Damon Albarn On New Blur Album, ‘The Ballad Of Darren’
Damon Albarn has spoken about the making of the upcoming Blur comeback album, The Ballad Of Darren, with Apple 1 Music’s Zane Lowe.
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“It’s got an amazing atmosphere. Everybody’s playing really well on that thing,” Damon said about recent single St Charles Square. “The whole thing has really felt like we’re somewhere in 1992 — something like that, ’92, ’93. We’re just sort of back!
“I’ve been playing with them since I was a kid,” he added. “So to be able to chart that ridiculous journey from being teenagers to being five years off 60 is quite… It’s a little bit odd but wonderful at the same time, It’s wonderful.”
The singer went on to outline how the album came about, “When I finished the demos and I felt I’d got something I’m excited about, I got everyone into a studio in January this year. I just sort of sat them down and I said, ‘Right. This is what I’ve got. You choose what you want to use from it and we move forward from that,’” he began.
“At the beginning, I really didn’t want anyone in the studio but Graham [Coxon] to start off with, but the other two said, ‘No. We want to stay here if that’s all right’… and they did,” he added. “Do you know what? It was the best thing really. It was the best thing…The reward of everyone playing together is one I do acknowledge as being maybe the greatest. You’ve got to keep it real.”
The band’s headline show on Saturday 8th July at Wembley Stadium sold out in minutes, with a second and final show added for Sunday 9th July. Last remaining tickets available via Ticketmaster.
The band will welcome old friend and special guest Phil Daniels for a very special guest appearance on both nights at Wembley Stadium, with Sleaford Mods joining the line-up for the sold-out Saturday 8 July along with critically acclaimed English singer-songwriter and Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem and London-based electro-pop duo Jockstrap. Sunday 9 July will see Paul Weller and The Selecter open for blur, with DJs Steve Davis and John Doran & Kavus Torabi also set to entertain the crowds at what promises to be two unmissable summer nights in the capital.
pre-order blur – the ballad of darren here