Everyday Robots
Everyday Robots is the debut solo studio album by British musician Damon Albarn, best known as the frontman of Blur and Gorillaz. Described by Albarn as his "most personal record", the album was co-produced by Richard Russell and released on 25 April 2014. It features guest contributions from musician and producer Brian Eno, singer Natasha Khan and the Leytonstone City Mission Choir. It was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize for best album.
The album produced five singles: "Everyday Robots", "Lonely Press Play", "Hollow Ponds", US-only release "Mr Tembo", and "Heavy Seas of Love". Everyday Robots received positive reviews from music critics, and debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart.
Background
The album was first announced in September 2011, when Albarn had confirmed he was working on a solo studio album to be released under his own name. He also stated that the concept of which is supposed to revolve around "empty club music". In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he said that the record would have a sound that he describes as a combination folk music and soul music. He also stated that he will be taking his album on tour, during which he will play songs from all of his other bands, such as Blur, Gorillaz and The Good, the Bad & the Queen.In May 2012, Albarn told NME that he was recording a new solo studio album. Asked what he was currently working on, Albarn said: "This week we're mucking around with these Russian synthesizers in a very loose mind of doing some kind of record under my name. I suppose you could call it a solo record, but I don't like that word. It sounds very lonely – solo. I don't really want to be solo in my life. But yeah, I'm making another record."
On 18 January 2014, the Warner Music Store was updated to include Damon Albarn's new album and its name was revealed – Everyday Robots, which is also the name of the first single, set to be released as a limited edition 7" vinyl on 3 March along with a non-album B-side, "Electric Fences". The deluxe edition of the album will come packaged with a DVD of Albarn performing a few album tracks live at Fox Studios in Los Angeles. The DVD was filmed on 3 December 2013. Albarn himself said in his official Facebook page that this record is his most soul-searching and autobiographical yet, explores nature versus technology and features guests Brian Eno and Natasha Khan, professionally known as Bat for Lashes. The official promo video for the first single, "Everyday Robots", was directed by artist and designer Aitor Throup, and posted on the singer's YouTube page on 20 January.
The album was made available for free streaming on iTunes on Tuesday 22 April 2014, whereby people could listen to the standard edition of the album in its entirety, which is a similar strategy used by Justin Timberlake for his albums The 20/20 Experience & The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 and Daft Punk's Random Access Memories.
Episode four of the Craig Cash sitcom After Hours is titled Lonely Press Play, and the song features in the episode.
Recording
In a January 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, Albarn revealed that Natasha Khan would appear on the track "The Selfish Giant" as a "ghostly echo", and that Brian Eno had collaborated on the album's final track. He also revealed that the track "Mr Tembo" was recorded for a baby elephant that Albarn met in a zoo in Mkomazi, Tanzania. He said: "It was recently orphaned and walked onto this aerodrome; the people I know took it in and called it Mr. Tembo. I was there, and I met this little elephant, and he was very sweet. I sang it to him." The track was played for the elephant in a demo form by Albarn and Paul Simonon, and recorded over a phone call between Albarn and Richard Russell.As for the recording process of the album, Albarn started it with nearly 60 songs written down, and then would allow co-producer Richard Russell to pick his favourites, which would then become tracks on his album.
In an interview with NME about the album, Albarn explained that the lyrics were "the hardest part". He commented: "The lyrics were the hardest part. The music… leans towards my more melancholic, introspective soulful side, which is where I love to sing, but lyrically it took me a long time. I wanted it to be about my life, in a way, and I went right back to... it sort of starts in 1976." He added that every song on the record is rooted in a real life experience, saying: "every line on this record happened". The album will also tackle other issues such as "nature versus technology"
Addressing working with The Leytonstone City Mission Choir, Albarn felt that the choir held a nostalgic importance to him and asked the Church if he could record with the choir, "Back in Leytonstone, there was a Pentecostal Church at the end of my road that belonged to the city mission. I remember standing outside with my bicycle listening to the singing, but never being able to find an entry point. But it was a very strong childhood memory that I've carried with me. I got in contact with that church, and they've still got a small choir, so they very kindly agreed to sing on the record a bit."
Co-producer Richard Russell stated: "It's definitely a different sound to anything he's had before. He's been very conceptual for the past few records he's done whereas this is one is just a personal record that's about him. He worked very hard to express things that were very personal but to do it in an interesting way. That's what makes the record him. He brought me in to create a particular atmosphere and particular mood, so it's quite an atmospheric record with a certain palate of sounds and a certain rhythmic feel and very personal stuff." "Heavy Seas of Love", with Brian Eno and The Leytonstone City Mission Choir, was played live by Albarn at a YouTube event, however the original studio version also leaked online. The single was streamed via Tribecaon Tribeca.
Russell handled the drum programming while Albarn took on the singing, piano and guitar parts. "We did it in just three months at my studio," Albarn said of the process. "We'd work five days a week, 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m." The drums and percussion on the record are from a musical instrument that Russell had picked up from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is made mostly of plastic and metal, a modified version of which can be seen on DRC Music's Kinshasa One Two record.
