In another weird first, Gorillaz have just participated in a live chat with BBC Radio 1’s Mistajam.
It’s weird because, well, the band’s members are all animated characters. For this chat, though, 2D and Murdoc came through and had a chat with Mistajam about things like their creative process and what it was like to make their new upcoming album, Humanz.
The interview’s plenty entertaining and well worth watching, even if only as a quirky look at how augmented reality is blurring the line between worlds. Another member of the band, Russel Hobbs, called in to join them by phone but didn’t stick around too long.
The technology reminds me a lot of the “Turtle Talk with Crush” attraction at Disneyland and Epcot. You’ve got live talent hooked up to a rig offstage somewhere just kind of hanging out and reacting to the audience or host. Black Mirror touched on a similar concept in their episode, “The Waldo Moment,” which featured a voice actor whose animated bear character ends up taking over the world.
These kinds of campaigns I always find kind of interesting, if only because trying to market and advertise an entirely animated band seems like such an intriguing challenge. Of course, that’s not an entirely new concept; Japan’s been doing that with vocaloid stars like Hatsune Miku for quite some time now.
As well, the idea that Gorillaz are trying to “break out” of the confines of their animated world tickles me a bit. This weekend, you might even get a chance to step into their world, as “Spirit Houses” are opening in a few select locations, allowing guests to actually enter the house shown in their “Saturnz Barz (Spirit House)” music video.
Neat.
(via A.V. Club)
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