Damon Albarn
Music is something that should speak for itself, straight from the heart. It took me a long time to understand that.Collection: Music
I hope we can keep doing it this way - making music and art that are pure products of our influences while not really having to let the whole celebrity side of it get in the way. Then maybe more virtual bands will come out and do the same thing.Collection: Hope
The Gorillaz cartoons seem more real to me than the actual people on TV. Because at least you know that there's some intelligence behind the cartoons, and there's a lot of work that's gone into it, so it can't all be just a lie.Collection: Intelligence
Being in Blur has allowed me to travel and hear the music that's being made all over the world.Collection: Travel
It's not like my old self - I'm not in character anymore, I'm me. I'm not hiding behind that anymore.
The whole period has taught me that I enjoy being part of an ensemble rather than just a front man. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy that too, but I get more enjoyment out of really listening to everyone.
I want to be a better person in every aspect. I really don't feel I've in anyway fulfilled my potential in every area of my life. But I'm optimistic.
I'm not a monarchist. But I'm English. And I have an irrational emotion for my country.
Whenever you're writing something that's reflective, you have to put yourself through some sort of ordeal just to understand the way you're feeling.
Whether people like it or not, China is incredibly important to the future of mankind. For me, this is something that we all need to have intelligent discussions about in America, in Britain, in Europe.
And there are no stars and that you're never really sure who's doing what and what voice is what and, you know what I mean? It's supposed to be quite elusive.
As soon as it sounds fine, I'm on to the next thing, man.
China is one of those vast, continental conglomerates that... I mean, if they were to start a tourist trade in China, they'd just bus people in from another province, you know what I mean? They're very self-contained.
I can't be bothered anymore about giving songs titles.
The things that make me happy most are my family and working.
I enjoyed history at school. I'd always had a sense of pagan England.
If you don't see something as a career but as an important part of your life, you don't know how you're going to feel about it.
As a musician usually music is your way out.
I'm not really one of those people who believes that if you're a musician you can just leave that behind and start getting into politics.
No, every album is something like a snapshot. It only shows one moment in time. It shows what we feel and think right at that point in time, nothing more and nothing less.
The cartoon is a metaphor really for the fact that it's almost impossible in our celebrity obsessed culture to move around genres and sort of change you ideas, change your face, you know?
When you're doing a deal with someone in the southern Sahara, it's a very different way of doing business than in London. You can't sign them in the usual way because they'd end up getting ripped off, which would defeat the object of setting up a label like this.
I was approached by Oxfam to go to Mali as their ambassador and get involved in their various initiatives out there. But I felt that was missing the point of using me, a musician.
More and more, cultural groups are cross-pollinating, and we're getting much more interesting art as a result.
You know, there are many alter egos and Gorillaz is a collective of alter egos, really. I think anyone who gets involved in it has to sort of accept that nothing is really as it seems.
I'm English, and I started off as a songwriter, so I can't really escape that - it's there.
I'm a working musician, so it's what I do. I kind of always have lots of plates spinning, and it's the ones that keep spinning the longest that I end up doing.
What you learn from working with other performers and musicians is invaluable, really, and can only help you grow. I mean, if you spend your whole life focusing on yourself, you're not really learning much.
I don't need to be a frontman all the time, and in fact, the older I get, the less of an urge it is inside me to play that role. I've still got it inside me, and I do occasionally allow it out.
I like to go to Africa purely with something to do. I'm not very comfortable getting into an armor-plated Land Rover and going to see things, with my hand gel, you know, it's not me at all. So I like to hang out and you know, really get to know people and try and do something that resonates with them.
It always struck me that Africa was, in a strange way, a futuristic place and had elements and vibes and spirits that were going to inform the future. Africa Express is an attempt to engage that power outside Africa, and for everyone to benefit from it.
Trying to write music that's sensitive to 400 years ago takes a bit of madness, as it's such a long stretch of time.
I spent two years figuring out how I could turn it into something that would satisfy me as a musician but also make some kind of cross-cultural link. I feel that I kind of at least touched on the possibilities of cross-cultural music, but it is a lifetime's work, and I don't profess to be anything other than a novice at it.
I think pop music is a great place to get new ideas across.
In the Sixties people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird, people take Prozac to make it normal.Collection: Life
Change terrifies people. They like new, but they don't like new with change.Collection: People
I've always known I'm incredibly special. All my life. You know? It's not a big deal.Collection: Special
There's need to be some sort of disturbance in your psyche for creativity to be sparked.Collection: Creativity
Oasis were like the bullies I had to put up with at school.Collection: School
If punk was about getting rid of hippies, then I'm getting rid of grunge.Collection: Hippie
It's important that Oasis are rude about everybody and that they get drunk...Fair enough. It's nice, isn't it? But it's nothing to do with me. They came to see us in Manchester and they were very pleasant boys. Very nice. I'd like to see that as a quote. Oasis are very nice boys.Collection: Music
I was naive enough to believe it would be enough to replace the government. Well, I made fun of the people in the government and then realized that even if we got rid of them, they were replaced by exactly the same guys.Collection: Fun
The Gorillaz cartoons seem more real to me than the actual people on TV. Because at least you know that there's some intelligence behind the cartoons, and there's a lot of work that's gone into it, so it can't all be just a lieCollection: Real
And there are no stars and that you're never really sure who's doing what and what voice is what and, you know what I mean? It's supposed to be quite elusiveCollection: Stars
There's always been a hip-hop element to my trousers.Collection: Hip Hop
I have to wear a new T-shirt every night. I throw them into the audience. One day I'm going to go around the world and reclaim all my T-shirtsCollection: Night
Each individual has their own opinions about whether war is an answer to any problems. Personally I think it's a waste of time, but I think more importantly, that it's is an issue that we haven't had any say in. That's why I feel so strongly about it. I don't feel like we've really been given any choice in this matter. I think if you had a referendum tomorrow, Tony Blair would have no choice but to call off the war.Collection: War
No, every album is something like a snapshot. It only shows one moment in time. It shows what we feel and think right at that point in time, nothing more and nothing lessCollection: Thinking
Yeah. You've seen The Sun today; I've got myself a big house, settled down. Apart from the odd night out with the New Fathers' Club, I'm a family man now.Collection: Father
Every time I go to Africa, I see the future. I see what the Western world is going to become. It's a very futuristic place.Collection: World