Momentary Bliss

"Momentary Bliss" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, featuring British rapper Slowthai and the Kent-based punk rock duo Slaves. The song was the first song to be released for Gorillaz' Song Machine initiative, a series of singles released over the course of the year from the band, with each episode featuring previously unannounced guest musicians on new Gorillaz material.

Background and recording
"Momentary Bliss" was recorded in the summer of 2019 at Damon Albarn's Studio 13 in West London. Albarn had previously worked with SLAVES as part of the Africa Express project, with the band also previously working with slowthai on his album Nothing Great About Britain, on the song "Missing".

The song was announced as being the first of thirteen tracks to be released from Gorillaz' Song Machine iniative, which sees the band release a new song every month with previously unannounced collaborators. Damon Albarn and Remi Kabaka spoke to BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac for the song's official premiere, saying that Song Machine "may have an obtuse narrative arc at the end of each season, but it's more Ozark, than Designated Survivor. You just keep going until you run out of ideas."

A press release was put out to explain the iniative further, with virtual Gorillaz member Russel Hobbs saying: "Song Machine is a whole new way of doing what we do, Gorillaz breaking the mould 'cos the mould got old. World is moving faster than a supercharged particle, so we’ve gotta stay ready to drop. We don’t even know who's stepping through the studio next. Song Machine feeds on the unknown, runs on pure chaos. So whatever the hell’s coming, we’re primed and ready to produce like there’s no tomorrow."

Music video
The song's music video was filmed at Albarn's studio in West London, featuring both slowthai and SLAVES. The video which premiered on January 30, 2020 features the band's animated characters recording the song with guests. The video also marked the return of Murdoc Niccals, who had been absent from the band's sixth-studio album The Now Now. In the video Murdoc tries to poison Albarn's drink during the recording session, but when he sees no side effects he tests the poison on himself, causing him to get very sick.

Personnel
Gorillaz
Damon Albarn – vocals, songwriter, synthesizer, keyboards, bass, guitar, programming, production
Remi Kabaka Jr. – additional drum programming, production
Additional Musicians & Personnel
Tyron Frampton – vocals
Laurence Vincent – guitar, vocals 
Isaac Holman – drums, vocals
Stephen Sedgwick – engineering, mixing engineer 
Samuel Egglenton – engineering 
John Davis – mastering engineering

Charts

References

Category:2020 songs
Category:2020 singles
Category:Gorillaz songs
Category:Songs written by Damon Albarn
Category:Parlophone singles