Words by Ben Rees 

With social media in a frenzy of speculation, are Gorillaz ready to release their first album since 2011?

It’s fair to say Gorillaz are somewhat of an enigma in the music industry. Created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett in 1998, the quartet of animated characters found instant success with their first studio album “Gorillaz” in 2001. Since then they have released a further three albums with one of them, “Demon Day’s”, reaching number 1 in the UK album chart.

However, with their last release in 2011 this is currently the longest period of inactivity by the band. Last month saw a series of activity on the bands social media accounts and has led many to believe the release of a new album is imminent.

Albarn first teased the idea in 2014 as The National Post quoted him saying he “wouldn’t mind having another stab at a Gorillaz record” quoted him. In October 2015 he confirmed to Rolling Stone that the next Gorillaz album was in the works.

The Band also recently joined Instagram and has proceeded to post cryptic messages regarding the fictional story of 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hoobs. Most recent posts have focused on Noodle, with posts related to the guitarist using the hash tag #TheBookofNoodle. It appears as though the narrative of the band is continuing from “Plastic Beach” but that remains to be seen.

There is however a few things we know about the new album even though it has been shrouded in secrecy. In August it was confirmed that Snoop Dog and De La Soul would feature on the new album. De La Soul, of course, featured on arguably the bands most well known song “Feel Good Inc”. Furthermore, British singer Liam Bailey and hip-hop artist Vic Mensah have also been linked to the new album.

It is also worth noting that Hewlett has also mentioned a live tour. This however, very much like the new album will become clear when it is announced and/or dates are released.

This article was written by Ben Rees, follow him on twitter here.