Following the opera Monkey: Journey to the West by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the ex-Blur front-man and his regular Gorillaz animator have revealed the details of their new, "bigger and more difficult project. Called Carousel, the upcoming collaboration will be a film/stage production with a mix of stories, live action, animation and, most importantly, 70 or so new songs penned by Albarn.
In a recent interview with the Guardian, Hewlett said, "[Carousel] is even bigger and more difficult than Monkey... Ive done a lot of visuals and Damons done a lot of music but we havent figured out how theyre going to fit together.
"Its sort of like a film but not with one narrative story. There are many stories told around a bigger story set to music and done in live action, animation, all different styles.
Hewlett went on to say that Carousel was originally intended as a full-on film but has morphed into a bit of a stage production as well. However, he didnt say exactly how or what the story revolved around.
"Its basically us doing what the fuck we want without worrying about whether its for a record company or a film company or whatever, he said. "So, Im not sure how itll pan out, or even if it will happen. But Damons written around 70 songs for it, and Ive got great plans for the visuals, but right now, at this moment, its still just a really good idea.
As we previously reported, Albarn also recently talked of a new project, which would feature some 90 musicians, a 100-piece Chinese choir and an orchestra of about 130 people. However, Hewlett was unclear as to whether this was the same undertaking Albarn had mentioned or a new one altogether.
Excerpt from Monkey: Journey to the West
In a recent interview with the Guardian, Hewlett said, "[Carousel] is even bigger and more difficult than Monkey... Ive done a lot of visuals and Damons done a lot of music but we havent figured out how theyre going to fit together.
"Its sort of like a film but not with one narrative story. There are many stories told around a bigger story set to music and done in live action, animation, all different styles.
Hewlett went on to say that Carousel was originally intended as a full-on film but has morphed into a bit of a stage production as well. However, he didnt say exactly how or what the story revolved around.
"Its basically us doing what the fuck we want without worrying about whether its for a record company or a film company or whatever, he said. "So, Im not sure how itll pan out, or even if it will happen. But Damons written around 70 songs for it, and Ive got great plans for the visuals, but right now, at this moment, its still just a really good idea.
As we previously reported, Albarn also recently talked of a new project, which would feature some 90 musicians, a 100-piece Chinese choir and an orchestra of about 130 people. However, Hewlett was unclear as to whether this was the same undertaking Albarn had mentioned or a new one altogether.
Excerpt from Monkey: Journey to the West