just so much thought [music] and work goes into it.
0:29
It's actually incredible how productive this whole experience has been.
0:31
Well, you're nine albums now, and the amount of art you've created.
0:37
Yeah, it's been 25 years.
0:37
You know, if you if you work hard each day, you do a lot in 25 years.
0:43
>> Should we go and take a look at the Kong? House of Kong.
0:44
It's a bit David Lynch, this room, isn't it?
0:46
Maybe we should do the interview backwards.
0:53
>> [music] [music] >> This is the House of Kong, Los Angeles style. Yeah. Pazuzu's here. Yeah.
1:06
In the biggest packing crate ever.
1:08
When they opened it, it was full of rats.
1:11
We had to put the guitar to hide his serpent penis.
1:16
Cuz he's he's he's built just like the real statue of Pazuzu, and he has a giant snake for a penis.
1:21
And then we thought, well, there's going to be kids here, so Yeah.
1:23
we're going to have to do something about that.
1:26
>> very thoughtful of you. Yeah.
1:29
They have been busy, haven't they?
1:32
Welcome to the House of Kong.
1:32
Please stay together as a group and adhere to the gallery rules during your visit.
1:39
Let's move through to the first room of the tour, where the story of Gorillaz begins. Mm, nice smell in here. It's a nice smell. So, okay, let's start. Miss Creation. Which is the first one?
1:53
Which is the oldest drawing? I think it's that one.
1:56
Yeah, she's not in She wasn't in the band in the end. Paula.
1:58
Yeah, I didn't realize that there were people who auditioned and didn't actually make it in.
2:03
And that was the original Murdoch.
2:05
Yeah, he was far too [laughter] clean.
2:07
And then I don't know who she is. I don't know.
2:09
Yeah, they went through Look at Russell there.
2:13
You were living together when you were drawing these? Yeah.
2:14
You were already working on the music and you guys had figured it out at this point like, okay, this is going to be a thing. I better catch up.
2:19
I better get to to figuring out what they look like and what they are what this is.
2:23
>> uh it was after the um train crash, wasn't it? Ladbroke Grove. Do you remember that? You wrote Ghost Train. Wow. I went there. Wow.
2:30
He went He went to the studio and made a song and I stayed up.
2:35
I stayed at home, did some doodles.
2:37
>> [laughter] >> And he came home from work.
2:38
I said, "Darling, dinner's ready."
2:40
And I just took took off and And I know that.
2:42
And I know him so I just do Mrs.
2:45
And here we are at his Man about the house. It's way more about him. He's a bad dude. I'm just Oh, come on.
2:52
I don't know if you're going to have an exhibition of sounds, can you? That's That's a concert.
2:55
Jamie, every night's a night. That's a concert.
2:57
And we do millions of concerts all around the world. They do one exhibition.
3:01
So, yeah, it's about me for a change.
3:03
The timing is actually perfect because this album does feel very much like a a real union, a proper like it was in the beginning. >> almost definitely.
3:12
And and it was kind of the sort of next record after Plastic Beach. Mhm.
3:17
There's dissonance in between, but still feel that was kind of interesting time and there's lots of interesting things in it.
3:24
But as cohesion knows and storytelling and that marriage I think this is obviously like I It's something I could say is the next one in that world, you know, that and applying the principle of adventure.
3:39
And having a a narrative that presented itself to us quite strongly.
3:44
It was kind of unavoidable.
3:44
Well, that's where friendship plays a really important role, which is why this started in the first place.
3:50
You're not going to go down on adventure with someone you don't like. No.
3:53
And then I sort of feel like after Plastic Beach, there was a little bit of a pull into the conventional world for Gorillaz. Yeah.
3:58
It was like, "Oh, we're a touring band now, and you know, we're going to remove a little bit of the mystery around it all, and kind of give >> shall I shall tell you what happened?
4:05
It happened because we got a last-minute call to headline Glastonbury. Yes.
4:14
And we had this band, and we were still applying the principle that we'd done in our live performance with Demon Days, where every everyone is almost in silhouette, you know?
4:25
And then and the band don't kind of step out.
4:30
You know, that's what we wanted to do. >> Yeah.
4:33
And yet, what happened was a a weird disengagement.
4:38
It looks good on TV, but a weird disengagement um in that huge field, which afterwards so I've got this band.
4:47
I've got to I've got to go back to that.
4:51
Because that's the only way to play at this size. Do you know what I mean?
4:54
>> can't silhouette on the Pyramid Stage, you know?
4:56
>> That's what I'm saying, you know?
4:56
So, the next weekend was Roskilde, and I just went, "Fuck it.
4:59
I'm going I'm going to do what I I can do, you know?
5:00
I'm not going to hold it back because it's just pointless in this context." >> Yeah.
5:07
So, yes, it did become more of a a live band, but for some reason we've kind of got it back on track now. Yeah.
5:13
We just put everything on stage now. It's all there. >> Yeah.
5:16
It's taken us a long time to do that.
5:17
It's just not an easy thing.
5:17
And I know that cuz I do it all the time. Mhm.
5:22
I think that's the whole Gorillaz experience.
5:23
>> It's one of those things, you know?
5:23
I would imagine it's as surprising that to you that that we're standing here at the beginning of it all, and we're going to walk through and get to the to where we stand today, as it is to anybody, if not more surprising than it is anybody else. I agree with you.
5:35
These uh not only remind me of that special time Jamie and I spent living together. Yeah. Do you know what I mean?
5:42
And it's like it was really unique.
5:45
That's caught there, isn't it? It's been captured. >> Yeah, it's pretty. >> Very young.
5:52
But see, this is the mad thing that actually age, but they're still totally in a cartoon world, which which is why it's not nostalgic.
6:00
>> [laughter] >> Don't worry, I get the memo.
6:00
We are not reminiscing right now.
6:03
>> We're still working on our anti-nostalgists manifesto.
6:06
>> [clears throat] >> We haven't ironed out all the creases yet, but we will.
6:09
Yeah, and we're really somewhere now, aren't we? I mean, this is >> Yeah.
6:11
I I realize now that the that's probably the most light year, isn't it? >> Yeah. >> Jamie. Well, Noodle. >> Yeah. Sure. Okay.
6:18
If we're going to apply characters to ourselves >> [laughter] >> Um well, here's what I one of the things I love about this room is as you go through the covers This is the first This is the most famous >> one?
6:29
So Jeffer- So that was Jefferson Hack.
6:30
>> This is very important, Jeff. You know.
6:33
Yeah, this is um nobody wanted to interview the characters.