The song "Hollow Ponds" was played in its full form on XFM on 20 March 2014. On 24 March 2014 Albarn released "Heavy Seas of Love" in its full studio format without the audio watermark on the track, and released the single art cover as well. The cover art is of the Palacio Salvo in Plaza Independencia in Uruguay
Lyrics
As stated in many interviews, the record will be "the most personal record I have ever done", the record also focuses on the idea of nature versus technology, and will tell certain significant moments in Albarn's life, including: "Hollow Ponds", which referenced key dates in Albarn's life, including the 1976 summer drought.The album's first single "Everyday Robots", opens with the lyric: "We are everyday robots on our phones" – makes it clear this particular track focuses on the nature/technology dichotomy as opposed to anything deeply personal, as reported by Michael Cragg, of The Guardian. The track contains a sample of "The Gasser" by Lord Buckley, from his 1960 album "Best of Buckley", the sample itself is a hipsemantic rant about 15th Century Spanish Explorer, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, whom was a part of the Narváez expedition. The song opens with Buckley's lines of "They didn't know where they was going, but they knew where they was, wasn't it" The sample is used to question the position of humans in modern-day Earth. "They" are humans, in which Albarn claims that we know where we are right now but because of the violent and dramatic evolution of technology, we have no idea what could happen in the next few years.
"Lonely Press Play", the album's second single, features the lyrics: "'Cause you're not resolved in your heart, you're waiting for me, to improve, right here, when I'm lonely, I press play", which talks about isolation and the feeling of being alone. The song was previewed on Albarn's Culture Show documentary, and the Sundance Festival and is the album's second official single.
Promotion
A series of trailers also appeared on Albarn's YouTube account as a way of promoting the album. The trailers featured a lot of images, mainly from Albarn's past and his previous projects. As well as a 21-second clip which featured Albarn at the piano and, before showing the title: Damon Albarn. First Solo Album. Coming SoonAlbarn premiered, "Lonely Press Play" at YouTube's pop-up venue at the Sundance Film Festival on 19 January. The invitation-only performance included acoustic versions of songs from the record itself as well as El Mañana by Gorillaz and an as of yet unknown Blur track. Albarn also played the song on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show, in a more "stripped-back acoustic" performance and also performed a cover of Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun" And also previewed the song "Heavy Seas of Love" featuring Brian Eno and The Leytonstone City Mission Choir as well.
Albarn was the subject of a half-hour episode of The Culture Show broadcast on BBC Two in February 2014, which focused on his previous bands and his current work. In the programme he returned to his former homes in Leytonstone, East London, and Colchester, Essex. Speaking in the programme, he revealed that he found his first solo LP tough, saying: "I've spent so long in bands, playing to large groups of people, that doing a solo album is quite a difficult thing for me to do. That's why I put it off for so long". The documentary included clips of songs from his album as well, including "Hollow Ponds", "Hostiles" and "Mr Tembo".
Albarn also won the award for Innovation at the 2014 NME Awards and was presented with the award by Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe. The awards took place at the O2 Academy Brixton in London and were hosted by BBC Radio 1 presenter and NME columnist Huw Stephens.
Although the record will be released under his name, he said he wanted himself and his backing band to be known as The Heavy Seas. The band's first performance was at BBC Radio 6 Festival. The gig saw the first exclusive plays of songs such as "The Selfish Giant" and "Mr Tembo", Albarn also played Tomorrow Comes Today from Gorillaz eponymous debut album and The Good, the Bad & the Queen single "Kingdom of Doom" as well as "El Mañana" from Demon Days and the Blur B-Side "All Your Life". Albarn and Kelis were among the acts that performed at the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival on Friday 28 February.
Albarn performed at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, which was streamed live at NPR's website, as well as performing on the American TV Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and performed the singles "Lonely Press Play", and "Mr Tembo".
At the festival Albarn played various Gorillaz songs, including "Feel Good Inc" in which he was joined onstage by De La Soul. He also performed the hit song "Clint Eastwood" with the song's original collaborator Del the Funky Homosapien, marking the first time Albarn and Del played the song live together, being joined on stage by Dan the Automator and Snoop Dogg. "Tomorrow Comes Today", "Kingdom of Doom" and "All Your Life" were also performed during the festival.
Albarn played a series of "intimate gigs" in support of the album at the Rivioli Ballroom in Crofton Park on 30 April, followed by a show at the People's Palace in Mile End on 1 May, in which he played songs from many of his bands. Albarn also headlined the Saturday night of Latitude Festival, which took place between 17 and 20 July. He also played the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee, USA, 12–15 June. Tickets went on sale Saturday 22 February 2014.
Albarn also played Rock Werchter – which took place in Belgium 3–6 July. Albarn also played the Days Off Festival in Paris, France, on 9 July. Tickets went on sale on 6 March. Albarn headlined 2014's EXIT Festival in Serbia. He also topped the bill on the main stage on 12 July, joining a line-up that also included Disclosure, Rudimental and Skrillex. The event took place from 10 to 13 July 2014 at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad. Albarn also appeared at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan on 25–27 July 2014.
Albarn also appeared on the BBC TV programme Later...with Jools Holland on 2 May 2014 along with Coldplay, The Black Keys, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings & Aziza Brahim
Albarn was shortlisted for the 2014 Mercury Prize Award and performed at the live ceremony in which he performed "Hostiles". All nominees performed at the ceremony Albarn and Royal Blood's performances were the most well received performances of the evening. However, Albarn ended up losing the award to Edinburgh based hip-hop trio Young Fathers for their 2014 album Dead.