This led to Hewlett animating Elton John and the hologram idea for 6lack. Due to travel restrictions, neither Elton John nor 6lack could actually film in person for the video. In the same interview and in the Zoom livestream, Albarn and Gorillaz co-creator and animator Jamie Hewlett spoke about how the video is also a reflection of the current times in a very real way. Who other than Murdoc would want to catch and imprison 2-D’s happy dreams and fantasies? The fact that 2-D said he found the creepy primate Hand of Glory in Murdoc’s room among lots of other “scary things” in a mock interview with the band in Dazed Digital. Murdoc is seen creeping in and out of a dark room chasing a cartoon “pink phantom,” again lending credence to the idea that the video is a dream. This might also explain why 2-D’s eyes are closed throughout the video (another hot topic of conversation among fans) and also introduces the idea that the whole video is meant to be 2-D’s dream. We won’t go into the gory details of what a Hand of Glory is, but suffice it to say it’s a talisman that has the power to put people in a daze. It posed a cartoonized Elton John in a dark room with 2-D, which was lit only by a Hand of Glory candle. The video brought even more layers to this deceptively complicated story. It’s superfluous on purpose, as it’s really about someone reconciling where they are now in life and letting go of what doesn’t fit anymore. The song truly would be missing something if he wasn’t there, and his distant, staticy, auto-tuned vocals are there to represent the emotional distance and confusion.
When really looking at the technical elements of “The Pink Phantom,” 6lack’s not “fitting in” is down to an engineering choice. The more one listens to the track, however, the more all the different vocal styles and subjects start to gel together. Despite their meaning and interest (fading love, missed chances, the phantom of nostalgia, confusion over a lover’s changing behavior), comments from listeners felt the addition of Atlanta R&B and hip hop 6lack’s vocals were superfluous or didn’t quite fit. The heart of “The Pink Phantom” was in the vocals, which were also a source of confusion for many fans. To wit: the main chords, beat and style of the track was centered around a concept similar to Elton John’s 1973 classic “Benny and the Jets.” From there, it seemed Albarn and Sir Elton had a lot of fun with their battling pianos and avant-garde composition. Elton John’s larger-than-life vocals and piano skills definitely added his flare and style to the track but didn’t take over. Musically, “The Pink Phantom” was quite different than your average Gorillaz song, mostly because of the collaborators it involved. We start, as one must when linear time is involved, with “The Pink Phantom,” the video that was released just a week or so after “Strange Timez” and the last video before the album/season dropped. Rest assure, however, that as soon as the next video for “The Lost Chord” featuring R&B legend Leee John is up, we will be hear to over-analyze it.
#Videos on gorillaz website full#
Finally, shortly after the release, the next video for “The Valley of the Pagans” featuring Beck popped up in a GTA-style run through LA while Beck and 2-D alternate berating the city’s vapid populace.įar from being caught up, Song Machine Episode One: Strange Timez has a full ten more tracks so in the interest of saving wordcount, we’re only going to cover “The Pink Phantom” and “The Valley of the Pagans” in tihs article. When the album finally did drop, Gorillaz held a live “Song Machine With Friendz” Zoom listening party with Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett and many of the artists featured on the album such as Leee John, Kano and St.
The beloved virtual band announced that Song Machine would be made into an album or rather a “season,” called Strange Timez. Before it released on October 23, the video for “Pink Phantom” featuring rapper 6lack and Elton John.īefore the album dropped, the heavily-anticipated, band member-curated “Song Machine Mixes” finally showed up on YouTube. So much has happened with Gorillaz and their magical song machine since the release of the video for “Strange Times” and our wordy review of the Robert Smith collab.
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