6:38
And the only person who got it was Jefferson. Yeah.
6:39
And he said, "Let's do the cover of Days, and we'll do I think there were like 10 pages inside." >> Yeah.
6:46
And he was the only person who was prepared to do that, and we did it It was a really cool piece.
6:49
And then everyone else started to talk to us.
6:52
This is the funniest one.
6:54
I I actually didn't believe that was real. Smash Hits, yeah.
6:57
>> Yeah, yeah, it was real. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
6:58
That must have been one of the biggest high fives you've given each other since that [laughter] point in your life.
7:02
We're on the cover of Smash Hits.
7:04
>> This is how we done that.
7:04
We were on the cover of Smash Hits. It's amazing.
7:06
Look, Shaggy, Atomic Kitten here saying Gorillaz on the cover.
7:10
So signing a signing a new millennium on the top of the front of Smash Hits magazine.
7:16
>> Look at the times we're living in. Steps, Yeah.
7:17
Limp Bizkit, your personal favorite. >> Yeah.
7:20
Stereophonics, Westlife, Pink, Lou Bega, Christina Just Christina, just one word. Wow.
7:24
No one ever talks about the um the awkwardness of the beginning, the silhouetted interviews with the two of you like you're in witness protection. Oh, yeah.
7:33
Uh you know, they're trying to get people to interview cartoon characters.
7:36
>> We were just We were trying to remove the idea of celebrity celebrity is though.
7:41
Every time he tries to we did some well our first interview to America was Rolling Stone wasn't it?
7:47
We were the characters on different phones. Being the characters.
7:48
Remi was being Russell I was being 2D.
7:51
He's being I don't think I don't think Noodle was around.
7:55
We were trying to do all everything you know what I mean brilliantly and you know it's sort of that that side of things we haven't kind of really mastered yet but I have to say this new animation it's right in it. Ah it looks amazing. >> Exactly.
8:14
It's the mountain moon cave saga.
8:18
And it's absolutely incredible really.
8:20
It's hand drawn animation it's it's what we set out to do you know what I mean?
8:28
It feels like it's been around for 50 60 years but it feels new.
8:30
And it's it made me laugh cuz technology has finally caught up to what you were suggesting in the beginning and you're going backwards. Oh yeah we've noticed. >> [laughter] >> Yeah.
8:39
Yeah and your reaction is to like go and make the like go and work in the old ways.
8:43
Well what else can we do you know what I mean?
8:44
We're determined to do the opposite to everybody.
8:48
Even if we shoot ourselves in the feet it's fine.
8:50
So The holograms I actually thought it was good but I know it was awful in the room but it looked good on TV. >> amazing on TV. That was a win. That was very good yeah.
8:57
It was brilliant on TV but awful in the room.
9:00
I remember thinking at the time you can have 12 shows at the same time.
9:03
That was the whole concept.
9:06
The then after kind of uh Yeah.
9:09
You know had the money to really do it.
9:12
It was too expensive and the technology hadn't been developed well enough that in a live scenario you you had to have the music very low because the invisible screen vibrates when you turn the bass up and the drums and then your animations go When we were at the Grammys and they came on it was really quiet.
9:32
And people were talking they didn't even know the show had started cuz it was so quiet.
9:35
And then Madonna moved afterwards moved over to the other side of the stage which had the biggest speak she sort of stood on the top of the speaker just the biggest speaker that just absolutely caught everyone's attention.
9:47
And everyone thought oh it's starting.
9:50
You got merked by Madonna. Yeah.
9:54
Oh this I love this as well because it's like who wore it best? You know what I mean?
9:59
Like They were they were subverting in a really amazing way.
10:00
You were starting to subvert in a really amazing way.
10:04
That's almost the most iconic cover of all of them.
10:05
We were right at the same time, right?
10:07
It was definitely felt like oh okay they're doing what we're doing as well. Yeah.
10:12
But they had the advantage of not having a face of Britpop trying to hide. Yeah. I was at a disadvantage.
10:21
>> Yeah victim of your your >> [laughter] >> We've been saying that for 30 years, man.
10:27
I'll tell you when tomorrow.
10:29
One thing you always got right with the videos and I love seeing the storyboarding that you did and the detail of the storyboard.
10:33
This is probably the thing that actually jumps out the most.
10:35
The music is so obviously up front and we get the videos that that that accompany that and we get to see the truth of it in the artwork and whatnot but this really is like a window into your process.
10:46
Are you comfortable showing your process to people? I don't mind.
10:49
I mean there's there's a lot of storyboards for a lot of videos that never been seen. Yeah.
10:55
What I do is I put as much work into the storyboard as possible so that when we begin the animators know exactly what it's supposed to look like.
11:02
Instead of just doing stick men and little sketches and and camera moves and stuff I would try and do.
11:08
So yeah, they became more and more complicated and then I started editing the storyboards to the music so I'd I'd deliver an animatic and you know it ends up being like 350 drawings just to tell four minute video.
11:23
So it's nice it's nice to show them.
11:23
I mean It was a happy existence.
11:25
I'd play a tune and run up to James' studio and bus by some second floor and play it and then he'd like listen to [clears throat] it and then start drawing you know and that was that was every day. It was a it was great.
11:40
Okay, so when what normally happens in music videos is someone writes a treatment and then the director will figure out where and how they want to shoot it and get a production crew to put it all together but to your point you know, you're effectively directing the video as you're storyboarding the video and and and and and breaking it all down.
11:53
So how do you construct a narrative before you even begin to storyboard or does sometimes the narrative present itself throughout the drawings?
12:00
I listen to the song and I decide what the story is going to be and talk with him and we go yeah, that's cool and then I draw it.
12:08
It's quite easy really and then I change bits.
12:11
And sometimes he says I don't like that and I change it and it's just but it's there's not a big team.
12:16
I deliver the whole the idea complete and then we get involved with animators and stuff and then they say well that's way too expensive you don't got enough money or and then things have to change and you edit bits but I try to deliver the the idea complete without the the requirement of anybody else's input you know.
12:35
Yeah, I I'm really appreciated seeing it start to to flip between real life and animation style being a obvious high point of that when Bruce Willis kind of showing up with the characters.
12:44
I mean seeing some of the outtakes in the red room or red room before and you just like so giddy to be on set with Bruce.
12:55
Bruce Willis is a sweetheart.
12:57
He was so nice and he didn't charge to be in the video.
13:01
He said we did it in Barstow in between Vegas and LA and he said oh yeah, I'll do it.
