Gorillaz Turn To India For 9th Studio Album Featuring Anoushka Shankar, Asha Bhosle, Ajay Prasanna & More

Popular Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett-headed English band Gorillaz just announced their 9th studio album 'Mountain'.

The album turns to India for its influences, having been recorded across Mumbai, New Delhi, Rajasthan and Varanasi and featuring the word "Parvat" (meaning "Mountain") in Devanagari script for its album cover. The 15-track will also feature iconic Indian singers Asha Puthli and Asha Bhosle, along with sitar maestro Anoushka Shankar, sarod stalwarts Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, and flautist Ajay Prasanna – alongside other array of collaborators ranging from the late afrobeat drummer Tony Allen and Omar Souleyman to The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and rising artist Jalen N'Gonda.

Moreover, the lore around the virtual members of the band: 2D, Noodle, Murdoc and Russell Hobbs, find them in India, having made their way to Mumbai with the help of four fake passports courtesy of a New York business acquaintance of Murdoc. From there, the band turn their back on pop stardom to engage in new music-making.

For the full tracklist with a list of collaborators on 'Mountain', see below, and listen to the lead single 'The Happy Dictator' (feat. Sparks) to get a taste of the new album.

'Mountain' Tracklisting

1. The Mountain (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali
Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash)
2. The Moon Cave (feat. Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda
and Black Thought)
3. The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks)
4. The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen)
5. Orange County (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar)
6. The God of Lying (feat. IDLES)
7. The Empty Dream Machine (feat. Black Thought, Johnny Marr and Anoushka
Shankar)
8. The Manifesto (feat. Trueno and Proof)
9. The Plastic Guru (feat. Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
10. Delirium (feat. Mark E. Smith)
11. Damascus (feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey)
12. The Shadowy Light (feat. Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali
Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash)
13. Casablanca (feat. Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr)
14. The Sweet Prince (feat. Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
15. The Sad God (feat. Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna and Anoushka Shankar)