Featuring David Bowie, Thundercat, James Blake, Grimes + more
Will Butler

15:59 7th December 2015

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At some point in the next 12 months we will have a new Gorillaz album, I don’t know about you but that makes 2016 a very exciting year to look forward to. It’s been five years since a real Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach, and four since The Fall which we don’t talk about. As far as their influence in modern music, the twisted and animated world that Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's incepted over a 15 years ago was prophetic for the heterogenous direction music is and has always been heading.

The boundaries between genre and age and influence have been torn down and replaced with an immediately identifiable aesthetic - the garish and glorious Gorillaz made up of 2D, Murdoc, Russel and Noodle but is as revered for the project’s wide array of new and legendary guest appearances.

2016 will be the year of the world’s most admired and musically dense animated band and with the news of a potential David Bowie collaboration, we thought it’d be fun to create our dream roster for the guests to feature on the next Gorillaz endeavour - Demon Days are upon us once more.

  • James Blake: Since we've been teased too much about Blake's follow-up to Overgrown , a comeback performance on a low-key Gorillaz cut might edge him closer to forgiveness for making us wait so long. There's always room for soulful vocals on a Gorillaz album.

  • Kevin Parker: After his spectacular additions to the lacklustre Mark Ronson album, the Tame Impala frontman must redeem face with his guest appearences. There's no better voice to have on a sprawling experimental song featuring psychedelic visuals than Kevin Parker; we're holding our breath for some additional guitar work too.

  • Thundercat: Part of the holy quadrilogy (Flying Lotus, Kendrick, Kamasi Washington - who would all make valuable additions to Gorillaz 2016), Thundercat is the master of subtle guesting and managing to show up every other musician on the record. For jazzy grooves and the best lines in the game, Thundercat is the top gun of bassists.

  • Action Bronson: Gorillaz have always had their fingers on the most significant and unqiue rappers in the scene. Action Bronson would bring some serious Queens punch to one of the more full-on Gorillaz tracks, something I felt was missing from Plastic Beach.

  • Danny Brown: Similarly, Damon Albarn's connection to the Alt Rap scene has seen him hook up with MF DOOM, Roots Manuva and Del The Funkee Homosapian on more than one occasion. As the new ringleader for alternative hip-hop, Danny Brown's nasal and OTT flow would be an amazing addition to the record and live performances.

  • Q-Tip: But let's keep the rap royalty in check, it's some kind of sick, sick joke that Q-Tip hasn't been incorporated yet considering Albarn's links to the Native Tongues collective. His lightning fast flow and ability to weave rhymes over an array of jazzy, alt-rock and dance beats makes him one of the most sought after features in the game.

  • Grimes: With more than one 'album of the year' commendation for Art Angels, now is the most opportune time for Grimes to lend her helium vocals and expansive electronic range to the new dawn of Gorillaz.

  • Benjamin Clementine: Reagrdless of his Mercury victory, Clementine has a distinct quality that lends itself fruitfully to Gorillaz projects. Striking comparisons to Nina Simone and Bobby Womack, I can't think of a better voice to represent new soul than Ben Clem.

  • Skepta: Broadening their genre horizons in Plastic Beach to Grime, Gorillaz ft Kano and Bashy was game-changing for the UK scene. Since he's toppling the US with 'Shutdown' having Skepta on a Gorillaz album makes sense both thematically and from a marketing perspective.

  • Joanna Newsom: Tenderness is the flip-side of bombastic and Gorillaz have always taken both in their stride. For every clutch Del La Soul appearence, there needs to be serenity to balance it out. For 2016, I nominate Joanna Newsom to embody that serenity.

  • Julian Casablancas: Sparklehorse, Daft Punk and Lonely Island? The Strokes frontman is no stranger to featuring roles and is actually quite adept at them. Whether he goes full manic Voidz or Comedown Machine, it's not up to us. I think it'd just be rad to hear the closest thing to a Blur/Strokes collab we're ever going to get.

  • Chance The Rapper: The most enigmatic and well-received rapper in the game. It'd be foolish to exclude Chance, especially considering how much Damon reps young MCs these days - we actually spotted the Blur singer at the sidelines at a Vince Staples show the other week.

  • Gregory Porter: Every Gorillaz album needs an artist to get the Mum's involved and the smooth stylings of Gregory Porter are unmistakably alluring. If he can make a dull-as-hell Disclosure track sound half-decent, imagine what Porter would do with a 10/10 Gorillaz instrumental.

  • A$AP Ferg: Since this hardcore and outrageous MC managed to hook up with HAIM and make an banger, he's pretty earned the right to feature on anything he goddamn wants.

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