Rooted In India: Gorillaz's New Album Features Anoushka Shankar, Asha Bhosle, & More

From the moment Gorillaz emerged in 1998, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett established them as a fully realized world: four fictional characters — 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, Russel Hobbs, inhabit a virtual universe that unfolds through animation, art, comics, music videos, live show visuals and narrative arcs. Their sound has always been eclectic, borrowing from hip-hop, electronic, trip-hop, world music, art‐pop, rock and more, while the visual identity has evolved through distinct phases that reflect whatever emotion or theme the album explores — from the raw cartoon punch of their early work to the darker, more detailed imagery of 'Demon Days', to the bright, synthetic yet melancholic palettes of 'Plastic Beach, 'Humanz', 'The Now Now' and beyond.

Their narrative always leans on contrast between the virtual and the real, the high polish and sketchy edges, and the global urgency and intimate storytelling. Whether it’s the dystopian landscapes, the interplay of colour and decay, or characters that change imperceptibly over time — all these build a sense that what Gorillaz do is more of a voyage, which has now reached their ninth studio album.

'The Mountain', set for release on March 20, 2026 via their own label KONG, continues Gorillaz’s ethos of collaboration, sonic exploration and cross-cultural texture. It was produced by Gorillaz alongside James Ford, Samuel Egglenton and Remi Kabaka Jr., with additional production by Bizarrap on the track 'Orange County'. The album was recorded in Studio 13 in London and in Devon, and across various locations in India including Mumbai, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Varanasi, as well as Ashgabat, Damascus, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.

Even the collaborators are extraordinary: Indian classical artists like Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash, Asha Bhosle and Asha Puthli appear alongside global stars such as Black Thought, Yasiin Bey, John Marr, among many others. The 15-track album features five languages — Hindi, English, Arabic, Spanish, Yoruba, underscoring the its global reach. In their words, the album is “a playlist for a party on the border between this world and whatever happens next, exploring the journey of life and the thrill of existence.”

Musically, 'The Mountain' promises richly layered instrumentation and diverse rhythmic textures. Tracks like 'The Mountain' (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash) and 'The Shadowy Light' (feat. Asha Bhosle, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash) explicitly draw on Indian classical timbres, while other tracks bring in hip-hop, electronic beats, spoken word and world-fusion. Visuals, too, are integral: Jamie Hewlett’s artwork for 'The Mountain' depicts Murdoc, Noodle, Russel and 2-D during their work in India, rendered with fine detail across hand-drawn images available in book and art-print form.

'The Mountain' feels like Gorillaz at a confluence of past and present, genres and geographies, the physical and the spiritual. Just as they once drew in Jamaican dancehall on 'Saturnz Barz, Latin pop with Bad Bunny on 'Tormenta', and Malian desert blues on 'All Alone', this record extends their long history of absorbing global sounds into something unmistakably their own, showing once more how they continue to expand the idea of what a Gorillaz album can be.

Follow Gorillaz here and listen to the first single from the album below:

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