Damon Albarn on how he and Jamie Hewlett losing their fathers and travelling to India shaped new Gorillaz album

Damon Albarn has shared that he and Jamie Hewlett losing their fathers and travelling to India was a huge source of inspiration for the new Gorillaz album.

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The band announced new album, ‘The Mountain’ in September, alongside the lead single ‘The Happy Dictator’ featuring Sparks. The confirmation of new material came after the group debuted their upcoming ninth LP during the final of four gigs at London’s Copper Box Arena earlier in the month.

Set for release on March 20 2026 via the band’s own label KONG –and available for pre-order here – ‘The Mountain’ includes collaborations with Black Thought, Omar Souleyman, Asha Puthli, Asha Bhosle, Sparks, Gruff Rhys, Kara Jackson, Yasiin Bey, Paul Simonon, IDLES‘ Joe Talbot, Johnny Marr, Ajay Prasanna, Trueno and Anoushka Shankar.

Other featured musicians are The London Arab Orchestra, Demon Strings, Chris Storr, James Copus and Matthew Gunner, while deceased acts like Dennis Hopper, Bobby Womack, De La Soul‘s Dave Jolicoeur, Tony Allen, Proof and the late Mark E Smith of The Fall are billed as Voices from Elsewhere.

A press release shared that the album sees the fictional band members Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, 2D and Noodle in India, having turned their backs on international pop stardom, and now focused on “mystical music-making”. The cover also shows fictional character Murdoc now in the form of a Hindu deity with blue skin, a long beard and prayer beads hanging from his neck.

Now, in a new interview, Damon Albarn has shared how his and Jamie Hewlett’s experiences of grief helped inspire the album, as well as a trip to India.

“Both Jamie and I lost our fathers,” Damon said (via The Sun). “We did two quite amazing, magical trips to India. India is a very interesting place to carry grief, because they have a very positive outlook on death.”

“England is just really bad at dealing with death. In a way, I think this record is in that tradition of celebrating their lives,” he added. “I did things I’d never done before. I swam in the Ganges in Varanasi. I watched the bodies being burnt on the banks of the Ganges.”

“In England when we cremate a body we don’t even look at the bodies, it’s covered up immediately and then it’s put in the fire, the little curtains close and that’s it,” Albarn continued. “On the banks of the Ganges, every family is there with the body wrapped in a shroud and they’re burnt, and it’s going on everywhere. It goes on 24 hours a day and it’s been going on for thousands of years. I took my dad’s ashes there and I cast them in the river. It was very beautiful.”

Albarn’s father, Keith, died in 2024, aged 85. He was an architect, an expert in art and design, and wrote many books and articles on the subject. He had two children with his wife Hazel – Britpop legend Damon, and daughter Jessica, who is an artist – and passed away on July 25 after being diagnosed with cancer.

The themes of grief and coping with the death of a loved one were further explored when Gorillaz shared ‘The Manifesto’ as another single from ‘The Mountain’ last month.

Featuring Argentine rapper Trueno and late D12 member Proof, the song explored themes of the cycle of life and the afterlife, and sees Trueno sing: “I don’t know what tomorrow holds / When I heed the light that’s calling me / Baby, my future is demanding me / I walk toward the light / I have nothing to lose.”

Damon Albarn and co. have also shared that they will not be continuing their longtime tradition of making animated music videos to support the singles on the album, but instead making a one-off production.

“This is why there are no videos at the moment, because it’s serious stuff. It’s really great that Jamie is concentrating on doing one animated thing,” the frontman said (via The Sun). “It’s a big amount of work, any animation. It’s kind of our Achilles’ heel because no other band has to spend that kind of time just to produce one small thing.”

“So let’s make it a piece of art in itself and not really rely on it for the promotional aspect of things and let it breathe in its own way… I think fans are going to love every aspect of this record,” he added.

Alongside the album, Gorillaz have also announced a UK and Ireland tour, set to kick off in March 2026. They’ll play in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Cardiff, Nottingham, Liverpool, Belfast and Dublin, as well as a one-off headline show at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with support from Sparks and Trueno. Visit here for tickets.

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