• News

• All

Nov 12, 2021 By Mark Redfern Photography by Steve Gullick

Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz is releasing a new solo album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, on November 12 via Transgressive. Now that it’s out, you can stream the whole thing here. Also, today we posted our review of the album. Read the review here and check out the album below. Tonight, Albarn will be appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Previously Albarn shared the album’s first single, title track “The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows.” Then he shared its second single, “Polaris,” which was one of our Songs of the Week, as well as a live video for the song. Then he shared its third single, the haunted ballad “Particles,” along with a live video for the song. “Particles” was also one of our Songs of the Week. The he shared its fourth single, “Royal Mountain Blue,” again accompanied by a live performance video. Then he shared its fifth single, the horn-backed “The Tower of Montevideo,” as well as a separate live performance video. Also, Albarn recently performed a show at London’s iconic Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and shared a video from the show of him playing Blur’s “This Is a Low,” from the band’s 1994 album, Parklife, as well as some other videos from the show.

Albarn’s last solo album was 2014’s Everyday Robots, but since then he’s been busy with a variety of projects. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows was initially intended to be an orchestral piece inspired by the landscape of Iceland but was reworked into a solo album during the pandemic lockdown. A previous press release said the album explores “themes of fragility, loss, emergence, and rebirth” and that its title is taken from a John Clare poem Love and Memory.

Albarn also said: “I have been on my own dark journey while making this record and it led me to believe that a pure source might still exist.”

Damon Albarn UK and European Tour Dates:

2021 UK Piano Tour:

2 December - YORK - York Minster
4 December - NORWICH - UEA
5 December - NEWCASTLE-UPON TYNE - Boiler Shop
6 December - GLASGOW - St Luke’s
7 December - COVENTRY - Empire

2022:

21 & 22 February - London (Barbican)
23 & 24 February - Dublin (National Concert Hall)
26 February - Luxembourg (Philharmonie)
28 February - Brussels (Bozar)
1 March - Brussels (Bozar)
2 March - Eindhoven (Muziekgebouw)
4 & 5 March - Paris (Philharmonie)
6 March - Lyon (Auditorium)
7 March - Hamburg (ElbPhilharmonie)
9 March - Copenhagen (KB Hallen)
11 March - Reykjavik (Harpa)

Support Under the Radar on Patreon.