The Mountain (Gorillaz album)

The Mountain
Studio album by
Gorillaz
Released27 February 2026 (2026-02-27)
StudioStudio 13
Length66:22
Language
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Arabic
  • Hindi
  • Yoruba
LabelKong
Producer
Gorillaz chronology
Cracker Island
(2023) 		The Mountain
(2026)
Damon Albarn chronology
Bahidorá
(2025) 		The Mountain
(2026)
Singles from The Mountain
  1. "The Happy Dictator"
    Released: 11 September 2025 (2025-09-11)
  2. "The Manifesto"
    Released: 8 October 2025 (2025-10-08)
  3. "The God of Lying"
    Released: 6 November 2025 (2025-11-06)
  4. "Damascus"
    Released: 12 December 2025 (2025-12-12)
  5. "The Hardest Thing" / "Orange County"
    Released: 15 January 2026 (2026-01-15)
  6. "The Mountain" / "The Moon Cave" / "The Sad God"
    Released: 26 February 2026 (2026-02-26)

The Mountain (title written in Devanagari as पर्वत, parvat[a], 'mountain' in several Indian languages) is the upcoming ninth studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, set to release on 27 February 2026. It is to be released through Gorillaz's label, Kong,[1] distributed by the Sony Music subsidiary the Orchard. This is the first Gorillaz title to be released without the participation of Parlophone or Warner Records since the band's hiatus.

The album features numerous appearances from musicians and actors, including posthumous appearances from Dennis Hopper, Bobby Womack, David Jolicoeur from De La Soul, Tony Allen, Proof, and Mark E. Smith.[2][3] It will feature performances in English, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish, and Yoruba.[4] It will be produced by Damon Albarn, Remi Kabaka Jr., James Ford and Samuel Egglenton.

The album was debuted and performed in full in 2025 at a show during Gorillaz's 25th anniversary "House of Kong" exhibition, with a supporting tour scheduled for 2026.

Background

The first mention of Gorillaz's ninth album came from an interview with Damon Albarn ahead of their headlining Coachella 2023 performance, commenting that it would "take [Albarn & Jamie Hewlett] somewhere [they've] never been before".[5] Albarn further described it as a "paradigm shift" and "very different" in a July 2023 interview with the Broken Record podcast.[6] Later, in a December 2023 interview for Les Inrockuptibles, Albarn stated that work would begin on the album following the completion of The Magic Flute II: La Malédiction, his adaptation of The Magic Flute Part Two, and that he and Hewlett would travel to India to do so.[7] In March 2025, Albarn told Les Inrockuptibles that the album was nearing completion, and in a later interview with Radio Nova he mentioned it would be complete in six weeks' time.[8][9]

Albarn and Hewlett both experienced the loss of close family members prior to their time in India. Both described the album as a cohesive and conceptual work exploring ideas of death and the afterlife through the band's fictional characters. Hewlett said people listening to the album are "supposed to listen to it from beginning to end", saying that they were "trying to bring back that idea of taking time to invest in something, instead of this culture of scrolling".[3]

Production

The album's opening song, "The Mountain", was recorded after Albarn and Hewlett visited Amber Fort in Rajasthan. Albarn recorded a one‑string violin player playing a Rajasthan folk song, which formed the basis of the song, which Albarn later re-worked in his hotel room. Albarn then recorded the song with the Hindu Jea Band Jaipur, in Jaipur.[10]

The lead single, "The Happy Dictator", was inspired by Albarn's visit to Turkmenistan, where he learned of the dictator, Saparmurat Niyazov (aka Turkmenbasi) – in an interview with Jack Saunders on BBC Radio 1, Albarn said of the song: "The point of ‘The Happy Dictator’ is that the Turkmenbasi wanted everyone in Turkmenistan to only think happy thoughts and sleep unaffected by the doom of the world, and just keep everything upbeat, so he kind of banned all bad news. When I was there, I was kind of inspired by that".[11] The song features American band, Sparks – a collaboration which came about after the band left a note in Albarn's dressing room at the Primavera Sound Festival encouraging him to reach out to them if he wished to collaborate in the future. The band hinted at a collaboration between the two with an Instagram post of the group in Albarn's studio in London.[12][13]

