A fully animated Gorillaz live show is on the horizon - News - Mixmag
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A fully animated Gorillaz live show is on the horizon

Are 2D, Russel, Noodle and Murdoc returning to a stage near you soon?

  • Louis Anderson-Rich
  • 11 April 2017

A new show featuring only the animated characters of the Gorillaz is on the horizon, according to band creators Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

Fresh off a surprise show at London's Printworks, the duo say new technology means they’re almost at a stage where they can produce a fully animated two-hour show.

“It was probably one of the first things we spoke about...and 20 years later we’re just at the point where it could be possible,” Hewlett said in an interview with Telekom Electronic Beats.

“We’re about to have the characters do live interviews as animated characters which has never been done, that’s happening now. But for them to get on stage and do a two-hour show, that’s maybe a year away but we’ll be the first people to do it because we’re the only people who can do it because no one else wants to.

He added: "We still haven’t figured out how they do crowd surfing, but we’re working on that. Murdoc jumping into the arms of his adoring fans and being carried through the audience and then being put back on stage, that’s a little difficult. But standing on stage performing, talking, exploding, whatever they want to do, that’s possible now. It’s just there in the future.”

The band has experimented with holograms in the past, notably with Madonna at the 2006 Grammys, but the technology that utilises a film across the stage, came with its own set of hurdles.

“In a live scenario, the moment the bass goes up, the film vibrates and the holograms [disappear],” Hewlett said. “That was the quietest concert we ever played, which on TV looked fantastic."

Watch the Gorillaz performance at the 2006 Grammys below.

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