13:06
I'll come on a Sunday just can you fly me out by helicopter cuz I got a birth kids birthday party to get back to but I don't want to be paid.
13:13
And we were like sure and we bought some nice red wine for his trailer and he just arrived and he was a sweetheart and he did it and he got back in his helicopter and off he went.
13:23
No, he said he's got to go to my kids birthday [clears throat] party.
13:24
I got to get back so you know.
13:25
Does video on this song changed changed the whole trajectory of the band. Yeah.
13:28
I mean, when Billie wished out, she was like respectfully, I want to do that one. Mhm.
13:33
Uh Coachella, and it's the one that really kind of connected I think it it's sort of unified all of us. Mhm.
13:38
The kids who loved the concept and the animation and the feeling that they got from it. >> Mhm. But also the music.
13:46
That song really connected. Feel good.
13:49
Yeah, I know, and it's kind of how do you do that? Great question. It's I've no idea.
13:52
Well, that's a great answer. How do you do that?
13:57
>> How does anyone do that?
13:57
It's like clearly it's it's not allowed to have an answer.
14:01
No, it's not, but it's interesting, isn't it?
14:04
Cuz the first album was rough as in a great way.
14:05
I mean, you know, there's songs that's a transition record from where you were kind of sitting in the blur space of like I want to Well, it's kind of a a bad fellow or or or cousin of 13 really.
14:18
You know, which I I feel was a really exciting time for Blur as well.
14:20
I I really like that album.
14:22
But that was the idea of oh god, you a producer can transform something. Yeah.
14:26
And so and I was like, oh no, I can do that as well cuz you know, it Do you know what I mean?
14:34
It's like watching watching William work was very inspiring.
14:35
Do you know all the things that you learn in life? >> Mhm.
14:39
You just take them for granted once you learn them, but at one some point you you were yet to acquire them. >> Mhm. You know what I mean? And it's so exciting.
14:46
It's so important to keep learning. Yeah. Right? Keep learning. Never stop learning.
14:50
But I remember Never look back.
14:52
In quick succession, it was like interesting, right?
14:55
Interesting conceptual thing.
14:57
And then over here Dan and you doing the Gorillaz thing.
14:59
I'm like, oh, where were we It's really subversive. It's a subversive time.
15:02
And it felt like it really natural to you as a creative at least.
15:05
Yeah, I think a few people were a bit shocked at the time.
15:09
Well, I mean, 7 million people bought that album worldwide. Mhm.
15:11
It was very interesting doing it this uh last year at the Copper Box.
15:18
Cuz um yeah, never ever played it Uh as a full album that >> Oh, Because it was so quick that things changed and it became a whole different thing, you know.
15:30
The the songs on that really kind of got left behind most of them, but playing them was was fantastic, wasn't it that?
15:36
Demon Days, you didn't even do that many gigs for Demon Days.
15:41
>> Just didn't play a lot in the early days.
15:42
You were very wedded to the characters then.
15:45
I mean, you were selling the story.
15:47
I mean, in you were telling people who the characters Cuz where you were I mean, there was a line where they sent you the tape.
15:51
I mean, it was very you were leaning into the concept in a really real way, which was really fun.
15:56
>> it's it's an ongoing experiment and it changes every time and it adapts and it's allowed to adapt because we adapt and we change and we you know, we're growing as artists and you don't it's impossible to stay the same.
16:09
So, this is just this is freedom, basically, for us to do what we want, which is a wonderful.
16:14
But of course, the characters are really important to it and they end up kind of telling our stories sometimes.
16:20
Yeah, the stuff that happens to us Yes.
16:22
kind of filters into their stories.
16:24
But there's a one moment in this strange little journey that you you take uh where when I did the first time, I literally had uh the hairs on my back rise because it felt weird. It felt weird.
16:40
It felt weird like they were just around the corner. They actually did exist. Do you know what I mean? It was strange. And I mean, Mhm.
16:48
I think they do cuz if you listen to the mountain and I want to talk about the mountain as we move through.
16:51
I thought about the big the big subject matter on that record, the big beauty and the big loss and the big life Mhm.
16:59
in that record and how the characters are really generous to you in that album. >> Yeah, they are. Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
17:06
>> They sort of must give you a a safe space to explore that. >> Well, yeah.
17:09
Well, yeah, and then you add all all of the kind of the rituals and and imagery of Indian culture.
17:18
It's like a couple of million gods in Hindu religion. All slightly different.
17:26
All representing different aspects of the kind of the human and the animal and the nature and if you just like learning stuff, it's a wonderful place to go to. Let's get this. It's Kim Jong-un. >> Yeah. Attention.
17:49
There has been a technical error.
17:51
Leave the building and find the nearest assembly point.
18:00
So, Jamie, when it came to sort of developing the characters and and figuring out what their tastes were and who liked what. Yeah.
18:06
I mean, it's it's very granular work, isn't it?
18:12
Because it's like you've got to you've got to literally create an entire backstory, present story. Yeah.
18:15
Think about what their future story is.
18:17
Write down to the details.
18:19
It's not like, "Oh, here's the image. Here's the artwork. Go do it."
18:21
It's like, "No, they wear these clothes. They drink this.
18:24
They like this kind of music." >> Yeah.
18:26
You start out, you you design enough to begin with and you just keep adding to it and adding to it.
18:30
So, they've developed over 25 years.
18:32
So, but yeah, I mean, Murdoc being a Satanist a Satanist, that was quite an easy one. >> Yeah.
18:39
Russell being from New York.
18:41
Russell being from New York and well, that was on our original manifesto was that Russell was going to be the character that was able to summon spirits.
18:50
Dead rappers or dead artists, which we thought was such a good idea and then we didn't do anything with it.
18:54
And then we had Del the ghost coming out of him, but we didn't pursue that idea until this album. Yeah.
19:02
Kind of made sense, you know, because we'd had 25 years and we'd worked with these people and we had a relationship with them and they had passed away.
19:09
So, then that idea made sense, but when we came up with it, there wasn't anyone to do that with, unless they're an imaginary character.
19:17
So, that was, you know, seeded a long time ago, and now comes to light. Comes to light.
19:23
Look, it's very Breaking Bad, isn't it?
19:29
Oh, there's human bones on the barbecue.
19:32
I expect Leatherface to come out of there in a chainsaw any minute.
19:36
Murdoc Winnebago, it's definitely this is definitely a new smell. Yeah.
19:40
>> I've never smelled this before.
19:40
Do you want to stay here, and we'll we'll just come back around and grab you?
