According to the up-and-coming band Magistrates, Damon Albarn can be “harsh.” That is, having him for a mentor can be inspiring, though Albarn is at times hard to please.
The Blur frontman has been helping the band with their debut album, much to their delight. Magistrate guitarist Mark Brando told My Park Mag: “We were in a room and Damon was dancing around just enjoying the music and just playing. He’s a harsh guy. It was really inspiring to be around the guy, his working ethic is just unbelievable. He’s a 100 percent interested in making music – and that is really inspiring to be around.”
Magistrate was one of the first to hear that Blur would be reforming, after Damon came in one day and told the band he’d had a late night with Graham Coxon.
Magistrate singer Paul Usher thinks that one of the reasons Damon got Blur back together was “because he spent some time with us and enjoyed the idea of being in a band again. We planted the seed in his head and he was like, ‘Yeah you’re right, that’s a good idea.’”