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.
Gorillaz co-creators Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett was interviewed by Radio X's Dan O'Connell about the band's new album The Mountain, that will be released in early 2026.
The project, moved slightly ahead of its initial schedule, is shaping up to be their most spiritually profound and unexpectedly joyful work yet, born from a period of deep personal loss. The album's central theme was catalyzed by the death of both Albarn’s and Hewlett’s fathers in a short period.
This shared grief sent Albarn on a series of trips to India, where he found inspiration in the country's open and celebratory rituals around death, such as the cremation ceremonies on the Ganges.
The goal for The Mountain is to explore death without fear, framing it as a natural cycle and aiming to make listeners feel more at ease with the subject. This philosophical approach is woven directly into the music. The creative process involved revisiting archival recordings from past collaborators who have passed away, including saxophonist Marqueis Smith and D12's Proof, weaving their posthumous contributions into new songs.
The album also features a host of living legends, with confirmed collaborations from Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle and sitarist Anoushka Shankar, whose contributions add to the record's depth.
Reflecting on 25 years of Gorillaz, Albarn cites key collaborators like the late Bobby Womack and Dennis Hopper, while noting that his favorite track remains the very first single, "Tomorrow Comes Today."
The duo emphasized their preference for always moving forward creatively rather than dwelling on past works. To bring this new material to life, Gorillaz will embark on a major UK tour starting in March 2026.
The band is set to play their biggest-ever UK show at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in June, with a capacity of approximately 65,000.
The tour is described as a logistical challenge, requiring nine buses for performers and equipment, but is designed to be a dynamic and evolving live experience.
Albarn praised the essential role of their predominantly female management team in orchestrating the massive undertaking.
The Mountain represents Gorillaz at their most resilient - transforming personal grief into a collective, celebratory, and genre-bending album that confronts life's biggest questions with a vibrant and hopeful energy.
Damon Albarn has unveiled the long-awaited next chapter in the Gorillaz discography. Titled The Mountain, the band’s first album since 2023’s Cracker Island is slated for release on March 20 via their freshly launched label, Kong. The album spans 15 tracks and kicks off with a striking new single, “Happy Dictator”, featuring none other than Sparks.
The record’s production credits include Gorillaz themselves, alongside James Ford, Samuel Egglenton, and Remi Kabaka Jr., with special input from Argentine producer Bizarrap. Recording sessions took place at Albarn’s own Studio 13 in London, his studio in Devon, and spanned across India (Mumbai, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Varanasi), Turkmenistan (Ashgabat), Syria (Damascus), and cities across the United States including Los Angeles, Miami, and New York.
The Mountain brings Gorillaz’s signature global sound into even sharper focus, with guest appearances that span five languages: Arabic, English, Hindi, Spanish, and Yoruba. Among the album’s diverse collaborators are Idles, Kara Jackson, Yasiin Bey, Johnny Marr, Black Thought, Anoushka Shankar, and Omar Souleyman. There are also pow erful posthumous contributions from Bobby Womack, Dave “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur, Dennis Hopper, Mark E. Smith, Proof, and Tony Allen, creating a rich sonic archive that blurs past and present.
Scroll down for the full tracklist and upcoming UK & Ireland tour dates, which kick off March 21 in Manchester and feature guests like Trueno and Sparks on select shows.
The Mountain Tracklist:
The Mountain (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash)
The Moon Cave (feat. Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda & Black Thought)
The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks)
The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen)
Orange County (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson & Anoushka Shankar)
The God of Lying (feat. Idles)
The Empty Dream Machine (feat. Black Thought, Johnny Marr & Anoushka Shankar)
The Manifesto (feat. Trueno & Proof)
The Plastic Guru (feat. Johnny Marr & Anoushka Shankar)
Delirium (feat. Mark E. Smith)
Damascus (feat. Omar Souleyman & Yasiin Bey)
The Shadowy Light (feat. Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash)
Casablanca (feat. Paul Simonon & Johnny Marr)
The Sweet Prince (feat. Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr & Anoushka Shankar)
The Sad God (feat. Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna & Anoushka Shankar)
UK + Ireland Tour Dates:
03-21 – Manchester, England – Co-op Live
03-22 – Birmingham, England – BP Pulse Live
03-24 – Glasgow, Scotland – OVO Hydro *
03-25 – Leeds, England – First Direct Arena *
03-27 – Cardiff, Wales – Utilita Arena *
03-28 – Nottingham, England – Motorpoint Arena *
03-29 – Liverpool, England – M&S Bank Arena *
03-31 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – SSE Arena *
04-01 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena *
06-20 – London, England – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ^*
