The release of The Mountain in early 2026 was a major turning point for Gorillaz, marking a spiritual rebirth and a bold statement of creative independence.
After years of working with major labels and the collapse of their Netflix film project, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett decided to start their own independent label, KONG. The duo was able to create an album that feels more personal and less like a commercial product.
At its core, The Mountain is an exploration of the human journey, looking at life, death, and the transition into the unknown.The idea for the album came from a difficult time for both creators, who had lost their fathers during the recording process. Albarn and Hewlett used their grief to create a story that sees death not as an end, but as a transition to something else.
Hewlett's visual idea for the project is that life is like climbing a mountain; at the bottom, there are many paths, but as you go up, the options get fewer and the air gets thinner, until you reach the top and move on to the afterlife. This sense of moving upward is felt in the music, which changes from rich, earthy sounds to airy, atmospheric ones that feel like reaching a higher level of existence.
To capture this spiritual feeling, the band traveled to India, recording in cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Rajasthan, and the ancient city of Varanasi. The result is a mix of Gorillaz's art-rock and synth-pop style with the complex sounds of Indian classical music. The album features sitar player Anoushka Shankar and singer Asha Bhosle, which gives the music a timeless, organic feel.
The record also includes contributions from past collaborators who have passed away, like Bobby Womack and Tony Allen, making the album a connection between the living and the dead.
The visual part of The Mountain is just as important as the music, and it's centered around the hand-drawn short film The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God. Jamie Hewlett went back to traditional animation, inspired by the warm, textured look of old Disney films. The film follows the band's characters as they journey through a psychedelic Indian jungle to the mountain peak.
This return to hand-drawn art feels like a deliberate choice to reject modern computer-generated trends, giving fans a more personal connection to the characters. It's also a consolation for the cancelled Netflix film, showing that the band can tell a compelling story without a big streaming company.
As Gorillaz starts their 2026 world tour, The Mountain shows that they are still relevant and can evolve with their creators. The album is a project that speaks to people of different languages and generations, inviting listeners to think about their place in the cycle of existence while enjoying some of Albarn's most sophisticated music.
