Soundtrack Of My Life: Russel from Gorillaz

17 February, 2023

Gorillaz

The first song I remember hearing

The Who – ‘Boris The Spider’

“I was two years old when I first heard this song. It taught me about injustice, that life is fragile and small things lead to big things. All energy is connected. Like astronaut farts in space, that sonic frequency is creating a wave – and that wave goes on forever. And it’ll come back someday as some other kind of energy. It might power the ocean. It might even become electricity. No damn thing is insignificant, not even a teeny little spider.”

The first album I ever bought

Sesame Street – ‘The Count Counts’

“This is the most important slab of acetate a young drummer can buy. I’ll count the reasons: 1. If you can’t count you won’t be able to keep time. 2. If you can’t keep time you’ll be a terrible drummer. Counting’s right there at the centre of everything. Even your heartbeat – it’s rhythm, life itself. Where would we be if we couldn’t count on each other? All alone, and in even more trouble than we already are.”

The first gig I went to

Prince, The Lovesexy Tour at Wembley Arena in 1988

“Prince was a phenomena, a true musical genius. Amazing basketball player too, and a great chef. Wherever you are brother, dance on little Prince. This is the set list I stole from the drummer that night. Each song tells a story:

Erotic City
Housequake
Slow Love
Adore
It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night
Delirious
Jack U Off
Sister
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Head
A Love Bizarre
When You Were Mine
Blues in C
Little Red Corvette
U Got the Look
Controversy
Dirty Mind
Superfunkycalifragisexy
Bob George
Anna Stesia
Interlude
Eye No
Lovesexy
Glam Slam
The Cross
I Wish U Heaven
Kiss
Dance On
Encore:
Do Me, Baby
When 2 R in Love
Let’s Go Crazy
When Doves Cry
Alphabet St.”

The song that reminds me of home

Frank Ocean – ‘Lost’

“When you’re far away from where you need to be, play this. It’s the conversation you need with an old friend. I play it on tour, it takes me home wherever I’m at. Home is how you feel not where you are. Also, if you listen really hard to the drums at the beginning, I’m pretty sure those bass drums are haunted. I know a haunted drum when I hear one. Home for me has always been a haunted house.”

The song I wish I’d written

The Whole Darn Family – ‘7 Minutes Of Funk’

“First, the title. This is a book you can judge by its cover. Then there’s the air-tight drums, a hi-hat that sounds like someone sharpening a samurai sword – in your mind. The track takes off like a funk rocket. Big cheese effect on the bass igniting the funk rockets, then the keyboard spins you into space, the horns blast the thrusters, finally the Rhodes piano lands you safely back on Earth. Round the world in 80 days? This mothership does it in seven minutes. What a trip.”

The song I do at karaoke

James Brown – ‘Cold Sweat’

“’Ha!’ ‘Oh!’ ‘Ho! Uh! Ho!’ ‘Argh!’ ‘Oooft!’ ‘Hit me!’ ‘Urgh!’ ‘Pghxcvbi!’. I once got some of JB’s lyrics translated. It came out like my aunt’s internet password – literally ‘asdfgjmnbvc!’ Brown’s vocal gymnastics were beyond anyone, Howlin’ Wolf was the only other guy to come close. At one point in the song, funky to the point of phonic mania, he shouts, ‘argh!’ ‘uhh!’ ‘kjhgf!’ He’s in serious trouble and it’s nothing anyone can help him with. Sometimes the funk comes at the cost of your sanity.”

The song I can’t get out of my head

Bob James – ‘Westchester Lady’

“Never trust a guy with two first names… Unless that man is Bob James. The guy’s an earworm magician. This track features the trippiest syncopated guitar with extra side of cowbell I’ve ever heard. Then the strings come in, the rolling toms, Rhodes piano tinkling over it like distant stars on a cold night. It’s a slow-motion firework. So beautiful it gives you real hope and genuine shivers down your spine. It’s also highly addictive and when I start I have trouble getting off it, but in a good way. We all need more cowbell in our lives.”

The song I can no longer listen to

Beck – ‘Lost Cause’

“Beautiful song about a bad time. That’s why I can’t listen [to it], it takes me back there. You can hear the hurt in his voice, the low vocals make your heart ache. We hung out recently and he’s fine, but still, some wounds are deep. We’ve all chased something we knew was a lost cause, but love clouds perspective. Wanting what you can’t reach, it doesn’t get more human than that. This track lasers that feeling. I think that’s what music does – it freezes a thought or a feeling like emotional shorthand so you can look back later and see if it still makes sense.”

The song that makes me want to dance

Chaka Khan – ‘I Feel For You’

“The first time I heard this song I thought my Walkman was broken. Three packs of batteries later and I realised it’s supposed to be like that. What a song. This came out at the height of the ’80s breakdancing craze. It was the first time you were starting to hear computers and hip-hop’s influence on pop music. It’s also got this insane harmonica solo that adds this weird church vibe. Then the machines take over, like some breakdance prediction of the future. It’s like sticking your fingers in the socket of groove.”

The song that makes me cry

Sananda Maitreya – ‘Sign Your Name’

“One of the most beautiful voices from my youth. Such a fragile song. Makes me think about poor old Boris The Spider again. I like stone cold classics but sometimes you got to take off your boots and get into some real comfy slippers. This song is a pair of slippers for the soul. Comforting but also kind of sad. Like watching a show about penguins when it’s raining outside. You feel for the penguins but it’s also good to know you don’t have to catch your own lunch or worry about leopard seals or killer whales.”

The song I want played at my funeral

The Streets – ‘Turn the Page’

“Death is rebirth. The end is a new beginning. This song gets you ready to journey to the next dimension. The tune to take you to Valhalla. A boat that floats you to hip-hop heaven, preparing you for that transcendence. Like some black galleon, its sails filled with the winds of hope. When the strings rise, that’s the bow of the ship rising above the storm. Because when you hear that boom you feel like you can face anything.”