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Oct 09, 2025 By Mark Redfern

Gorillaz are releasing a new album, The Mountain, on March 20, 2026 via KONG, the band’s own label. Now they have shared its second single, “The Manifesto,” which features Argentine rapper Trueno and Detroit rapper Proof. The song also features various Indian musicians—sarod players Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, the brass of Jea Band Jaipur, Ajay Prasanna on bansuri, and The Mountain Choir led by Vijayaa Shanker. Listen below.

The virtual band is led by Damon Albarn of Blur, with the virtual members being Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, 2D, and Noodle. Jamie Hewlett as ever provides the artwork and character designs. Alongside Gorillaz, various other producers worked on the album, including James Ford, Samuel Egglenton, Remi Kabaka Jr., and Bizarrap (on the song “Orange County”).

A press release on “The Manifesto” includes this quote from Hobbs: “As space dust we are here forever and that’s a mighty long time. This is a musical meditation infused with light. A journey of the soul, with beats…”

Previously Gorillaz shared the album’s first single, “The Happy Dictator,” which features Sparks and was one of our Songs of the Week.

The Mountain was recorded all over the world including in the UK (Studio 13 in London and Devon), India (including Mumbai, New Delhi, Rajasthan, and Varanasi), Turkmenistan (Ashgabat), Syria (Damascus), and America (Los Angeles, Miami, and New York). Five languages are sung on the album: Arabic, English, Hindi, Spanish, and Yoruba.

The Mountain features an impressive array of collaborators: Ajay Prasanna, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash, Anoushka Shankar, Asha Bhosle, Asha Puthli, Bizarrap, Black Thought, Gruff Rhys, IDLES, Jalen Ngonda, Johnny Marr, Kara Jackson, Omar Souleyman, Paul Simonon, Sparks, Trueno, and Yasiin Bey. The album also features the voices of various collaborators who have passed away, including Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Dennis Hopper, Mark E Smith, Proof, and Tony Allen.

A press release explains the fictional recording of the album: “Circumstances now find Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, 2D and Noodle in India, having made their way to Mumbai with the help of four fake passports courtesy of a New York business acquaintance of Murdoc. The band has turned its back on international pop stardom, with our heroes now immersed in the rhythms of mystical music-making, as they navigate the mountainous terrain of this thing called life.”

Gorillaz drummer Russel Hobbs adds: “As space dust we are here forever and that’s a mighty long time. This is a musical meditation infused with light. A journey of the soul, with beats…“

Gorillaz’s last album, Cracker Island, came out in 2023.

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