19:43
No, I'll join you in a minute.
19:44
Just getting a bit of sun, are you? The Winnebago. Oh, yeah. Ooh.
19:52
Oh, [snorts] that smells bad. >> Smells terrible.
19:53
I see you sitting in the shower. Come in, take a seat. I like the smell of it.
19:56
You know, one of the things I've loved seeing is like as the food has come out of it, is that you've been in the studio a lot Mhm.
20:04
while the music's been made.
20:04
It hasn't just been like it was where you'd make a song, and you'd run upstairs and play it for Jamie, and he'd work on it, right?
20:09
You've gone along for the ride in this in the mountain very much so, right?
20:12
I mean, you you share this experience together. >> Yeah. the entire world.
20:17
>> know, um Song Machine was COVID.
20:20
So, we were all separate. >> Yeah.
20:21
We started off together, and then COVID hit, so we were talking on Zoom calls, really. >> Yeah.
20:27
>> And and the next record, Cracker Island, was a strange beast because it was literally made predominantly here in Los Angeles because we were waiting around in between meetings with uh Netflix. >> movie.
20:46
So, I was just sort of just we didn't we were waiting for something that didn't happen. >> Yeah.
20:52
And uh I mean, it's a record about it's a it's a frustrating record cuz it's it's a frustrating time, you know? Yeah. For me.
21:01
It moves too slow, the film industry is very slow.
21:03
Everything takes so much time, and we were working on a script and we were on the second draft of a of a pretty good script idea, and then we kind of Crack Island kind of became the movie cuz it had quite a complicated narrative and the storyline weaves through the album.
21:19
We were in a way letting too too much of the new technology which we didn't really understand um be used on our behalf.
21:28
That's why there was disconnect for us. Yeah.
21:32
This whole period has been the opposite of that.
21:35
We spent a lot of time together.
21:37
A lot of things have happened.
21:42
We've um talked about what it is we want to achieve, you know, actually having a real objective.
21:48
If we done a movie 25 years ago, fine, but the idea of doing a movie now is it doesn't have no interest in it whatsoever. >> No interest.
21:56
It's not an interesting idea.
21:57
It's not an It's not an original idea.
22:00
It's like we we we had this moment with Netflix where we were literally told you can do whatever you want and we'll give you as much money.
22:06
We're like, "Okay, great."
22:09
And we had some brilliant ideas, but it was just moving so slow and the guy we were working with just left.
22:16
And they said, "Don't worry, we'll find someone else."
22:18
And it's like, "Okay, it's going to be another year of conversations before this this starts again." So we pulled out. Yeah.
22:23
And then we put that all to the >> felt like I was hanging around for what seemed an eternity.
22:30
So we made we made an album while we were waiting.
22:35
About hanging around for eternity.
22:38
That's what that record's about.
22:39
>> [laughter] >> It's a good album. Thank you, Netflix.
22:40
I mean, you get something good out of it. I love this album.
22:43
Yeah, it's a great It's a great album. All of them are great. I love them.
22:46
Now Now Now is a great album.
22:48
And Humans is just They were all made under different circumstances. Yeah.
22:53
And we were in different places, different mindsets.
22:55
And Humans was just made right at the beginning of the Trump era, but it has that sort of energy it and It's crazy how I feel like Gorillaz has been predicting the end of time from day one and yet life caught up to you in a strange way faster than the end of the world did because it's you know the end of the world you know we all talk about the macro but really the end of our world is when we lose people close to us and everything change right? Yeah.
23:21
Apocalypse is an ongoing philosophical question.
23:24
It's not something you just meditate on once.
23:27
You look at it all the time.
23:30
That's what you meditate on.
23:30
The whole point of the mountain is it's a positive outlook, isn't it? Yeah.
23:37
Yeah, I mean we we could have got political but it's like why don't we just do something that's more positive about something that's quite negative? Yeah.
23:46
We don't you know we don't need to add to all the we all know what's going on.
23:49
I mean I couldn't help but add the happy dictator. Yeah.
23:55
But that was from an experience in Turkmenistan places where the president, the second president actually after it became an independent country, had this vision that he would stop all negative news in the country.
24:12
So that people could sleep better and be less anxious which sort of in one sense is is cuz a lovely sentiment.
24:22
And yet >> [laughter] >> Ignorance is bliss. Never never finish that.
24:27
Just leave it at and yet.
24:29
>> [laughter] >> Yeah, distinction here. Let's get out. See you soon, suckers.
24:32
It's the music that we choose. Off you go then.
24:39
>> [music] >> Through the door. It's it's banania.
24:44
These are all your clothes, Damon.
24:47
You finally found somewhere to store your own clothes.
24:49
>> I'm storing them here at the moment.
24:52
That's quite a nice shirt actually though.
25:00
>> Green light means you're in.
25:00
Oh, the recording studio. >> Yeah, man. Kong.
25:04
It must got this station. Mirror aux station. The flying V. Yeah, the flying V. Classic.
25:09
But all the stuff does work in here. It should work. Here you go.
25:24
Do you want to take a seat?
25:26
>> Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:26
Now, that is actually the original mixing desk.
25:30
That is my desk from bus space. Wow.
25:34
>> So, the whole first and most of the second album was done on that. >> Wow.
25:38
The brand new Monty Python paperback.
25:40
>> Oh my god, that's mine.
25:42
>> [laughter] >> This is a torture for Jamie to actually sit down there because he's so tidy.
25:48
It's like [clears throat] he'd be wanting to No, I don't want to mess up they set it all up.
25:50
I don't want to move stuff. >> what I mean.
25:52
You're you're You Look, this is This is a beautiful chaos.
25:56
>> In the studio, I definitely wouldn't have my albums on show. Do you know what I mean?
26:01
Keep that all very low-key.
26:03
This is not your old couch, is it?
26:03
No, that was lighter, remember? Yeah.
26:07
>> It wasn't very comfortable at all. Yeah.
26:11
So, when when did the man begin?
26:11
We were shooting the live action sequences for Silent Running video from the last album and we were in Serbia together and my wife was in India with her mother and they were flying back and her mother had a stroke.
26:29
And so, I had to go from Belgrade to London to India and on the beginning of December 2022 and then we were in Jaipur for 6 7 weeks to the middle of January, I think it was anyway, trying to get her mother home in a coma which was a pretty tough experience >> Yeah. And quite dramatic.
26:55
But at the same time, I just had an amazing experience in India.
26:57
You know, people were very warm and it really helped the situation.
27:01
So, when I came back, I was very excited to talk to Damon about the prospect of us going together.
27:08
No great plan at that point, but just to go to India together to have an experience and and to see whether we could make an album, a Gorillaz record in India.
27:18
And then in between trips, we lost our fathers.
27:22
His Damon's dad first and my dad 10 days later.
27:27
Which was very strange because we're born 10 days apart.
27:30
That is very >> So, it all started to get quite spooky and weird.
27:35
Not spooky, but like, okay, this this is this is something big. Yeah.
27:39
>> That needs to be addressed or I don't know, we needed to think about how to kind of move forward because, you know, you lose your father, you move up. Oh, yeah. You're next.
27:48
In the in the grand computer game of life and you become the patriarch and it's very weird, no matter your relationship with whether you had a good relationship or a bad relationship, doesn't matter. >> That's right. It does change you. It changes you. It changes you. Yeah.
28:02
Cuz you've kind of had that buffer, kind of a safety zone your entire life.
28:06
And so, that's suddenly gone and you're like, Yeah.
28:10
But it's interesting, isn't it?
28:12
Because you guys could have processed it individually and together, been friends and helped each other out.
28:17
Jamie, you could have gone and worked on something.
28:20
Damon, you could have what you did with the Everyday Robots, figured out how to say what you want to say through your own filter.
28:24
But to but to decide that Gorillaz is the right vehicle, I think is a really interesting decision.
28:28
I mean, for me, it wasn't even um something I hesitated over because I always wanted to come to India. Yeah.
28:41
Very, very distracted and delayed from Mali. Mhm.
28:50
the way that that that led me to amazing countries.
28:53
You know, so I I shouldn't go around to it.
28:56
>> I think you arrived at the right moment. Yeah.
28:58
I had absolutely I I totally agree.
29:01
I felt like I've done so much kind of playing music with people and hanging out with people to got over any kind of sort of notion of cultural impossibility.
29:17
Yeah, I mean it just doesn't exist to me.
29:18
That's why Therefore, all kind of um anti-immigration propaganda that kind of propagates the idea that that other cultures are other and therefore not to be trusted and uh is just ridiculous in my humble opinion because it's so clearly that everything is wonderful about the world is is the is about our interaction with each other and you know and our respect of each other and understanding of each other and not it's not divisive. Yeah.
29:54
What's all this division?
29:54
I think we have every everything to gain from >> Exactly.
29:58
from learning about everyone's culture and traveling the world. It's very important.
30:03
>> How can you how can you hate people you've never had an experience of?
30:05
Even if you don't have the option to travel and explore. Okay?
30:10
It doesn't mean that you can't be open to it and you travel and explore through that.
30:17
There's no argument in my my opinion to racism. That's it.
30:25
Imagine this album if we hadn't have worked with all these people from around the world. It wouldn't be the same. No.
30:31
>> That's a testament to what happens when you when you do that, when you mix with other people.
30:36
The end result is something really glorious, I think.
30:38
It is a there's a very nurturing spirit to the mountain.
30:41
You know, I feel like um I feel like India was obviously a very nurturing experience for the two of you.
30:47
Yeah, I mean Well, it's just a fascinating place. It's It's nuts.
30:51
Privileged to be able to actually play with musicians who are connected to music from my childhood, you know, very early childhood.
31:01
Yeah, based on where you grew up in the in the neighborhood you grew up in.
31:05
>> Yeah, and and the record collection of my of my father.
31:07
Did you realize at the time when you were going to India that there was there was a connection to the doctor?
31:12
>> I don't Well, I didn't realize how much of a a connection music and his death would have you know?
31:25
I mean Yeah, it's it It's fascinating watching someone die. You know?
31:35
What did you take from that experience?
31:37
>> Just It just kind of It sort of It raised more questions than answers. Yeah.
31:44
Like walls and walls of of patterns projected and roots and paths and you know, it's big It's big old It's big old universe on the other side, I think.
31:56
That's what I was thinking.
31:59
Well, you know, there's a lot of questions in the Sad Guy.
32:00
There's a lot of sort of in that song, I feel like, as you're going through the list of things.
32:05
>> Yeah, I mean, I could have gone on forever, really.
32:06
It's like In the end, all you can do in a song, really, is is offer an idea, isn't it?
32:12
You know, I mean, you can't complete it.
32:16
I mean, I mean, there are songs.
32:18
Talking about and kind of connected to that and the transfer of of atoms and you know, I went into a coffee shop.
32:27
I had a studio at the back. Uh >> Yeah, crazy.
32:30
They had Frank Sinatra's bedroom piano in it. What?
32:32
So, I played on that and for a moment I was I found some ultra in his bedroom. And then we left. Put the cover back on. I left.
32:43
Uh, and then then we went to uh, KCRW. >> Yeah, yeah.
32:49
And they uh, had uh, Nina Simone's piano.
32:54
So I played on that then.
32:54
This is 10 minutes later.
32:57
This is 10 minutes later. >> his DNA.
32:58
And then from both talked to this uh, lovely human being who turned out to [snorts] to be Sly Stone's daughter.
33:10
This is all within a half an hour. Yeah, in a half an hour.
33:11
This is all happened in half an hour. Only in LA. >> No, no, no.
33:15
It The The point of it is is if if you believe in in in in the idea of kind of everything leaves atoms and and and merges anyway. You know what I mean?
33:26
That's a lot for me in my world of music.
33:28
That's a lot of lot of music to be uh, swimming around in you know? Yeah.
33:34
So India India can give you that.
33:39
What was it like when you were sort of listening to these precious outtakes of people and the footage of you watching Dennis Hopper when he's alive recording is priceless because you are out of your mind with curiosity and excitement. >> Yeah.
33:51
We were trying to make, you know, thriller. Do you know what I mean?
33:53
We needed We needed a voice, you know?
33:57
We weren't sure whether it was actually happening.
34:00
We thought this is a joke.
34:00
This is not going to be the Dennis Hopper is not showing up and he did.
34:03
And he was just What was great about him was there was no ego.
34:07
He didn't give a damn about who he was.
34:10
He's fascinated with artists and meeting artists and collaborating with artists. That's his thing. >> Yeah.
34:16
And so he was very excited to meet Damon. He was a sweetheart.
34:18
The The first time I had uh, a chance to meet him it was at the um, Hackney Empire and it was some awards thing and uh, he was sitting in his row just down and go up.
34:33
And I was in the the kind of sort of gap between the doors and the chairs.
34:35
And then I lost my nerve at the last minute.
34:39
I went behind the column. Walked past.
