Demon Strings are a British stringed instrument group. They are best known for being the in-house string section for musician

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

, having recorded and performed live for several of his projects including The Good, the Bad & the Queen,

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

, Blur and '' Monkey: Journey to the West''.

Career

Formed in 2005 by

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

Isabelle Dunn (aka. Izzi Dunn) and manager Tee Bowry, Demon Strings is composed of some of the UK's finest string players specializing in live, television and recorded work. As

's "in-house" string section, Demon Strings worked closely with him on several of his projects. These included the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Demon Days'', a run of shows at The Manchester Opera House and the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

and several TV performances. Continuing the relationship, 2007 saw Demon Strings tour Europe and the US with Albarn's The Good, the Bad & the Queen. They have also performed the orchestration for Blur's eight studio album ''

The Magic Whip ''The Magic Whip'' (stylised in Chinese text) is the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was recorded in Hong Kong and London, and released by Parlophone on 27 April 2015 and Warner Bros. Records on 28 April 2015. It was the band's ...

''. Another of Albarn's projects, '' Monkey: Journey to the West'' saw the Demon Strings as part of the orchestra for runs at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, Palace Theatre Manchester,

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...

and culminated in a three-month run at The O2. In 2008, Demon Strings joined producer

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbi ...

on his world tour promoting his '' Version'' album, headlining many festivals including

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

, Big Day Out (Australia) and Coachella (US). In 2014, Demon Strings, were given an official credit for

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

on Albarn's debut solo studio album ''

Everyday Robots ''Everyday Robots'' is the debut solo studio album by British musician Damon Albarn, best known as the frontman of Blur and Gorillaz. Described by Albarn as his "most personal record", the album was co-produced by Richard Russell and relea ...

'' and have featured in several live performances from Albarn promoting the album, including ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

''. As of the release of ''Everyday Robots'', the group has consisted of Stella Page, Isabelle Dunn, Ollie "Oli" Langford, Alice Pratley, Kotono Sato and Antonia Pagulatos. Isabelle, Stella and Antonia all featured on the ''Demon Days'' album by Gorillaz prior to the formation of Demon Strings.

Discography

* 2005 -

- '' Demon Days'' * 2007 - The Good, the Bad & the Queen - '' The Good, the Bad & the Queen'' * 2008 -

- '' Journey to the West'' * 2010 - Gorillaz - ''

Plastic Beach ''Plastic Beach'' is the third studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was released on 3 March 2010 by Parlophone internationally and by Virgin Records in the United States. Conceived from an unfinished project called ''Carousel'', th ...

'' * 2014 - Damon Albarn - ''

'' * 2015 - Blur - ''

'' * 2018 - The Good, the Bad & the Queen - '' Merrie Land'' * 2020 - Gorillaz - '' Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez'' * 2021 - Gorillaz - ''

Meanwhile Meanwhile may refer to: Music Albums * ''Meanwhile'' (Camouflage album), 1991 *'' ...Meanwhile'', a 1992 album by British pop band 10cc *'' Meanwhile...'', a 1995 album by world fusion ensemble Trance Mission * ''Meanwhile'' (Gorillaz EP), a 202 ...

References

Damon Albarn English classical music groups Musical groups established in 2005 String musicians {{UK-band-stub