Most likely still enjoying the recent success of their chart-topping comeback project, Blur released a behind the scenes look into the making of The Magic Whip. Today Blur released the documentary following the group throughout Hong Kong as they made their latest project.
The documentary, “The Magic Whip: Made In Hong Kong” details the everyday lives of the four man group while living in Hong Kong to work on the album. The group got back together following a pretty lengthy hiatus, but the vibes and ideas still flowed smoothly as if the group never took a day off. Footage of the band messing around, laying down ideas for potential songs, and even doubts of whether or not the project would see the light of day. At first there were only jam sessions, but Alex James and Steve Streeter sat through the days worth of material and somehow structured a project out it. The band then began to work with the structure of the songs in place, but Damon Albarn notes that one of the biggest concerns of the project was keeping it a secret. The feeling that too much pressure would mount from the public to create the project, and in turn it would have a negative impact on the progression and natural course of the tape.
One thing that is very nicely displayed throughout the documentary is the close bond, more so brotherhood the members of Blur share. Naturally being around people for long periods of time leads to brief arguments, and petty disagreements but once those are moved past amazing things can happen. Blur Bassist Alex James released a statement further portraying this sentiment the band members share as a collective.
“It is very much like a sibling relationship, or a marriage. This is a really lovely thing to dip into, because it takes us out of our lives, even though we needed to have lives outside Blur for a while. Now, it is the exact opposite. Blur is like a complete release. At this point, which you could probably call our rock gentlemen phase, everything has become very fulfilling and satisfying. We needed our downtime, but in many ways, nothing has changed too much in 27 years. The crucial difference is that doing all this now is such a complete and utter joy.”
Blurs new album has seen amazing success so far, and the band is planning on doing few shows to give fans a live experience featuring songs from the new album. The Magic Whip is now available for purchase everywhere.
Leave a Comment