Gorillaz, the virtual band created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, are back with two new singles from their upcoming album The Mountain, which comes out on March 20. Since their 2001 debut, the group has changed the landscape of animated music with albums like Demon Days and Plastic Beach, earning global hits and Grammy awards while always finding new ways to blend alternative, hip-hop, and electronic styles.

​The newest singles, ‘Orange County’ featuring Bizarrap, Kara Jackson, and Anoushka Shankar, and ‘The Hardest Thing’ with the late Tony Allen, are meant to go together and are even released as a double-A-side 7″ vinyl. These songs add to the list of advance singles like ‘Damascus’ with Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey, ‘The God Of Lying’ with IDLES, ‘The Happy Dictator’ featuring Sparks, and ‘The Manifesto’ with Trueno and the late Proof from D12.

​The Mountain was recorded in many places, including London, Devon, several Indian cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Rajasthan, and Varanasi, as well as Ashgabat, Damascus, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. The album features five languages: Arabic, English, Hindi, Spanish, and Yoruba, yet it still manages to create a unified sound. Early listens show that Gorillaz continue to bring together very different influences, blending rhythms and voices from around the world into one cohesive album that feels energetic and carefully crafted.

Stream ‘The Hardest Thing’ / ‘Orange County’: