The Gorillaz started life as a project by Damon Albarn (from Blur) and Jamie Hewlett (the cartoonist who created the successful Tank Girl comics). They both had studios in the same building in Notting Hill.

Their project was to create a cartoon alternative hip-hop band. Hewlett created the characters - 2-D, Russel, Noodle and Murdoc - and Albarn managed the band and sang the main vocals. The two were both born in the Chinese year of the Monkey, so they named the group Gorillaz.

The Band

• 2-D - The lead singer of the group. Albarn lends his vocal chords to bring this guy to life. Originally Stu-Pot, 2-D joined the group after Murdoc twice ploughed into him with a Vauxhall Astra. With two gaping holes for eyes, he was reborn as 2-D, the organ-obsessed zombie fanatic.

• Murdoc - The self-proclaimed leader of the Gorillaz. He's the unhygienic, unethical bassist from Stoke-on-Trent. He despises 2-D, thinking that he's getting far more attention than him.

• Russel - The big, surly, tough-guy American hip-hopster and drummer. He was raised to be polite and courteous, but gets some trouble from the spirits of his dead hip-hop buddies who possess him. While he's drumming away, the ghosts come out to play.

• Noodle - A ten-year-old Japanese girl wielding a guitar and an English phrasebook. Noodle was given her name because it was the first English word she spoke. Not as involved as the other members, she usually keeps in the background.

The band member's true identities are closely guarded secrets. They often have special guest singers, such as Dan the Automater and Del Tha Funky Homosapien, who is one of the ghosts possessing Russel. They have also worked with Cuban artist Ibrahim Ferrer.

The Music

The music is, of course, a major aspect of any band. Gorillaz write most of their songs themselves. For some tracks they borrow snatches from older records. Some people label the band as a pop group whereas the Gorillaz describe their style as 'Zombie Hip-hop'. (The group is very much into zombies and vampires.) Their songs often feature sound-clips from movies such as Night of The Living Dead and the tracks tend to have a slow pace. The music is, to put it mildly, unusual. 'Slow Country', for example, has a cheerful melody played on the piano with the sound of wind rushing by in the background. Other tracks have different moods and instruments.

The Videos

The videos for Gorillaz' songs are thought to be some of the best music videos ever. They use a technique called cel-shading which has become popular in the games industry recently. It involves using 3D polygon-based models and cel-shading them - placing a cartoon-styled image over them to give a sort of 2.5 dimension.

The videos also use a high frame-rate, which means that the animation is incredibly smooth. Lip-syncing has been used to give the impression that the characters themselves are singing the lyrics.

The video for '19-2000' was set on a motorway with an orange sunset background. The team were in their buggy, speeding along, looping the loop, dodging explosions and finally coming face to face with a gigantic moose. At this point Murdoc reaches for the dashboard and presses a switch. Two missiles are fired at the great moose, which frantically blows them away. They crash down into the buggy, resulting in a Loony Tunes style crash, with wheels rolling off into the sunset.

Behind the Scenes of '19-2000'

The conceptual artists first drew up a storyboard for the video which had to fit with the songs happy mood. After the storyboards had been checked, the process went on to the computer artists. A 3D model of the buggy was created, along with the road, the loops and the machinery in the background. When the timing was right and everything was in sync, the artists and animators cel-shaded the scenery and car and inserted the characters who appeared as layers over the previous computer models. When finally everything was complete, the video was tweaked and sent off to the world of music television.

An initial problem for the group was live concerts. If the real band members were revealed, the illusion would be broken. So Albarn and company tried setting up a huge white screen with some projectors. The idea being that the band played behind the screen and a video of the band was projected in front of them. They pulled it off, sending the gang touring the country with various animations and a heavy-bass reggae system.

The live concert aspect was taken a step further. At the Brit Awards 2002, the Gorillaz kicked off the evening with a stunning performance. Instead of going for their usual routine, the band appeared in the full three-dimensions that other groups use. Four screens were set up on the stage, one for each character. They appeared in fully rendered 3D with the rest of the screen black. The lighting was turned right down, giving an impressive finish.

The band may soon be turned into a cartoon series and movie, while also recording and releasing more singles (all at the time of writing). The band is a great moneymaker, as EMI discovered. In the US, their album sales shares climbed from 7.6% to 11.1%. While still the smallest of the five major labels in America, it is rapidly growing and is becoming more popular in Europe.

Discography

• 'Clint Eastwood' - (Single) Released 5/3/2001 - Highest Chart Position: 4

• Gorillaz (Album) Released 26/3/2001 - Highest Chart Position: 3

• '19/2000' (Single) Released 25/6/2001 - Highest Chart Position: 6

• 'Rock The House' (Single) Released 22/10/2001 - Highest Chart Position: 18