Gorillaz will revolutionize the very concept of musical performance, as they transform the streets of New York and London into stages for two groundbreaking performances of their brand new track ‘Skinny Ape’. Taking place at 2:30 pm ET on December 17th in Times Square and 14:00 GMT on December 18th in Piccadilly Circus, these first-of-their-kind immersive experiences will allow fans to gather together to witness Gorillaz play in real life – actually larger than life – as Murdoc, 2D, Noodle and Russel literally tower over them, playing in the midst of two of the world’s most iconic skylines.
Directed by artist and Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett and the Emmy nominated director Fx Goby, the ‘Skinny Ape’ performances are created by Nexus Studios and utilize Google’s ARCore Geospatial API, using AR to transforms public spaces with cultural experiences, bringing ‘Skinny Ape’ and the world of Gorillaz to life as never before.
Music’s most (in)famous virtual bass player Murdoc Niccals commented – “To all our followers, get ready for the biggest Times Square takeover since that other gorilla smashed the place up. Bigger in fact cos there’s four of us. Thanks to the techies at Google, we’ve created the music video event of the century, so don your pink robes and come see Gorillaz like you’ve never seen us before. The future is nigh!”
‘Skinny Ape’ is the fourth single from Gorillaz upcoming new album Cracker Island and is already a fan favorite having debuted live on the band’s hugely successful 2022 World Tour. Cracker Island, out February 24th 2023 on Warner Records, is the eighth studio album from Gorillaz, an energetic, upbeat, genre-expansive collection of 10 tracks featuring yet another stellar lineup of artist collaborators: Stevie Nicks, Adeleye Omotayo, Thundercat, Tame Impala, Bad Bunny and Bootie Brown and Beck. Recorded in London and L.A. earlier this year, it is produced by eight-time Grammy Award-winning producer/ multi-instrumentalist/ songwriter extraordinaire Greg Kurstin, Gorillaz and Remi Kabaka Jr.
Created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz is singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, drummer Russel Hobbs and Japanese guitar prodigy Noodle. The BRIT and Grammy-winning virtual band formed following a collision of mishaps, meetings and pure luck to blow up a pre-digital world with their colorful backstory and ground-breaking virtual ways. Based at Kong Studios in West London, Gorillaz settled into a life of musical innovation with an eye-wateringly exciting roster of collaborators, a list that includes musical legends, geniuses and future stars from Elton John to Little Simz, MF Doom to Jean-Michel Jarre, Grace Jones to slowthai, Kali Uchis to Sidiki Diabaté, plus so many more. With seven albums to their name, Gorillaz (2001), Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), The Fall (2011), Humanz (2017), The Now Now (2018) and Song Machine: Season One – Strange Timez (2020), Gorillaz is a truly global phenomenon, achieving success in entirely new and unique ways, touring the world from San Diego to Syria, Montevideo to Manchester and winning numerous awards including the coveted Jim Henson Creativity Honor.
