The Mountain (Gorillaz album)
| The Mountain | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 February 2026 | |||
| Studio | Studio 13 | |||
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| Label | Kong | |||
| Producer |
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| Gorillaz chronology | ||||
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| Damon Albarn chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Mountain | ||||
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The Mountain (title written in Devanagari as पर्वत, parvat[a], 'mountain' in several Indian languages) is the upcoming ninth studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, set to release on 27 February 2026. It is to be released through Gorillaz's label, Kong,[1] distributed by the Sony Music subsidiary the Orchard. This is the first Gorillaz title to be released without the participation of a major record label, like Parlophone or Warner Records.
The album features numerous appearances from musicians and actors, including posthumous appearances from Dennis Hopper, Bobby Womack, David Jolicoeur from De La Soul, Tony Allen, Proof, and Mark E. Smith.[2][3] It will feature performances in English, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish, and Yoruba.[4] It will be produced by Damon Albarn, Remi Kabaka Jr., James Ford and Samuel Egglenton.
The album was debuted and performed in full at a show during Gorillaz's 25th anniversary "House of Kong" exhibition. Gorillaz are scheduled to tour in 2026.
Background
The first mention of Gorillaz's ninth album came from an interview with Damon Albarn ahead of their headlining Coachella 2023 performance, commenting that it would "take [Albarn & Jamie Hewlett] somewhere [they've] never been before".[5] Albarn further described it as a "paradigm shift" and "very different" in a July 2023 interview with the Broken Record podcast.[6] Later, in a December 2023 interview for Les Inrockuptibles, Albarn stated that work would begin on the album following the completion of The Magic Flute II: La Malédiction, his adaptation of The Magic Flute Part Two, and that he and Hewlett would travel to India to do so.[7] In March 2025, Albarn told Les Inrockuptibles that the album was nearing completion, and in a later interview with Radio Nova he mentioned it would be complete in six weeks' time.[8][9]
Albarn and Hewlett both experienced the loss of close family members prior to their time in India. Both described the album as a cohesive and conceptual work exploring ideas of death and the afterlife through the band's fictional characters. Hewlett said people listening to the album are "supposed to listen to it from beginning to end," saying that they were "trying to bring back that idea of taking time to invest in something, instead of this culture of scrolling."[3]
Release
On 3 September 2025, the album was revealed and performed live in its entirety as the final "mystery show" of four shows coinciding with Gorillaz's 25th anniversary "House of Kong" museum and art exhibition in London.[10] Eight days later, the band officially announced the album, revealing the title, cover artwork, and the original release date of 20 March 2026 and releasing the lead single "The Happy Dictator" concurrently.[11] The band are scheduled to promote the album further through The Mountain Tour, with concerts in Europe between March and June 2026.[12]
On 17 September, the band premiered the song "Damascus" at Brian Eno's Together for Palestine concert at Wembley Arena in London alongside Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey.[13] On 8 October, the band released "The Manifesto" as the second single.[14] On 6 November, the band released "The God of Lying" as the third single.[15] On 2 December, an additional "House of Kong" exhibition in Los Angeles was announced, alongside two shows of the full album at the Hollywood Palladium in February 2026.[16] On 12 December, "Damascus" was released as the album's fourth single. On the same day, Gorillaz announced that The Mountain would now be released earlier, on 27 February 2026.[17]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Damon Albarn and the tracks' respective guest(s) and produced by Gorillaz, James Ford, Samuel Egglenton, and Remi Kabaka Jr., except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Mountain" (featuring Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash) | |||
| 2. | "The Moon Cave" (featuring Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda, and Black Thought) | |||
| 3. | "The Happy Dictator" (featuring Sparks) | 4:44 | ||
| 4. | "The Hardest Thing" (featuring Tony Allen) | |||
| 5. | "Orange County" (featuring Bizarrap, Kara Jackson, and Anoushka Shankar) |
| ||
| 6. | "The God of Lying" (featuring Idles) |
| 3:09 | |
| 7. | "The Empty Dream Machine" (featuring Black Thought, Johnny Marr, and Anoushka Shankar) | |||
| 8. | "The Manifesto" (featuring Trueno and Proof) | 7:19 | ||
| 9. | "The Plastic Guru" (featuring Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar) | |||
| 10. | "Delirium" (featuring Mark E. Smith) | |||
| 11. | "Damascus" (featuring Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey) | 4:04 | ||
| 12. | "The Shadowy Light" (featuring Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash) | |||
| 13. | "Casablanca" (featuring Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr) | |||
| 14. | "The Sweet Prince" (featuring Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr, and Anoushka Shankar) | |||
| 15. | "The Sad God" (featuring Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr, and Anoushka Shankar) |
References
- ^ Kelly, Tyler Damara (12 September 2025). "IDLES, Yasiin Bey, Mark E Smith, Tony Allen and more feature on Gorillaz's forthcoming album, The Mountain". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
- ^ DeVille, Chris (11 September 2025). "Gorillaz Announce New Album The Mountain: Hear "The Happy Dictator" (Feat. Sparks)". Stereogum. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
- ^ a b Porter, Sophie (11 September 2025). "Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett tell us about new Gorillaz album The Mountain". Rolling Stone UK. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
- ^ Molloy, Laura (11 September 2025). "Gorillaz announce new album The Mountain with UK and Ireland tour and theatrical single "The Happy Dictator" featuring Sparks". NME. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ Albarn, Damon (15 April 2023). "Coachella 2023: Gorillaz interview" (Interview). Interviewed by Alvarez, Nicole. KROQ. Retrieved 11 September 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ Albarn, Damon (11 July 2023). "Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz)" (Interview). Interviewed by Rose, Leah. Broken Record Podcast. Retrieved 11 September 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ Albarn, Damon (December 2023). ""C'est quoi ce bordel?"" ["What the hell is this?"]. Les Inrockuptibles (Interview). Interviewed by Moreau, François. France. pp. 32–34.
- ^ Duran, Anagricel (27 March 2025). "Damon Albarn teases new Gorillaz album for 2025". NME. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ Albarn, Damon (15 April 2025). "Damon Albarn est l'invité du Score" [Damon Albarn is the guest on The Score] (Interview) (in French). Interviewed by Roux, Charline. France: Radio Nova. Retrieved 11 September 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ Chelosky, Danielle (3 September 2025). "Gorillaz Debuted A Whole New Album And Brought Out Sparks & Johnny Marr At House Of Kong Closer". Stereogum. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ Sterling, Scott (11 September 2025). "Gorillaz Announce New Album The Mountain, Unveil "The Happy Dictator"". Consequence. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (11 September 2025). "Gorillaz Announce New Album The Mountain and European Tour". Variety. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ Pepic, Jasmina (18 September 2025). "Gorillaz Join Forces with Yasiin Bey & Omar Souleyman for Performance of "Damascus" at Together for Palestine Benefit". mxdwn.com. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ Sterling, Scott (8 October 2025). "Gorillaz Unveil Sprawling New Single "The Manifesto": Stream". Consequence. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
- ^ Dunworth, Liberty (6 November 2025). "Gorillaz share reflective new single 'The God Of Lying' featuring IDLES". NME. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
- ^ Ragusa, Paolo (2 December 2025). "Gorillaz Announce House of Kong Exhibition in Los Angeles". Consequence. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (12 December 2025). "Gorillaz Prepare to Climb 'The Mountain' With New Cut 'Damascus': Stream It Now". Billboard. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 18 December 2025.