Just over a month after their mystery show in London where they performed their entire new album. The UK-based digital band, Gorillaz released the first single for their upcoming album The Mountain, with the song “Manifesto”
The aptly named track, which runs just over eight minutes, features young Argentine sensation Trueno, known for hits such as “DANCE CRIP”, “CAN YOU FEEL ME”, and recently the song that one him his first Latin Grammy for Best Urban Fusion/Performance, “Tranky Funky”.
The song starts with plenty of drums and secondary percussion, followed by some backup singers repeating a simple melody before Trueno enters. The song is split into three main sections with Trueno accounting for both the first and the third. The drums carry a light bouncy feeling that still relay a sound similar to Trueno’s while introducing the Eastern influence of some of the collaborators such as Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, playing the sarod, and the Jea Band Jaipur in the brass section.
As the first section fades out, a brass section fades in followed by a slow maniacal laugh from Detroit-based rapper, Proof, the second feature on the song. Proof delivers a classic verse that flows mellifluously over the brass and trap beat mixed in for the second section. The beat slows slightly after Proof’s verse, and the track is quiet for a split second before Trueno counts the band, and the wall of brass, back in to deliver his final verse.
The album, The Mountain, is said to have a theme of cyclical time, the wheel of life, death, and rebirth. Trueno’s first verse is about “following the light that calls me”/”Cuando atienda la luz que me llama”, while Proof’s verse, which takes a darker tone, opens with the line “You never seen a killer with fangs and millimeters”. In between the two verses, the idea of heading to the mountains to “live under the sun”. This chorus is an allusion to death and living out one’s last days in the sun, before the rebirth alluded to in the third verse.
Perhaps the third verse could be either about an afterlife or a new life, as Trueno opens with “We have no fear here, we’re turning around”/”Aca no tenemos miedo le estamos pegando la vuelta”
The Mountain will build on and carry on with these themes upon its release in March. Until then, fans can enjoy this new track and potentially some more singles in the upcoming months. Gorillaz will begin The Mountain tour in a couple months when the album releases with shows around the UK and Ireland.
Photo Credit: Marv Watson
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