"Momentary Bliss" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Gorillaz featuring Slowthai and Slaves | ||||
from the album Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez | ||||
Released | 30 January 2020 | |||
Recorded | November 2019 | |||
Studio | Studio 13, London, UK | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:41 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Gorillaz singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Slowthai singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Slaves singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Momentary Bliss" on YouTube |
"Momentary Bliss" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz,featuring British rapper Slowthai and the Kent-based punk rock duo Slaves. The song was the first song to be released for Gorillaz' Song Machine initiative,a web series consisting of singles and music videos released over the course of the year from the band,with each episode featuring different guest musicians on new Gorillaz material,and is the first single released for their seventh studio album, Song Machine,Season One:Strange Timez . [7] This was the final single before Slaves changed their band name to "Soft Play".
"Momentary Bliss" was recorded in the summer of 2019 at Damon Albarn's Studio 13 in West London. Albarn had previously worked with Slaves as part of the Africa Express project,with the band also previously working with Slowthai on his album Nothing Great About Britain ,on the song "Missing". [8]
The song was announced as being the first of eleven tracks to be released from Gorillaz' Song Machine initiative,which sees the band release a new song every month with previously unannounced collaborators. Damon Albarn and Remi Kabaka spoke to BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac for the song's official premiere,saying that Song Machine "may have an obtuse narrative arc at the end of each season,but it's more Ozark ,than Designated Survivor . You just keep going until you run out of ideas." [9] [8] [10]
A press release was put out to explain the initiative further,with virtual Gorillaz member Russel Hobbs saying:"Song Machine is a whole new way of doing what we do,Gorillaz breaking the mould 'cos the mould got old. World is moving faster than a supercharged particle,so we've gotta stay ready to drop. We don't even know who's stepping through the studio next. Song Machine feeds on the unknown,runs on pure chaos. So whatever the hell's coming,we're primed and ready to produce like there's no tomorrow." [11]
Critics have described the single as punk rock, [4] electronic, [4] pop punk, [12] ska, [13] hip hop, [5] britpop [14] and reggae rock. [5] Mark Beaumont of The Independent described the song as “sci-fi ska”. [15] Thereafter,Thomas Smith of NME noted the punk timbre,describing the song as a “punk rager”. [16]
Damon Albarn utilizes an interpolation of the chorus of "Lovely Rita" by The Beatles;this interpolation takes place before Slowthai's first verse,before 2-D's verse,and in both Holman's intro and ending chorus. [17]
The song's music video was filmed at Albarn's studio in West London,featuring both Slowthai and Slaves. The video which premiered on 30 January 2020 features the band's animated characters recording the song with guests. The video also marked the return of Murdoc Niccals,who had been absent from the band's sixth studio album The Now Now .
In the video,directed by Jamie Hewlett,Tim McCourt,and Max Taylor,Murdoc attempts to poison Albarn's drink during a recording session but ends up becoming sick after observing no side effects and testing the poison on himself. [18] [19] [20]
Gorillaz
Additional musicians and personnel
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders) [21] | 29 |
Ireland (IRMA) [22] | 74 |
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) [23] | 17 |
UK Singles (OCC) [24] | 58 |
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [25] | 3 |
Gorillaz are an English virtual band created in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hobbs (drums). Their universe is presented in media such as music videos, interviews, comic strips and short cartoons. Gorillaz's music has featured collaborations with a wide range of featured artists, with Albarn as the only permanent musical contributor.
Damon Albarn is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer from Whitechapel, London. He is the frontman and main lyricist of the rock band Blur and the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz.
"Clint Eastwood" is a song by English virtual band Gorillaz, released as the first single from their self-titled debut album on 5 March 2001. The song is named after the actor of the same name due to its similarity to the theme music of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The song is a mix of electronic music, dub, hip hop and rock. The verses are rapped by Del the Funky Homosapien, portrayed as a blue phantom in the video, while the chorus is sung by Damon Albarn.
"Rock the House" is a song from Gorillaz' self-titled debut album. It was released as the third single from the album in October 2001. It peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. The song features a horn section loop sampled from "Modesty Blaise", a piece by British jazz musician John Dankworth. Rapper Del the Funky Homosapien is the only artist to provide vocals for the song.
"Saturnz Barz" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, featuring Jamaican dancehall artist Popcaan. The song was released on 23 March 2017. It was released as the lead single from their fifth studio album Humanz. The song marks the group's comeback since 2012's "DoYaThing", although 2017 had seen the non-single release of the song "Hallelujah Money" which features English singer Benjamin Clementine. "Saturnz Barz" was produced by frontman Damon Albarn, Remi Kabaka Jr. and producer The Twilite Tone, and marks the group's first collaboration with Popcaan.