34:43
I did I did pluck up the courage, but no, eventually, but I was actually shy. Yeah, well, he was. He is a legend. Oh, yeah.
34:52
I mean, he literally changed Hollywood.
34:54
Not I wasn't surprised you were shy.
34:54
You know, he's he's part of the Kerouac generation.
34:58
That means part of that philosophy which was a really important in the development of America. Yeah.
35:02
You know, it's the collaboration that makes this whole thing tick.
35:06
It's the idea of being able to bring people into the Gorillaz world and and after the first album, right, the proof of concept, it's much easier.
35:14
People are like, "Yeah, I'm interested."
35:15
I mean, the jump from first album, he had some amazing people, Ibrahim and many others, but then you got Lou Reed, you know, showing up and Yeah, that was a funny day, wasn't it?
35:23
We were in New studio off of Union Square.
35:25
It was me, Damon, and Remi. Remi could bark.
35:29
>> no, no, no, before we get to that point, you have to uh bear in mind that I had sent him three different songs that had all been completely literally thrown out. You know what I mean?
35:45
In no in no uncertain terms.
35:48
Um and I just thought I'm going to give it one more go.
35:51
Maybe I just sort of um wore him down or something. I don't know.
35:56
But he agreed to meet us and talk about it.
35:58
And he arrived in the studio and Damon said, "Hey, Lou, nice to meet you.
36:02
This is" and before Damon could say my name, he told me to off.
36:07
And he told Remi, "You off and you off." >> say that to Remi.
36:11
And we And we said, Remi was Remi was more interested than any of us.
36:14
You know what I >> So, me and Remi went shopping and then Damon was alone with him in the studio and with the with the technician guy.
36:19
He then said, "I've got to go go uptown."
36:26
And I'm going to write in the taxi and then when I've done what I've got to do, I'm going to come back.
36:35
And I'm just going to look at it and just read it verbatim and then we'll see where we're at, you know, and that's what he did.
36:46
He went off, wrote this fantastic kind of sort of meditation on plastic and uh came back and delivered it.
36:54
And we saw him again and again and then he became much more friendly.
36:57
Like I did a drawing of him and and I was told we couldn't use it.
37:02
And then he then he asked if he could use it for a magazine cover for some of the Village Voice or some local kind of New York magazine.
37:09
Then he came and did Madison Square Garden with us, at which point he was becoming very friendly.
37:15
And then he said, "I want to come and play in LA."
37:17
Next thing he's in LA with us and he's going around every dressing room.
37:21
This is the Plastic Beach tour.
37:23
So, we had everybody on that tour.
37:25
He's going around every dressing room introducing himself and being an absolute sweetheart. >> Wow.
37:29
So, the story starts with off without even waiting to hear my name. Wow.
37:33
And then with a very, very friendly Lou Reed.
37:36
But at Madison Square Garden, when he came on they started going Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello.
37:40
And for some [clears throat] reason I thought they were they were going boo. Right.
37:45
>> thought, "Fuck, this is really weird." And boo boo boo.
37:48
No one does a boo like that, do they? They go boo.
37:53
Yeah, they No, they were going Lou. Lou. Oh, okay.
37:55
Yeah, I figured it was Lou.
37:57
>> Okay, so it sounds like they were booing him.
37:59
So, this can happen, you know.
37:59
Did you go looking for stuff from Lou from the outtakes for this?
38:03
Oh, yeah, I found I found stuff, but uh it's on there, but not not him speaking.
38:09
We had to uh well, we we we lent his own Hal, didn't we?
38:12
The word There's a bit on the Plastic Guru where it's the the voice of Hal from 2001, but he's saying the words that Lou Reed says.
38:21
That's how we replaced it. Same thing. it.
38:23
I bet Lou Reed was an anti-nostalgist. Yes.
38:26
Yeah, I just wondered about that because I I love the idea that Russell has finally been able to um fulfill his objective of bringing of bringing, you know, the the dead to life and summons up his spirit.
38:37
But equally, you know, these decisions that you can't take them lightly, right?
38:41
Because these you use what you use when the people were alive, they heard it, they approved it, and now you have these outtakes and you got to figure out how you do it in a thoughtful and lovely way.
38:48
Well, we went through all the proper channels and we spoke to all the families or the estates of them and approached it from a very um respectful way and everyone was cool with it.
38:58
What was really sad is there was nothing of Terry Hall.
39:02
Yeah, I Yeah, I saw that.
39:04
Which is really you know, cuz I knew Terry as well as anyone, you know, but there wasn't anything, so we had to have that kind of uh very limited parameter for it to feel like it was still doing the act, you know, we was saving some of the atoms that been left. >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you know what I mean?
39:25
That's >> [clears throat] >> That's the vibe. That's the vibe.
39:28
We're going to see it in a second.
39:28
The big mural of everybody who's been on it. >> Oh, yeah.
39:31
It's moving, actually, in some ways.
39:33
Because you see a lot of people who are still First of all, great loyalty ratio.
39:38
>> [laughter] >> You know, there's a lot of people on that picture.
39:41
>> And not a lot of people have like, you know, quit, you know, people still kicking about, you know, Paul on this record, Johnny on this record, you know, Dave, rest his soul, you know, um but there were people who've come and gone and it and it and so really loss has been a part of the Gorillaz story for long before you actually experienced it personally. Absolutely. Absolutely.
40:00
By the very nature of what we do, there's there's going to be loss, you know, because you know, when I work with Ibrahim, Oh, someone else we couldn't find outtakes of.
40:10
Yeah, couldn't find anything.
40:12
But he was already in his late 80s. Yeah.
40:14
God, you look so reverent in that video.
40:17
I mean, yeah, you're so young and you're sitting there and you're just like >> Yeah, no.
40:20
you are playing steady hand. Yes.
40:24
That must have been one of the first times that you found yourself in a room with someone of that caliber. >> Oh, I know. No, no.
40:28
Testing your collaborative chops.
40:29
Yeah, that was that was a mad period because I also went to Mali and my first musical experience in Mali was being invited around to Toumani Diabaté's house.
40:44
Being shown into this very kind of sort of plush living room.
40:50
And then Toumani comes in in his robes.
40:53
And he says, "You want to play?"
40:56
I'd rather listen to you play, but I'm played my first note and realized that the kora needs to tune. Yeah.
41:00
Because the melodica is is a fixed >> Yeah. reed. Yeah.
41:07
Um anyway, it was it was a baptism of fire, but what a long journey it's been. Yeah.
