Damon Albarn seemingly cannot stop feeding the internet his infinite supply of cartoon monkey music. The band dropped two fresh tracks from The Mountain to hold fans over before the full record lands. Listeners get The Hardest Thing with Afrobeat legend Tony Allen alongside Orange County, which brings in Bizarrap, Kara Jackson, and Anoushka Shankar.
These additions join a massive pile of earlier releases, such as The Happy Dictator with Sparks and The God Of Lying with IDLES. The virtual group also previously shared Damascus with Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey alongside The Manifesto with Trueno and Proof. That makes six songs out already for anyone keeping score.
The Hardest Thing serves as a tribute to Allen, as the drummer died back in 2020. Albarn and the percussionist were buddies who played in The Good, The Bad & The Queen together. You hear Allen speaking right at the start before the audio turns into a big musical celebration.
Then the vibe shifts for Orange County, which acts as a trippy dance number where Jackson handles heavy vocal duties. Both tunes arrived with a psychedelic video for people to stare at. It seems Albarn really misses his old pal while keeping the digital conveyor belt moving.
These additions join a massive pile of earlier releases, such as The Happy Dictator with Sparks and The God Of Lying with IDLES. The virtual group also previously shared Damascus with Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey alongside The Manifesto with Trueno and Proof. That makes six songs out already for anyone keeping score.
The Hardest Thing serves as a tribute to Allen, as the drummer died back in 2020. Albarn and the percussionist were buddies who played in The Good, The Bad & The Queen together. You hear Allen speaking right at the start before the audio turns into a big musical celebration.
Then the vibe shifts for Orange County, which acts as a trippy dance number where Jackson handles heavy vocal duties. Both tunes arrived with a psychedelic video for people to stare at. It seems Albarn really misses his old pal while keeping the digital conveyor belt moving.