The album's second single, "The Manifesto", features late rapper Proof, whom the band had worked with on "911" in 2001, as well as Argentinian rapper, Trueno, with Proof's contributions believed to be an unused freestyle from those sessions[14]. The song also features an uncredited apperance from flautist Ajay Prasanna. Prasanna, who recorded his contributions in New Delhi, chose to play Dhani and Malkauns ragas on the song.[15] In an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, Albarn and Hewlett revealed that the song's name is in part a reference, to the band's original manifesto, in which Albarn and Hewlett had specified that the band's drummer, Russel Hobbs, would be able to call on the spirits of deceased musicians to collaborate with.[16]

"Damascus" was originally recorded for inclusion on the band's third album, Plastic Beach – however, the song was left off the finished project, in favour of the song "Sweepstakes". In a 2023 interview with Zane Lowe, Albarn confirmed the original title was "Fresh Arrivals", and featured Yasiin Bey and Syrian dabke artist, Omar Souleyman. The song marks Bey's third collaboration with the group following the aforementioned "Sweepstakes" and the single "Stylo".[17][18]

The song "The Shadowy Light", features guest contributions from Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash and Asha Bhosle, the latter of whom Albarn had tried to work with previously.[19] Bhosle, who sings the Hindi hook “Majhi Re Majhi” on the song, had her words written by lyricist and dialogue writer, Kausar Munir. Speaking of the song, Bhosle said: "I was hesitant to work on this album of Gorillaz, but when I heard the music track and the lyrics, it triggered something deep inside me. This was not one of those everyday kinds of songs. The lyrics held deep meaning, and I felt moved enough to accept this assignment."[15] She further elaborated on the song's lyrics in a joint interview with Vogue India: "In one part of ‘The Shadowy Light’, I sing, “Chal mere raahi, gehra hain paani, mujhe jaana hain uss paar.” I’m telling the boatman to ferry me across the river, which is my life’s journey: my birth, my relationships, my dedication to music, my achievements, my duties as a mother, daughter, sister, wife and Indian. The boatman is a metaphor for my music, which has guided me across this river of life. When I get to the other side, my journey will be complete and I will attain moksha. If you listen carefully, you will be able to discern thousands of sounds floating around us. I shall bec­ome one of them. This freedom to become one with nature is what awaits me on the other side of the river."[20]

Throughout the production process, the band experimented with different recording techniques. During the recording of the track "The Sweet Prince", featured guest, Anoushka Shankar, suggested a multi-layered technique for the song's sitar portions, wherein Shankar's fast strumming created a layered cocoon for the song's vocals – a similar technique was used by The Beatles for their song "Love You To", from their 1966 album, Revolver.[21]

The band had intended to use unused vocals from late American musician, Lou Reed (whom they had previously collaborated with on "Some Kind of Nature"), from Plastic Beach on the album, however, Reed's estate did not give the band permission to do so.[22]

Release

On 3 September 2025, the album was revealed and performed live in its entirety as the final "mystery show" of four shows coinciding with Gorillaz's 25th anniversary "House of Kong" museum and art exhibition in London.[23] Eight days later, the band officially announced the album, revealing the title, cover artwork, and the original release date of 20 March 2026 and releasing the lead single "The Happy Dictator" concurrently.[24] The band are scheduled to promote the album further through The Mountain Tour, with concerts in Europe between March and June 2026.[25] A deluxe version of the album was also announced, with the addition of four bonus tracks, which include contributions from Niloy Ahsan and Pamela Jain, as well as additional contributions from the Hindu Jea Band Jaipur and Anoushka Shankar, who both contributed to the standard edition of the album too. One of the bonus tracks is a cover of Kishore Kumar's "Mere Sapno Ki Rani", from the 1969 Bollywood film Aradhana.[26]