41:12
So, one question off the back of that.
41:14
Cuz confidence came, didn't it, at the end of the day?
41:16
For you to be able to sort of decide to go, then find yourself in that room, then honor the request Yeah.
41:22
by deciding to contribute something musically in a room where you probably, if you actually stopped to even allow the inner voice to just naturally you for a second, some probably some pretty decent imposter syndrome going on at that moment. >> Absolutely.
41:33
So, so by the time that we we got to India, well versed in the Yeah, yeah, yeah, go for it. >> Exactly. Just go for it.
41:39
And and what I what I find find from musicians all around the world, honestly, is that so most of them are so generous with their spirit, you know?
41:50
I'm more than happy to just hang out with musicians.
41:52
I don't It's not an exclusive club, but you know what I mean?
41:58
I know a lot of musicians, that's for sure.
42:01
How'd you get the voice on the film? It was voice actor. It's so legit.
42:05
That's '70s grindhouse horror. That's shitty.
42:10
>> [laughter] >> But that comes from me me seeing a somebody re-edited a trailer for The Shining but as a romantic comedy.
42:17
I >> [laughter] >> did I haven't seen that.
42:18
He's a writer looking for inspiration. I've got to see that.
42:23
>> Jack Torrance in >> [laughter] >> Shinings.
42:24
It made me laugh so much that you can just re-edit something.
42:27
So we wanted to do the horror trailer and then we did a fake Disney trailer.
42:33
And then the the real film has nothing to do with horror or it's [clears throat] not a Disney film. It's just a joke.
42:38
I feel like this way AI might come in handy is allowing us to to to have a giggle at things like that from a from a sort of subversive point of view. Might come in handy. Well, on that level.
42:50
Well, I don't think you should trivialize that.
42:54
>> [laughter] >> And I don't and I'm glad and I'm glad we ended up here just briefly.
42:58
>> you know, that that's just makes us lazy.
43:02
>> It's plagiarism really, isn't it?
43:04
>> It's the biggest form of plagiarism ever. But it's just laziness.
43:06
We're just getting lazier and lazier and lazier.
43:10
And technology is allowing us to get even lazier and then we lose all our skill and then we don't do anything anymore.
43:16
I know people who who use chat GPT to write all their emails. >> Yeah.
43:21
They don't even write anymore and this all is easier.
43:24
But you're going to forget how to write at some point and then you're going to become illiterate.
43:28
The people who are making this stuff are people who aren't artists but they've been given a tool that makes them think they're artists.
43:36
So I know people who call themselves AI artists because they tap in a command and then the AI generates an image and then they say I did that.
43:45
I'm an AI artist which is It's as well.
43:47
I mess a bot called Kieran a few days ago.
43:54
Okay, [snorts] how was that experience?
43:56
I said I'm I'm always very polite.
43:59
We've been making friends with all the robots in LA. Yeah.
44:04
Cuz they've got facial recognition. Yeah.
44:06
And you know when it the the obvious happens in about 10 years time.
44:10
You need to be friendly with them.
44:11
We're going to be friends with the robots. Yeah, you need to be.
44:14
But you know, being long long-termists as well.
44:16
Oh, I like long-termists. Oh my god. It's time to move on.
44:27
As you're going through the exhibition, obviously this is the mountain and this is kind of honors where gorillas are today, which [music] is in this environment.
44:33
So just talk us through this this painting, Jamie.
44:34
This comes from an an adventure we had together in China when we climbed to the top of Monkey Mountain.
44:42
There was a a monastery at the top and we were so high we were above the clouds.
44:47
There's a lot more of that story.
44:49
This is 2 days where both of us nearly died.
44:52
>> So anyway, we got to the top.
44:52
No, no, no, no, what happened? What happened? What happened?
44:55
Oh, no, we we really nearly died. >> What happened?
44:57
I nearly died the night before because I took something I shouldn't have done. >> Right. And Right.
45:01
And so he was in the toilet.
45:04
And I I was singing my way and then I just thought James disappears.
45:11
And then went into the toilet and he was uh Get down the toilet door.
45:13
Yeah, and I was unconscious. Yeah.
45:15
We were in a We were in a karaoke bar in China. Yeah. In Chengdu.
45:20
And somebody offered something that might help us stay awake.
45:22
Oh, And god knows what it was, but I woke up the next morning in my boxer shorts in a hotel room with him at the end of the bed in his boxer shorts and I said, "What happened?"
45:32
And he said, "Fucking I thought you were going to die."
45:36
And I said, "Why are we in our boxer shorts?"
45:37
He said, "Cuz you threw up over everything."
45:39
Oh, And then we climbed Monkey Mountain.
45:42
>> Yeah, there were Feeling like that. Yeah. hangover imaginable.
45:46
We get to the top of Monkey Mountain.
45:48
I'm going to let you tell your bit.
45:48
And then on the way down, my kneecaps go. I can't walk anymore.
45:52
So they they get people to carry me.
45:54
And James was like, "Fuck you, you're lazy." He marches off.
45:58
Cuz I said, "Right, I'm going to run down the mountain, then."
46:02
because it had this ancient stair stairway all the way up the mountain, mate. >> Yeah.
46:06
Carved out of stone, most extraordinary thing.
46:08
And he gets to a crossroads.
46:09
Well, I'm running I'm So, I'm sort of you know, like that.
46:11
And I'm going down the mountain and there were like a couple of villages on this mountain. Huge place. >> Yeah.
46:18
And as I was going through there, they were they were like "Hey!"
46:22
I didn't know what the they were talking about, but I think they were trying to tell me don't try and run down this cuz you're going to really hurt yourself up. Yeah, yeah.
46:28
Anyway, by the time I got to the bottom of the other side of this mountain, my back and my legs were starting to really tighten up and then I was actually only been able to walk like this.
46:37
He went missing for hours and hours. >> 5 hours later.
46:43
Anyway, no one speaks any English, so I thought I'm just going to go and try and get a hitch a ride.
46:49
So, I go out onto the road and then finally someone stops.
46:55
I show them the map of where I wanted to go and they sort of sort of said yes.
46:58
And I tried to get on the back of it.
47:02
Anyway, I got on the back of the moped and then this this this gentleman went up another mountain and then at the top stopped, answered the phone and then got into like the most horrific uh domestic argument that went on for at least 20 minutes.
47:18
So, I'm just sitting like on the back of this >> [laughter] >> It was getting dark and Monkey Mountain is full of wild dangerous monkeys. Yeah.
47:28
And they think he probably doesn't come down before he gets dark.