"We Got the Power" is a song by British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz, featuring Jehnny Beth of British post-punk band Savages and backing vocals from former Oasis guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher and American rapper D.R.A.M., who also appears on the group's single "Andromeda". The song was released on 23 March 2017. It was released as the second single from their fifth studio album Humanz.
"Garage Palace" is a song by English virtual band Gorillaz featuring British rapper Little Simz, who had been touring with the band and played at the first Demon Dayz Festival with the band where they performed the track and "Clint Eastwood". It was released on 31 October 2017 as a single from the Super Deluxe edition of the band's fifth studio album Humanz alongside a music video. It is one of the 14 outtakes from the Humanz sessions that didn't make it to the final album.
"Hollywood" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg and American house musician Jamie Principle. It was released on 21 June 2018, as the fifth single from their sixth studio album, The Now Now.
"Humility" is a single by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring American jazz guitarist George Benson. It was released on 31 May 2018 along with "Lake Zurich" as the first single from their sixth studio album, The Now Now. On 12 July 2018, two remixes of the song by Superorganism and DJ Koze were released. It charted in a total of 8 countries reaching number 85 on the US Billboard Hot 100, with its highest position in any chart being number 7 in Billboard's Hot Rock Songs.
Song Machine is an audiovisual project by British virtual band Gorillaz. It is a music video web series consisting of a collection of music videos and singles that are released monthly by the band as episodes of the series, with each episode featuring additional guests. Each episode is released with accompanying interludes called "Machine Bitez", a series of skits consisting of short conversations and interviews with Song Machine's guests from Gorillaz' virtual band members. The project was officially launched on 30 January 2020. Season one of Song Machine consists of 9 episodes and was released as an album titled Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez on 23 October 2020. A second season was announced in 2020, though it was later scrapped in favor of Cracker Island.
"Désolé" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara. The track was released on 27 February 2020 as the second single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. The song is part of the Song Machine project, which is a web series involving the ongoing release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
"Aries" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring drummer Georgia and bassist Peter Hook of the bands Joy Division and New Order. The track was released on 9 April 2020 as the third single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. It is part of the Song Machine project, a web series involving the ongoing release of various Gorillaz singles and music videos featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
"Friday 13th" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring French-British rapper Octavian. The track was released on 9 June 2020 as the fifth single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, and the fourth episode of the Song Machine project, a web series involving the ongoing release of various new Gorillaz singles and music videos featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez is the seventh studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released on 23 October 2020 via Parlophone and Warner Records. The album was released as the culmination of Gorillaz' Song Machine project, a web series consisting of a collection of singles and music videos, dubbed "episodes" each featuring different guest artists. The album marked the return of the character Murdoc Niccals in promotional material, after his absence from The Now Now in 2018. The record received positive reviews from music critics. Slowthai, Slaves, Fatoumata Diawara, Peter Hook, Georgia, Octavian, ScHoolboy Q, Robert Smith, Elton John, 6lack, Beck, Leee John, St. Vincent, Kano, and Roxani Arias, among others, appears as the collaborators on the album.
"How Far?" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, featuring Tony Allen and Skepta. The track was released on 2 May 2020 without any prior announcement as the fourth single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. It is part of the Song Machine project, a web series involving the ongoing release of various Gorillaz singles and music videos featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020, though it is not considered an official episode of the series. The single marks the first posthumously released material featuring Tony Allen, as well as the final song to be recorded during Allen's lifetime.
"Pac-Man" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring American rapper Schoolboy Q. The track was released on 20 July 2020 as the sixth single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, and the fifth episode of the Song Machine project, a web series involving the ongoing release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
"Strange Timez" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring The Cure frontman, Robert Smith. The track was released on 9 September 2020 as the seventh single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, and the sixth episode of the Song Machine project, a web series that involved the release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
"The Valley of the Pagans" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring Beck. The track was released on 5 November 2020 as the ninth and final single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, and the eighth episode of the Song Machine project, a web series which involves the ongoing release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
"The Pink Phantom" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, featuring British singer Elton John and American singer 6lack. The track was released on 1 October 2020 as the eighth single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, and the seventh episode of the Song Machine project, a web series involving the ongoing release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020. The song was later included on John's 2021 album The Lockdown Sessions.
"New Gold" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, featuring Australian music project Tame Impala, and American rapper Bootie Brown, marking the latter's second collaboration with the band since "Dirty Harry" in 2005. The track was released on 31 August 2022 as the second single from their eighth studio album, Cracker Island. "New Gold" reached number four on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and peaked at number two on the US Alternative Airplay Songs chart. At the APRA Music Awards of 2024, the song was shortlisted for Song of the Year.