Gorillaz - Music Marketing

Gorillaz are an English Virtual band created by British musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. Damon was previously well known for his involvement in the Brit-Pop scene as he was a former member of the band Blur. Hewlett was also well known for his work on the graphic novel Tank Girl. After initially taking a dislike to-each other they became friends, which led to the creation of Gorillaz in 1998, after watching MTV and commenting on how artificial the boy bands. They created Gorillaz a literal artificial band, to make a statement that even cartoons could make a radio hit. However later down the line, the concept became more serious and fleshed-out as a whole world and ongoing storyline was created for the characters. The band was a gateway for Damon to explore genres he couldn’t work with whilst still in Blur, such as hip hop or world music. Their song On Melancholy Hill was the third single released in promotion for their third album Plastic beach on the 12 June 2010. It has since became certified platinum in the UK. The single was initially created by Damon Albarn whilst working on the self-titled debut album of his other musical project. The Good, the Bad & the Queen, which was compromised of Damon Albarn himself, the bassist, Paul Simonon of Clash, the drummer Tony Allen of Africa 70 and Simon Tong of the Verve who played guitar.

The song was supposed to be a lighter moment on the album being a genuine pop moment. Many have stated the nostalgic and even emotional tone of the song being a mix of positive and sad feelings. The music video is a continuation of the ongoing Plastic Beach, plotline which served as the backdrop for the album. As the fictional location of Kong Studio was burned down the band members are travelling to the titular plastic beach, an island comprised solely of rubbish discarded into the ocean, we see the character Noodle fighting on a boat as the rest of the band members are travelling in a submarine along with past collaborators for the albums.

After reaching the island, the over arching villain for the era, known as the boogeyman is spotted before making an escape. The story would have been continued in the music video for Rhinestone eyes, however due to budget restraints only the storyboards were ever released. Nonetheless the music video sets itself as a prime example of visual storytelling an world building.