Gorillaz share upbeat new single ‘Skinny Ape’ and announce virtual shows in London and New York

Gorillaz have shared their new single ‘Skinny Ape’ and announced two virtual shows in London and New York next week.

• READ MORE: ‘Gorillaz’ at 20: how Damon Albarn’s virtual band shaped music history

The track, which you can listen to below, is the fourth to be taken from forthcoming new album ‘Cracker Island’ after ‘Baby Queen’, ‘New Gold’ and ‘Possession Island’.

Their new album is on out on February 24, 2023 via Parlophone and can be pre-ordered here.

Meanwhile, the cartoon band will be showcasing their new single with two virtual shows in Times Square on December 17 from 2.30pm local time and Piccadilly Circus on December 18 at 2pm GMT.

According to a press release the shows will allow fans to gather together to witness Gorillaz “play in real life as Murdoc, 2D, Noodle and Russel literally tower over them, playing in the midst of two of the world’s most iconic skylines.” You can view teaser footage below.

Directed by artist and Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett and the Emmy nominated director Fx Goby, the ‘Skinny Ape’ performances have been created by Nexus Studios and utilise Google’s ARCore Geospatial API, using AR to transform public spaces into a virtual performance.

“To all our followers, get ready for the biggest Times Square takeover since that other gorilla smashed the place up. Bigger in fact cos there’s four of us. Thanks to the techies at Google, we’ve created the music video event of the century, so don your pink robes and come see Gorillaz like you’ve never seen us before. The future is nigh!” said bassist Murdoc.

The cartoon band have lined up a host of collaborators on ‘Cracker Island’, their eighth studio album including Stevie Nicks, Bad Bunny, Adeleye Omotayond and more, as well as Tame Impala and Bootie Brown.

See the ‘Cracker Island’ tracklist below.

1. ‘Cracker Island’ feat. Thundercat
2. ‘Oil’ feat. Stevie Nicks
3. ‘The Tired Influencer’
4. ‘Tarantula’
5. ‘Silent Running’ ft. Adeleye Omotayo
6. ‘New Gold’ feat. Tame Impala & Bootie Brown
7. ‘Baby Queen’
8. ‘Tormenta’ feat. Bad Bunny
9. ‘Skinny Ape’
10. ‘Possession Island’ (feat. Beck)

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