Gorillaz have teased a new single featuring The Cure frontman and goth legend Robert Smith. The song is the next instalment in the band’s ‘Song Machine’ series, where the animated quadruplet partner with a different music heavyweight for each ‘episode’ of a 10-part online series in celebration of their 20th anniversary as a band.
The song was revealed on Twitter alongside cover art of the virtual band in colourful astronaut suits and Smith’s head emerging from an ominous doorway behind. No release date or teaser video was shared.
Coming up on Song Machine…
It’s @RobertSmith
Follow your nearest Song Machine NOW!https://t.co/LxIgC7zkVH#SongMachine pic.twitter.com/vx3GFgDTUP— gorillaz (@gorillaz) September 7, 2020
Previous entries into the ‘Song Machine’ have included collaborations with ScHoolboy Q on ‘PAC-MAN’, Octavian on ‘Friday 13th’, Fatoumata Diawara on ‘Désolé’, Peter Hook and Georgia on ‘Aries’, and Slowthai and Slaves on ‘Momentary Bliss’. In typical Gorillaz tradition, each track is accompanied by a colourfully animated music video of Murdoch, 2D, Noodle, and Russell getting up to some mischief.
Gorillaz have had a busy year. Back in May, they released ‘How Far?’ in tribute to, and in collaboration with, the late Tony Allen, and released a short browser racing game to accompany their third ‘Song Machine’ episode, ‘Aries’, that recreates the retro racing games of the NES era. The band will also be releasing ‘The Gorillaz Almanac’ in October, their first hardback annual containing artwork, comic strips, puzzles and games, as a homage to two decades of Gorillaz history.
The Cure also have new music on the way and last year revealed they were working on three new albums. They had expected to have one finished by the end of 2019 but that didn’t emerge. Speaking to NME last year, Smith said the album was a “work in progress” and described it as “merciless”. The Cure’s last studio album, ‘4:13 Dream’, released in 2008.
