The Gorillaz have surprised the world with a three-track EP: Meanwhile.
Along with the release of the album, a little explainer on the EP’s title from 2D was released: “Meanwhile Gardens are just round the corner from Memory Lane. If you get to Crawley you’ve gone too far,” as reported by Consequence.
In addition, in a press release, the band confirmed that the EP is an homage to the Notting Hill Carnival in the UK.
It’s a, “joyous homage to the iconic Notting Hill Carnival, paused this year due to the pandemic, and West London, home to the band’s Kong Studios.”
“The 2000 Carnival signalled the start of something big for Gorillaz with their first ever outing, a performance of ‘Clint Eastwood’ at the Middle Row Records soundsystem in Meanwhile Gardens, W10 alongside Sweetie Irie.”
On the three tracks of the EP, there are features from AJ Tracey, Jelani Blackman, Barrington Levy and Alicai Harley.
Earlier this year in June, Damon Albarn announced that they would be going back to the roots of their very first record with their forthcoming music.
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Albarn said, “I’ve been working on carnival-themed music with Gorillaz with a lot of people from west London. We’re really going back to the spirit of the first record.”
He continued, “It’s really exciting and we’ve been really enjoying it. It’s a nice kind of counter-balance to ‘The Nearer The Fountain…’, really. I’ve definitely needed a dose of something else after I finished that record. Steel pan drums and Casio MT-40s were always going to be a good cure.”
For more on this topic, follow the Pop Observer.
Watch ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ from The Gorillaz new EP:
