Jamie Hewlett: Last News

The Beatles is currently involved in an ongoing silent auction all in the name of charity. This month, The Art of Music event is taking place in London - and globally, online - where a collection of unique pieces are being auctioned off online for Teenage Cancer Trust. One of the prized pieces is a photo taken by Paul McCartney's wife of The Beatles on the steps of the iconic recording studio Abbey Road.

EXCLUSIVE: Celebrated Oregon studio Laika has brought in new talent, hiring director Pete Candeland, along with Victor Maldonado & Alfredo Torres, the Annie Award-winning duo together known as Headless, to develop new animated features. The appointments are effective immediately, though there’s no word yet on what the projects are.

Damon Albarn has revealed that he is currently working on an opera, putting Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe’s ‘The Magic Flute Part II’ to music for the first time.Von Goethe started writing the libretto for a sequel to Mozart’s 1791 opera in the mid-1790s, which he then published in 1807. But it was never actually completed or set to music, a task Albarn has now taken on more than 200 years later.“I’m doing an opera at the moment, using Goethe’s fragment he wrote about ‘The Magic Flute Part II’, which is fascinating”, he explained on a new episode of the Broken Record podcast. “You’ve heard of Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’? Well, Goethe, who is a contemporary of Mozart, wrote ‘Part II’ of that – the sequel – but it never got put to music.

Gorillaz secure their second Official Number 1 album with Cracker Island today.

Last Friday, Gorillaz shared their eighth studio album Cracker Island. An album written as the animated band's co-founders continued production on a now-shelved animated film, Cracker Island saw Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett enlist a range of legends and modern stars like Stevie Nicks, Bad Bunny, Thundercat, and Beck.

Damon Albarn has revealed that after Gorillaz’ divisive Glastonbury headline set in 2010, Kate Bush phoned to tell him it was “one of the best shows she’d ever seen”.Last night (February 23), Albarn and visual artist Jamie Hewlett sat down for a Q+A session with comedian Alan Carr for Banquet Records, attended by NME.Taking to the stage at former-cinema-turned-nightclub Pryzm in Kingston, Albarn explained that “Glastonbury was very memorable because it was so different to any other performance that had been before us”.“We wanted to just be, and not do the normal schtick of ‘hello Glastonbury, how are you all feeling?’ We wanted to just do our thing,” he continued.Gorillaz were last-minute replacements for U2 who had to postpone their appearance after Bono injured his back. Albarn returned to the iconic festival with Gorillaz one year after topping the bill with Blur.“I realised halfway through the Gorillaz set that the audience had no idea who some of the guests that we were bring onstage were, because I wasn’t introducing them,” he said of the set that included the likes of Bobby Womack, Bootie Brown, De La Soul, Lou Reed, Happy Mondays‘ Shaun Ryder, The Fall‘s Mark E.

For about a year and some change, just prior to the release of Gorillaz‘s second album Demon Days, I was a frequent lurker on unofficial Gorillaz fansites and forums. The band’s self-titled 2001 debut had got its hooks in me years prior, and after buying just about every comic by Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett, I needed more. My anticipation for a new album was matched by a desire for a full-length animated movie — the Gorillaz skits “G Bites,” contained on the DVD Phase One: Celebrity Take Down, expanded on the absurdist humor and the neo-occult, ’70s horror-indebted style of the band — confirmed for me that a movie simply had to happen.

All Hip-Hop first reported.Jolicoeur’s official cause of death has not been announced — but the rap pioneer had been open about his struggles with congestive heart failure over the past few years. The veteran performer was with the group since it launched in Amityville, Long Island, circa 1988.

Gorillaz co-creator and animator Jamie Hewlett has announced a new art book called Phoo Action: Silver Jubilee.Hewlett, who founded the cartoon band along with Damon Albarn in 1998, will release the 368-page hardcover title in late November via Z2 Comics. It’s priced at £41.56, and is available to pre-order here.The book contains an oral history of Phoo Action, the TV pilot that was created by Hewlett and Mat Wakeham.

Gorillaz formed, saying that he had hoped to launch his own “cartoon band”.The reclusive singer-songwriter was the only constant member of Felt, who released 10 studio albums between 1982 and 1989. However, he doesn’t appear on the group’s penultimate LP ‘Train Above The City’ (1988).Lawrence went on to launch glam-rock-inspired outfit Denim (they dropped two albums in the 1990s) before forming Mozart Estate (fka Go-Kart Mozart) in ’99.Despite having never achieved commercial success, Lawrence counts Jarvis Cocker and Charlie Brooker as some of his famous fans (Demin bagged a support slot with Pulp in the mid-’90s).During a new interview with The Guardian, Lawrence spoke about Denim’s initial decision to not play gigs as he believed “live music was over” at that time.

Gorillaz have announced an official art book with over 40 guest artists teaming up alongside the band’s co-creator Jamie Hewlett.Released April 2022 via Z2 Comics, The Gorillaz Art Book promises to give fans “new interpretations of 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs in one expansive volume”, with the likes of Jack Black, The Cure’s Robert Smith and Little Dragon all contributing. See the complete list of guests below.Speaking about the project, Hewlett said: “Gorillaz have always collaborated with music but this is the first time we’ve done an art collaboration.

Gorillaz have teased footage of ‘Désolé’ from the forthcoming Song Machine Live cinema release next month.The clip, which you can watch below, features Fatoumata Diawara and was recorded at the band’s London-based Kong Studios HQ in 2020.

Gorillaz have confirmed details of Song Machine Live From Kong, a live film that will screen in cinemas and movie theaters across the globe for one day only. The live performance was captured at the virtual group's Kong Studios in London and comes with a behind the scenes featurette with unseen interview footage and commentary from Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

Gorillaz have announced a 20th anniversary reissue of their self-titled debut album, featuring demos, b-sides and live recordings.The eight-disc ‘Gorillaz (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Vinyl Boxset)’ will bring together the original album, b-side collection ‘G-Sides’ and the dub and reggae remix album ‘Laika Come Home’ which has never been released on vinyl before.Finishing off the collection is a live recording of their 2001 gig from London’s Kentish Town Forum. Also in the boxset is a 27-page DMC dossier of “leaked documents, memos, faxes and some early Jamie Hewlett drawings, assumed lost in a fire.”A limited run of first edition of the boxset will be released on December 10, 2021 and is available to preorder here.

Gorillaz have announced their new collaboration with Fred Perry.Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s cartoon band have teamed up with the renowned British clothing company, with the bandmembers set to “wear their favourite Fred Perry shirts” for the brand’s 2021 campaign.A special clothing collaboration between Gorillaz and Fred Perry is set to be announced soon, while special playlists and interviews with the cartoon bandmembers are also set to follow.Fred Perry say that Gorillaz are “the perfect artists to represent the Fred Perry shirt.

Gorillaz for launching an NFT (non-fungible token) after it was revealed selling the digital items has a huge effect on climate change.Gorillaz announced yesterday (March 26) that they would be selling an NFT to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their debut album.However, in a recent report by Wired, the impact of selling NFTs on climate change and the environment could be hugely negative.

Gorillaz‘ self-titled debut album turns 20 years old today (March 26), and the band have been celebrating the anniversary.Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s animated band shared their first full-length record in 2001.Reflecting on two decades of ‘Gorillaz’, the band’s bassist Murdoc Niccals said: “I’m exhausted. 20 years is a long time to be top of your game and let’s be clear here, it’s a one man gig keeping this show on the road.“A lot of names get bandied about, a lot of pretenders to the throne, one or two in particular… But there is only one Murdoc Niccals.

Gorillaz are set to host the final episode of their ‘Song Machine’ radio show on Apple Music tonight (December 8) – see an exclusive preview on NME below.Each member of the cartoon band have been hosting a monthly episode on the airwaves, talking through their current song series and 20-year career.Tonight, bassist Murdoc takes the reigns, joined by Gorillaz masterminds Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. In the episode, they talk about everything from which gruesome way Hewlett would choose to die, to daytime television.Check out the exclusive preview of Gorillaz’ final ‘Song Machine’ radio show below.Murdoc: “Okay, let’s see what chat machine wants to know.

Gorillaz will launch their own Apple Music show next week, titled ‘Song Machine Radio’.The four-episode series will see each instalment hosted by a different member of the cartoon band.The show will kick off with 2D on October 19 at 10pm BST, followed by a second episode on November 6 (8pm GMT), a third on November 23 (7pm GMT) and the final episode on December 10 at 5am GMT.According to a press release, the series will include “personalised music selections, special guests, non-music discussions, and segments with Gorillaz co-founders Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.” The show will reflect on the band’s 20-year journey so far, including their forthcoming record ‘Strange Timez’.The new collection, which is due to arrive next Friday (October

Gorillaz have shared details of their first live performances since 2018 with the ‘SONG MACHINE LIVE’ gig series.The virtual band led by Damon Albarn will debut the songs written for the first season of their collaborative online composition series, ‘Song Machine’, in three different time zone broadcasts from December 12-13.‘SONG MACHINE LIVE’ will bring together Gorillaz’ resident animator Jamie Hewlett’s visuals, coupled with live music performed by Albarn, who doubles up as the virtual band’s frontman 2D.

Psychic Garden on Instagram, and with a video directed by Denholm Hewlett – son of Gorillaz co-founder, Jamie Hewlett – it’s hard to discern whether it’s a deliberate ploy for mystery, or just a new artist finding their feet. It doesn’t really matter.