On 17 September, the band premiered the song "Damascus" at Brian Eno's Together for Palestine concert at Wembley Arena in London alongside Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey, where Bey also recited the English translation of Imam Muhammad b. Nāsir al-Darʿī's The Prayer of the Oppressed.[27] On 8 October, the band released "The Manifesto" as the second single.[28] On 6 November, the band released "The God of Lying" as the third single.[29] On 2 December, an additional "House of Kong" exhibition in Los Angeles was announced, alongside two shows of the full album at the Hollywood Palladium in February 2026.[30] On 12 December, "Damascus" was released as the album's fourth single. On the same day, Gorillaz announced that The Mountain would now be released earlier, on 27 February 2026.[31]

On 15 January, the band released "The Hardest Thing" and "Orange County" as a double single. Argentinian producer Bizarrap, who worked on the latter, released an alternate mix of the song a week later, on 23 January.[32][33] The band performed the single on The Graham Norton Show on 13 February, with guests, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar.[34]

On 26 February 2026, the band will release the album's only music video – an 8-minute animated film directed by Hewlett, made entirely from hand-drawn animations, using techniques previously shown off in films such as The Jungle Book and One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which Hewlett used as inspiration.[35] The video, "The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God", is named after three of the songs on the album. The video will receive an exclusive premiere across Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas alongside a short documentary film. The release will also see see the cinema showing viewings over the course of a month of each virtual band member's favourite film: Bad Santa, Sweet Charity, Perfect Days and Britannia Hospital.[36]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Damon Albarn and the tracks' respective guest(s) and produced by Gorillaz, James Ford, Samuel Egglenton, and Remi Kabaka Jr., except where noted.

The Mountain – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Mountain" (featuring Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash)  4:50
2."The Moon Cave" (featuring Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda, and Black Thought) 
4:57
3."The Happy Dictator" (featuring Sparks)  4:44
4."The Hardest Thing" (featuring Tony Allen)Albarn 2:18
5."Orange County" (featuring Bizarrap, Kara Jackson, and Anoushka Shankar)
  • Gorillaz
  • Bizarrap
  • Egglenton[a]
  • Kabaka[a]
3:28
6."The God of Lying" (featuring Idles)
 3:09
7."The Empty Dream Machine" (featuring Black Thought, Johnny Marr, and Anoushka Shankar)  5:40
8."The Manifesto" (featuring Trueno and Proof)  7:19
9."The Plastic Guru" (featuring Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)  3:14
10."Delirium" (featuring Mark E. Smith)  3:52
11."Damascus" (featuring Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey)  4:04
12."The Shadowy Light" (featuring Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash)  5:39
13."Casablanca" (featuring Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr)  3:46
14."The Sweet Prince" (featuring Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr, and Anoushka Shankar)  4:33
15."The Sad God" (featuring Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr, and Anoushka Shankar)  4:49

Notes

  • ^[a] indicates an additional producer

References

  1. ^ Kelly, Tyler Damara (12 September 2025). "IDLES, Yasiin Bey, Mark E Smith, Tony Allen and more feature on Gorillaz's forthcoming album, The Mountain". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  2. ^ DeVille, Chris (11 September 2025). "Gorillaz Announce New Album The Mountain: Hear "The Happy Dictator" (Feat. Sparks)". Stereogum. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b Porter, Sophie (11 September 2025). "Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett tell us about new Gorillaz album The Mountain". Rolling Stone UK. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  4. ^ Molloy, Laura (11 September 2025). "Gorillaz announce new album The Mountain with UK and Ireland tour and theatrical single "The Happy Dictator" featuring Sparks". NME. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  5. ^ Albarn, Damon (15 April 2023). "Coachella 2023: Gorillaz interview" (Interview). Interviewed by Alvarez, Nicole. KROQ. Retrieved 11 September 2025 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ Albarn, Damon (11 July 2023). "Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz)" (Interview). Interviewed by Rose, Leah. Broken Record Podcast. Retrieved 11 September 2025 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Albarn, Damon (December 2023). ""C'est quoi ce bordel?"" ["What the hell is this?"]. Les Inrockuptibles (Interview). Interviewed by Moreau, François. France. pp. 32–34.
  8. ^ Duran, Anagricel (27 March 2025). "Damon Albarn teases new Gorillaz album for 2025". NME. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  9. ^ Albarn, Damon (15 April 2025). "Damon Albarn est l'invité du Score" [Damon Albarn is the guest on The Score] (Interview) (in French). Interviewed by Roux, Charline. France: Radio Nova. Retrieved 11 September 2025 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ David Roy (13 February 2026). "Gorillaz duo Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett on search for musical inspiration during grief-tinged adventure through India". The Irish News.
  11. ^ "Gorillaz announce new album, 'The Mountain', share 'The Happy Dictator' alongside UK tour dates". Far Out. 11 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Damon Albarn on New Music Fix, BBC Radio 6 Music, 11.09.2025". YouTube. 11 September 2025.
  13. ^ "Sparks Instagram post with Damon Albarn". Instagram.
  14. ^ Cassidy George (13 February 2026). "Gorillaz: Face the Void, Kill Your Ego, End the "Celebrity Virus"". 032c.
  15. ^ a b Anurag Tagat (12 February 2026). "Cover Story: Gorillaz Look Beyond Mortality". Rolling Stone.
  16. ^ "Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett celebrate Gorillaz new single 'The Manifesto'". Music-News. 9 October 2025.
  17. ^ "Damon Albarn: Studio Tour, 'Cracker Island' & Coachella | Apple Music". YouTube. 23 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Gorillaz share spirited new single 'Damascus' with Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey". NME. 12 December 2025.
  19. ^ Michaels, Sean (28 April 2010). "Gorillaz planning two more Plastic Beach albums?". The Guardian. London.
  20. ^ Shaikh, Sadaf (18 February 2026). "Gorillaz interview: Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett on the afterlife, AI and awakening to India". Vogue India.
  21. ^ Khan, Arman (16 February 2026). "The Making of Gorillaz's 'The Mountain': How Anoushka Shankar and the Bangash Brothers Became Part Of The Epic Collaboration". The Hollywood Reporter India.
  22. ^ "Gorillaz: Face the Void, Kill Your Ego, End the "Celebrity Virus"". 032c. 13 February 2026.
  23. ^ Chelosky, Danielle (3 September 2025). "Gorillaz Debuted A Whole New Album And Brought Out Sparks & Johnny Marr At House Of Kong Closer". Stereogum. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  24. ^ Sterling, Scott (11 September 2025). "Gorillaz Announce New Album The Mountain, Unveil "The Happy Dictator"". Consequence. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  25. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (11 September 2025). "Gorillaz Announce New Album The Mountain and European Tour". Variety. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  26. ^ "The Mountain Boxset Edition". Gorillaz website. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  27. ^ Pepic, Jasmina (18 September 2025). "Gorillaz Join Forces with Yasiin Bey & Omar Souleyman for Performance of "Damascus" at Together for Palestine Benefit". mxdwn.com. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  28. ^ Sterling, Scott (8 October 2025). "Gorillaz Unveil Sprawling New Single "The Manifesto": Stream". Consequence. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  29. ^ Dunworth, Liberty (6 November 2025). "Gorillaz share reflective new single 'The God Of Lying' featuring IDLES". NME. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  30. ^ Ragusa, Paolo (2 December 2025). "Gorillaz Announce House of Kong Exhibition in Los Angeles". Consequence. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  31. ^ Brandle, Lars (12 December 2025). "Gorillaz Prepare to Climb 'The Mountain' With New Cut 'Damascus': Stream It Now". Billboard. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  32. ^ Simpson, Joe (16 January 2026). "Gorillaz Return With New Track 'Orange County': Stream It Now". Mixtape Madness. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  33. ^ Carter, Daisy (16 January 2026). "Gorillaz pay tribute to Tony Allen on moving new double single 'The Hardest Thing / Orange County'". DIY. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  34. ^ "The Graham Norton Show – Episode 18, Series 33".
  35. ^ Cassidy George (13 February 2026). "Gorillaz: Face the Void, Kill Your Ego, End the "Celebrity Virus"". 032c.
  36. ^ "Gorillaz Take Over Alamo Drafthouse With Free Movies, A One Night Only Exclusive Album Release Event, and Special Short Documentary Film". Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. 17 February 2026.
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