Gorillaz Musical Recorded

Hopefully by now, you’ve heard that the frontman of the cartoon band, Gorillaz, has completed quite the side project. Damon Albarn, once part of that little known English band, Blur, has written a musical centered on ancient Chinese legend. The musical is named Monkey: Journey to the West (is anyone picking up on a primate fixation, yet?) and played 18 shows in May at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina . It is now playing in London, though it isn’t set to release elsewhere yet.

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The score was written with fellow Gorillaz member, Jamie Hewlett, and they’ve decided to release it sometime in August. MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST is built on circus-inspired performances, operatic elements, and of course, a bit of brilliant cartoon work. According to the Monkey website, the “lyrics [are] based on ancient Chinese texts and performed in Mandarin, [and] the album has been recorded in London and Beijing over the last twelve months.”

But don’t let your ability to speak Mandarin get you down; you’ll definitely be able to pick out Albarn’s personal touch beneath all the Eastern mystery. The musical’s score is heavily laden with those dark, bass-heavy jams we have come associate with Gorillaz. And besides Albarn’s grooves, who wouldn’t want a CD about a Monkey King who just wants to kick some ass?

The tracklist is as follows:

“Monkey’s World”
“Monkey Travels”
“Into The Eastern Sea”
“The Living Sea”
“The Dragon King”
“Iron Rod”
“Out Of The Eastern Sea”
“Heavenly Peach Banquet”
“Battle In Heaven”
“O Mi To Fu”
“Whisper”
“Tripitaka’s Curse”
“Confessions Of A Pig”
“Sandy The River Demon”
“March Of The Volunteers”
“The White Skeleton Demon”
“Monk’s Song”
“I Love Buddha”
“March Of The Iron Army”
“Pigsy In Space”
“Monkey Bee”
“Disappearing Volcano”