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Damon Albarn has revealed why it has taken him 25 years to release his first solo album, Everyday Robotos, saying he had been avoiding recording the record.
Talking to Rolling Stone magazine, Albarn stated that he was in many ways avoiding going down the solo route, until he teamed up with XL owner Richard Russell. The pair were working on The Bravest Man on Earth - Bobby Womack's comeback record - when they decided that they worked well together. The result is Everyday Robots.
"We wanted to keep exploring what we were doing," Albarn told Rolling Stone. "We had the inevitable conversation about starting a band. It was fun to come up with concepts and names, but one day he came in and said, 'Look, if you ask me what I want to do, I want to produce you.' And I went, 'Alright, I suppose that means I've got to put it out under my own name."
Listen to Damon Albarn's 'Everyday Robots' below
"I just never imagined it was something I'd do," he continued, discussing why he hadn't chosen to go solo before. "Who doesn't love playing in a band? It's fucking brilliant. The best. Maybe I was just subconsciously avoiding a solo album."
"In an ironic way, it's sort of the most collaborative record I've ever done when it comes to songwriting. Some of the songs just came from the two of us experimenting in the studio."
The album also features guest vocals from Briano Eno on 'Heavy Seas of Love'. "He's actually a neighbor of mine," explains Albarn. "I've gotten to know him since we belong to the same health club, though we engage in very different activities. Mine are mind-numbing, machine-based running things. He was doing something much more interesting: unisex water aerobics. Even in the health club, he's being Brian Eno. I just figured you don't hear his voice very often, so I thought it would be a great idea to get him to sing."
Below: 8 amazing photos of Damon Albarn and Blur, live in Dublin
