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Apr 09, 2012 Damon Albarn By Mike Hilleary

Despite showing little signs of stopping his obsessive, musicial multi-tasking, releasing two new albums this year (one from his Flea/Tony Allen supergroup Rocketjuice And The Moon and the soundtrack to his own Dr. Dee opera) songwriter Damon Albarn revealed over the weekend that the likelihood of doing anything after this year with his biggest projects, Blur and Gorillaz, is extremely unlikely.

In an interview with The Guardian, Albarn said that Blur won’t be releasing any new records, and that the idea of playing anything live after their upcoming performance at London’s Hyde Park for the Olympic Games’ closing ceremony isn’t in the cards. “I hope that’s the truth: that that’s how we end it,” says Albarn. “I don’t know: you can write scripts, and they always end up going… [pause]… well, one thing I’ve learned, and I’m sure you’re exactly the same, is that everything I think I’ve got totally sorted out, and I know exactly what’s going to happen – it never works out that way…”

Albarn attributes the difficulty of continuing with bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree.“I find it very easy to record with Graham [Coxon]. He’s a daily musician. With the other two, it’s harder for them to reconnect. You know what I mean? It’s fine when we play live – it’s really magical still – but actually recording new stuff, and swapping musical influences… it’s quite difficult.”

In regards to his work with Gorillaz, Albarn admits (more or less) that his relationship with collaborator and artist Jamie Hewlett has had a bit of a falling out. “I think we were at cross purposes somewhat on that last record, which is a shame,” says Albarn. “So until a time comes when that knot has been untied…”

Below, you can find Blur’s upcoming tour dates, along with video of them performing the new track “Under the Westway.”

Blur 2012 Tour Dates:
08/08-11 – Skanderborg, DK @ Smukfest
08/09-11 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West Festival
08/12 – London, UK @ Hyde Park (Olympic Closing Ceremony Celebration Concert)