Damon Albarn Says Drugs Helped Him Hit Gorillaz Falsetto on Debut Album
Damon Albarn is looking back at the early days of Gorillaz — and he’s not holding back. The Blur frontman revealed that the dreamy falsetto vocals on the band’s 2001 self-titled debut album only came together thanks to drugs.
In a new Rolling Stone interview with Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett, Albarn joked, “I can’t quite believe I can still hit the falsetto. That first record has a crazy amount of falsetto,” before confessing the high notes were “definitely … related to the drugs I was taking.”
Albarn admitted he was “a much more irresponsible human being” back then, pushing his voice in ways he didn’t think he’d ever replicate. But the singer has made changes since those days — he quit smoking 18 months ago, which he says gives his voice “a little more of a chance” than before.
The confession comes as Gorillaz celebrate a major milestone: the 25th anniversary of their genre-blending debut album. To mark the occasion, the band dropped a nostalgic new video, Nostalgiaz, earlier this year and opened a special London exhibit called House of Kong.
The immersive showcase, which runs until September 3 at the Copper Box, takes fans inside the band’s surreal animated universe.
Adding to the buzz, Gorillaz are set to close the exhibit with a mystery performance on its final day. With Albarn teasing back in March that a new album is already in the works, many fans believe the secret show could be the moment the band unveils fresh music.
For longtime listeners, Albarn’s honesty about his past adds a human touch to the animated band’s history. While Gorillaz may have started with wild experiments and late-night chaos, Albarn’s voice — now healthier and steadier — seems ready to carry the project into its next chapter.
