Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's Coachella-conquering cartoon capers never really meant to globe trot, yet we're all still basking in the lapping tides that washed us onto Gorillaz' Plastic Beach earlier this year. A two-night stint at arguably London's most historically exquisite venue, the Roundhouse, always promised to be a (care/)er(/a)-defining moment for Albarn, not least following his Glastonbury triumph of yesteryear, manning the helm of the greatest ship ever to have sailed the choppy seas of Britpop, Blur. Back to the present, well last week, Albarn roped in a rather impressive plethora of guests including (relax, deep breath and): Paul Simonon and Mick Jones, Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Little Dragon, Gruff Rhys, De La Soul, The National Orchestra for Arabic Music, Kano, Bashy and Shaun Ryder. Without meaning to sound petulant, Liam would never have got Bobby Womack wailing over the dangling dub basslines of Simonon, as another former member of The Clash wormed about in the background like a belly dancer after a sheet of acid even if you were to raid his fridge of every last can of Stella. Unfortunately Mark E. Smith wasn't in attendance as anticipated to bark out "Where's North from 'ere?" in his Salford drawl. Neither was Lou Reed, although Damon confirmed plans for the ex-Velvet Underground man to take part in the tour later on in the year. Rather thrilling times. Sooner or later, such a vital 2010 musical milestone was bound to wind up amidst the tangled wires and tired morality of t'internet. Later rather than sooner, tracks played from instant hip hop crossover classic Plastic Beach are out there (lamentably, minus On Melancholy Hill). And to facilitate the hunt, well, they're here.
And... the latest bottled message to lap up on our shores directly from the world of the Plastic Beach exclaims that Damon's cartoon cohorts Gorillaz have just been confirmed as headliners at this year's FIB Heineken, joining the likes of Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Prodigy, DJ Shadow, jj & Magnetic Man at the Spanish shindig. For further info, tickets and all that jazz, dash over here RIGHT THIS SECOND.
