"Momentary Bliss" is a song by British

virtual band In entertainment, a virtual band (also called a virtual idol, virtual singer, virtual group, cartoon group, cartoon idol, cartoon singer or cartoon band) is a band or music group whose members are not depicted as corporeal musicians, but animat ...

Gorillaz, featuring British rapper Slowthai and the

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

-based punk rock duo Slaves. The song was the first song to be released for Gorillaz' ''

Song Machine ''Song Machine'' is an audiovisual project by British virtual band Gorillaz. It is a music video web series consisting of a collection of music videos and singles that are released monthly by the band as episodes of the series, with each epis ...

'' initiative, a web series consisting of singles and music videos released over the course of the year from the band, with each episode featuring different guest musicians on new Gorillaz material, and is the first single released for their seventh studio album, '' Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez''. This was the final single before Slaves change their band name "Soft Play".

Background and recording

"Momentary Bliss" was recorded in the summer of 2019 at Damon Albarn's Studio 13 in West London. Albarn had previously worked with Slaves as part of the

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project, with the band also previously working with Slowthai on his album ''

Nothing Great About Britain ''Nothing Great About Britain'' is the debut studio album by British rapper Slowthai. It was released on 17 May 2019 via Method Records. The album features guest appearances from British rappers Jaykae and Skepta, as well as production credits ...

'', on the song "Missing". The song was announced as being the first of eleven tracks to be released from Gorillaz' ''Song Machine'' initiative, which sees the band release a new song every month with previously unannounced collaborators. Damon Albarn and

Remi Kabaka Remi Kabaka (born 27 March 1945) is an Afro-rock avant-garde drummer. He worked with John Martyn, Hugh Masekela, on '' Rhythm of the Saints'' by Paul Simon, and '' Short Cut Draw Blood'' by Jim Capaldi. He was also an important figure in the 1970 ...

spoke to

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

's Annie Mac for the song's official premiere, saying that ''Song Machine'' "may have an obtuse narrative arc at the end of each season, but it's more ''

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'', than ''

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''. You just keep going until you run out of ideas." A press release was put out to explain the initiative further, with virtual Gorillaz member Russel Hobbs saying: "''Song Machine'' is a whole new way of doing what we do, Gorillaz breaking the mould 'cos the mould got old. World is moving faster than a supercharged particle, so we've gotta stay ready to drop. We don't even know who's stepping through the studio next. ''Song Machine'' feeds on the unknown, runs on pure chaos. So whatever the hell's coming, we're primed and ready to produce like there's no tomorrow."

Composition

Critics have described the single as punk rock,

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pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

, hip hop,

britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

and

reggae rock Reggae rock is a subgenre of reggae fusion and rock music that primarily uses the genres reggae, rock, and ska. Typical lyrics of reggae rock songs incorporate love, personal awareness, and life challenges while incorporating music and beat ...

. Mark Beaumont of

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described the song as “sci-fi ska”. Thereafter, Thomas Smith of

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

noted the punk timbre, describing the song as a “punk rager”. Damon Albarn utilizes an interpolation of the chorus of "

Lovely Rita "Lovely Rita" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It is about a meter maid and the narrat ...

" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

; this interpolation takes place before Slowthai's first verse, before 2-D's verse, and in both Holman's intro and ending chorus.

Music video

The song's music video was filmed at Albarn's studio in West London, featuring both Slowthai and Slaves. The video which premiered on 30 January 2020 features the band's animated characters recording the song with guests. The video also marked the return of Murdoc Niccals, who had been absent from the band's sixth studio album ''

The Now Now ''The Now Now'' is the sixth studio album recorded by the British virtual band Gorillaz, released on 29 June 2018 via Parlophone and Warner Bros. Records. Recording for the album began in late 2017 – according to Gorillaz co-creator Da ...

''. In the video, directed by Jamie Hewlett, Tim McCourt, and Max Taylor, Murdoc attempts to poison Albarn's drink during a recording session but ends up becoming sick after observing no side effects and testing the poison on himself.

Tracklist

Personnel

Gorillaz * Damon Albarn – vocals, instrumentation, director, guitar * Jamie Hewlett – artwork, character design, video direction *

Remi Kabaka Jr. Remi Kabaka Jr. (born 11 April 1970) is a British record producer, art director, percussionist and voice actor best known as the drummer and producer for British virtual band Gorillaz. He became a music producer for the band in 2015 after severa ...

– drum programming Additional musicians and personnel * Slowthai – vocals * Laurie Vincent – guitar, vocals * Isaac Holman – drums, vocals * Mike Dean – drum programming * Stephen Sedgwick – mixing engineer, engineering *Samuel Egglenton – engineering *John Davis – mastering engineer

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2019 songs 2020 singles Gorillaz songs British pop punk songs British punk rock songs Parlophone singles Reggae rock songs Slowthai songs Songs written by Damon Albarn Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by Remi Kabaka Jr. Songs written by Slowthai Song Machine Warner Records singles