“Every day starts in the dark, and ends in the dark, but in the middle there is light,” Gorillaz say through the medium of Russel Hobbs when introducing the fourth installment of their Song Machine series.
And in turn, Friday 13th, featuring Octavian, concludes with the following quote from writer James Baldwin: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”
It was in January when Damon Albarn started Song Machine with Momentary Bliss, a collaboration with slowthai and Slaves, and has since released tracks with Fatoumata Diawara, Peter Hook and Georgia. It’s all being accompanied by Machine Bitez – ‘conversation’ pieces between the cartoon band members and collaborators at Kong Studios.