47:30
He's He's going to die up there. They will attack him.
47:33
>> I got down, but maybe I was part of a kidnapping that that sort of went wrong.
47:38
Yeah, it went wrong, yeah.
47:38
But it was an eventful 24 hours and I suppose that reminds us of Yeah.
47:43
That was our one of our many near-death experiences.
47:50
Oh, the church of gorillas.
47:54
And then I think we go into the dressing room. Uh costume department. >> Mhm. Oh, splendid.
48:01
This [snorts] smells nice in here.
48:05
How many costumes do you think you've How many outfits? Thousands. >> Thousands.
48:08
Yeah, they always draw them wearing something different.
48:10
As many outfits as I've drawn pictures, probably.
48:13
But the idea to make real versions of the cartoon characters costumes was a good idea for the >> Yeah, yeah.
48:19
And that's Noodle's little jacket.
48:20
No, it's different when it's tactile, when you feel it. Yeah, yeah.
48:24
But I I love this dressing room.
48:24
I'd like to have a dressing room like this.
48:28
Don't you have a dressing room like this?
48:29
Where do you have your >> Well, yeah, but not with these kind of lovely made beautiful clothes in there. Yeah, it's cool. This is great.
48:34
It's one of my favorite rooms in the entire exhibition cuz it really does it makes you it really comes to life.
48:40
And all this all this effort that's gone into like, you know, creating this world here.
48:43
And it's nice when these come on, you have the images in there of the characters and stuff. So many pearls.
48:50
I love the melted lollipop. Head north. Where's north from here? Boston found. Pea jeepers creepers. Look at that hand.
48:59
That's supposed to be from the wicker man.
49:01
It should have candle wicks on it, you know. Oh, here you go.
49:05
The famous Francis Bacon painting that was apparently stolen and never found.
49:09
So we're making out that the Gorillaz stole it. Freud, bacon and eggs.
49:17
Thank you, brave traveler, for daring to enter Gorillaz >> [snorts] >> House of Kong. It's fun, man. It's really fun.
49:27
It's one of those experiences when you go through it, you it's overwhelming the level of work that you both put into this.
49:35
It's never felt more like 25 years than in that experience, just based on the like you say, the fraction of Oh, yeah, this is 15% of all of the stuff. It's crazy.
49:44
I mean, even just getting a the fraction of the stories the two of you had. Yeah, oh my goodness.
49:47
Yeah, you I mean, exactly. Just one little picture.
49:52
So much of it is a has that accompanying them.
49:54
I mean, you've gone and seen more of the world than probably any living musician in a way out there.
49:59
Yeah, definitely out there.
50:02
>> it's it's definitely >> It's definitely been one of the highlights of my life traveling. I love it.
50:06
I love traveling with him. Okay.
50:08
And then we end up together again.
50:11
Yeah, that's the corridor or one of the corridors in studio first scene. Yeah.
50:14
And they're actually my pants. Where to next?
50:20
Well, that's actually a good question cuz if it's not a retrospective, then this certainly isn't a way of saying thank you and good night.
50:27
The mountain as we've talked about covers some really big life stuff.
50:34
And but but you know >> I mean, but but but we didn't plan it that way, you know. Of course not. Of course not.
50:39
We're talking about the next album already. Yeah.
50:41
It'll be something else, you know.
50:43
Where haven't you been that you'd love to go and explore from creative point of view? >> There's still loads.
50:48
I mean, I've only just scratched the surface of everywhere. It's never going to end.
50:51
I'm not going to be able to do everything that is there in my lifetime. Yeah.
50:55
I'll just keep I'll keep pushing for as long as I can. Yeah. I may be stopped. I will stop.
51:05
So, there's no maybe about it.
51:05
And then Russell will have to Yeah. conjure the spirits. Get me back. >> Mhm.
51:11
The two of you back I I hope he does.
51:13
I hope he does cuz I'll be really pissed off if he doesn't.
51:15
>> [laughter] >> Russell will have to conjure you, Damon. What is this, Damon?
51:18
What what what what looking at some cells.
51:21
>> This is the rhinestone eyes that we we started doing a video for rhinestone eyes.
51:26
Um and we had a bit of a problem with the record company pulled the budget because they felt that the album hadn't been successful enough.
51:31
So, they weren't going to pay.
51:33
We literally spent 2 days we started animating.
51:35
So, there were going to be four videos for Plastic Beach, Stylo, Melancholy Hill, Rhinestone Eyes, and I can't remember the third one.
51:42
But, it was a continuing story.
51:44
So, it would have been like a short animated film over four videos. This was the third part.
51:48
And we started animating and they pulled the budget on us.
51:53
It just exists like this, you know. This is cool.
51:55
The plastic beach has been such a beautiful long-standing relationship for all of us.
51:59
We wanted it to be made like like Thunderbirds, you know. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like a miniature.
52:02
And we shot it in a tank.
52:05
It's all the stuff underneath.
52:07
Yeah, you're missing Oh, wow. Look at that.
52:09
Holy It's all the detritus of mankind, all the mistakes, all the wars, all the hatred, all the madness of mankind congealed together to make this island of rubbish in the middle of the South Pacific.
52:23
Point Nemo, the furthest point from any landmass on planet Earth.
52:27
So, we're at the end of our conversation this time around and we've reached a mountain.
52:30
I mean, this is the crew, right?
52:32
This is the cast of the new album.
52:33
>> of our people on the record. Well, this is great. Yeah.
52:36
All these wonderful people. >> Yeah.
52:41
It's a lot of great times spent with uh Yeah. people. Yeah. Thank you, Shawn. Yeah.
52:47
He's the only artist I've ever heard who was doing a soundcheck and came up with an international number one hit.
52:52
You know, Shawn wasn't in the best of states at that time.
52:55
So, he was nodding off a lot. Yeah.
52:57
And he'd just been playing playing for ages.
53:02
And then he sort of came back to this world.
53:05
And he just just telling everyone, "Yeah, I can hear it now. Yeah, right. I'm ready to go." And then It's coming up. It's coming up. It's there.
53:12
Well, boys, thanks for letting me come through and have a have a little nosey at this amazing exhibition. It looks good here. Yeah, it's beautiful.
53:18
>> Actually, it's really come out nice.
53:18
I do want to finish by saying that this will obviously come down and be compartmentalized and will be put away.
53:28
But the album is it's a triumph.
53:30
And the visuals are absolutely gorgeous. The films are gorgeous.
53:34
>> all we can do to that is this. >> [laughter] >> Oh.