Gorillaz are once again previewing their upcoming ninth studio album, The Mountain, by sharing the track “Orange County” featuring Bizarrap, Kara Jackson & Anoushka Shankar. The song arrives with its companion track “The Hardest Thing” featuring Tony Allen. The Mountain will drop February 27th on their new label, KONG.
‘The Hardest Thing‘ was written by Damon Albarn and features the voice of longtime collaborator and friend, drummer Tony Allen who passed away in 2020. “Orange County” was written by Damon Albarn, Kara Jackson, and producer Bizarrap. See the official visualizer for the songs – HERE.
- Gorillaz previously previewed the upcoming album with the release of the first track, “The Happy Dictator,” featuring Sparks. See the visualizer – HERE.
- They went on to release the track “The Manifesto,” featuring Argentine rapper Trueno, as well as a freestyle from the late D12 member Proof. See the visualizer – HERE.
- More recently, Gorillaz dropped “Damascus,” a collaboration with Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def). Check out that visualizer – HERE.
The Mountain is comprised of a collection of 15 songs, and features artists and collaborators including: Ajay Prasanna, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash, Anoushka Shankar, Asha Bhosle, Asha Puthli, Bizarrap, Black Thought, Gruff Rhys, Idles, Jalen Ngonda, Johnny Marr, Kara Jackson, Omar Souleyman, Paul Simonon, Sparks, Trueno and Yasiin Bey; as well as the voices of friends and collaborators including Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Dennis Hopper, Mark E Smith, Proof and Tony Allen. The album’s release will coincide with a week-long Gorillaz takeover of Los Angeles featuring the Downtown LA opening of House of Kong exhibit, a limited four-week run kicking-off February 26th through March 19th at at Rolling Greens DTLA *for info, head HERE*
Prior to the House of Kong L.A. opening, The Mountain will be performed in its entirety by Damon Albarn and the Gorillaz live band featuring special guests, with two one-off shows on February 22nd and 23rd at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Palladium. Find tickets: HERE.
Gorillaz will also launch The Mountain Tour with two warm-up shows in Bradford on March 13-14 before kicking-off in Manchester on March 21, 2026, The trek will visit arenas across the UK and Ireland, including stops in Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, Dublin before concluding with a one-off show at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20 (with support from Sparks and Trueno).
The Mountain is out 2/27; preorder – HERE.
Editorial credit: Christian Bertrand / Shutterstock.com
