Damon Albarn: Gorillaz is reuniting
The interview turned playful early on, when Albarn was asked in quick succession what he thinks of several U.S. pop stars.
His opinion of Kanye West: "I think he's pretty unique."
His opinion of Taylor Swift: "Remarkable, but not unique."
His opinion of Drake: "He's not as consistent as he could be."
His opinion of Future: "Really interesting, and sometimes exhilarating."
His opinion of Rihanna: "Well, she's on the cover of NME, so she must be cool."
Jamie Hewlett, visual collaborator for Gorillaz, told NME this week that he and Albarn are working on the new album and "2016 is going to be Gorillaz all year." Whether it's reigniting old projects or starting new ones, Albarn seems to be keeping pretty busy.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the famous battle for Brit rock dominance, when Oasis and Blur were archrivals fighting for the same audience. Rolling Stone asked if that feud affected the music.
"It was definitely a lot of fun. We used the ghost of the '60s to cover the skeleton of the modern age. It was a strange morphing, an interesting prototype time," Albarn said. "Tabloid and celebrity are the things that drive things. But a lot of the music from then has got a real atmosphere to it. Lyrically, I don't think people write stuff like that anymore."
He went on to say that he and Oasis frontman, Noel Gallagher, occasionally hung out.
Blur's 2015 comeback album, The Magic Whip, and time have increased the band's popularity stateside. Next week the band will perform its two biggest U.S. non-festival headlining gigs at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl and New York's Madison Square Garden.
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