Humanz

Humanz is the fifth studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released on 28 April 2017 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Warner Bros. Records in the United States. It was the band's first studio album released in seven years, following a multiyear hiatus. The album was produced by The Twilite Tone and Remi Kabaka Jr., with Kabaka Jr. making his first contribution as a permanent producer for the band. Following media reports of a fall out between Gorillaz co-creators Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz entered a multiyear hiatus after the release of the 2012 non-album single "DoYaThing". During this time, Albarn released his debut solo record, Everyday Robots (2014), and recorded and toured with his band Blur, while Hewlett worked on film projects. Albarn and Hewlett reconciled and decided to return to Gorillaz in late 2014, with Albarn beginning to write songs for the album while still on the Everyday Robots tour. Recording officially began around September 2015 and continued through December 2016, taking place across various locations worldwide, including London, Paris, New York City and Jamaica. The album features political themes, taking inspiration from the 2016 United States presidential election. Albarn has described the album as the soundtrack to "a party for the end of the world," envisioning a "dark fantasy" in which Republican candidate Donald Trump won the election, which was still considered a remote possibility at the time of recording. Musically, the album embraces an electronic "modern-sounding urban hip-hop/R&B sensibility", and features an expansive roster of guest artists, including Jehnny Beth, Grace Jones, Kali Uchis, Vince Staples, Popcaan, D.R.A.M., Anthony Hamilton, De La Soul, Danny Brown, Kelela, Mavis Staples, Pusha T, and Benjamin Clementine. Several songs from the album were released as singles, most notably lead single "Saturnz Barz" and "Strobelite". A "Super Deluxe"...