Damon Albarn's debut album was released in May of 2014.
Damon Albarn , OBE -LRB- -LSB- ˈdeɪmən ˈælbɑrn -RSB- born 23 March 1968 -RRB- is an English musician , singer , songwriter , multi-instrumentalist and record producer .. OBE. Order of the British Empire. He is the lead singer of the British rock band Blur and co-founder , vocalist , instrumentalist and principal songwriter of the virtual band Gorillaz .. Gorillaz. Gorillaz. Blur. Blur ( Blur album ). British rock. British rock. virtual band. virtual band. Raised in Leytonstone , East London and around Colchester , Essex , Albarn attended the Stanway School , where he met Graham Coxon and eventually formed Blur , whose debut album Leisure was released in 1991 to mixed reviews .. Blur. Blur ( Blur album ). Stanway School. The Stanway School. Graham Coxon. Graham Coxon. Leisure. Leisure ( album ). After spending long periods of time touring the US , Albarn 's songwriting became increasingly influenced by British bands from the 1960s .. The result of these influences came in the form of Modern Life Is Rubbish -LRB- 1993 -RRB- , Parklife -LRB- 1994 -RRB- and The Great Escape -LRB- 1995 -RRB- .. Modern Life Is Rubbish. Modern Life Is Rubbish. Parklife. Parklife. The Great Escape. The Great Escape ( Blur album ). All three albums received critical acclaim while Blur gained mass popularity in the UK , aided by a Britpop rivalry with Oasis .. Britpop. Britpop. Blur. Blur ( Blur album ). Oasis. Oasis ( band ). Subsequent albums such as Blur -LRB- 1997 -RRB- , 13 -LRB- 1999 -RRB- , Think Tank -LRB- 2003 -RRB- and The Magic Whip -LRB- 2015 -RRB- contained influences from lo-fi , electronic and hip hop music .. electronic. Electronic music. hip hop. hip hop music. Blur. Blur ( Blur album ). 13 ( Blur album ). Think Tank. Think Tank ( Blur album ). The Magic Whip. The Magic Whip. lo-fi. Lo-fi music. hip hop music. hip hop music. Along with Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett , Albarn formed the `` virtual band '' Gorillaz in 1998 .. Gorillaz. Gorillaz. virtual band. virtual band. Tank Girl. Tank Girl. Jamie Hewlett. Jamie Hewlett. Drawing influences from alternative rock , trip hop , hip hop , electronica , dub , reggae and pop music , the band released their self-titled debut album in 2001 to worldwide success .. alternative rock. alternative rock. hip hop. hip hop music. trip hop. trip hop. electronica. electronica. dub. dub music. reggae. reggae. their self-titled debut album. Gorillaz ( album ). Although Albarn is the only permanent musical contributor , the albums feature collaborations from a wide range of artists .. Gorillaz are cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the `` Most Successful Virtual Band '' .. Gorillaz. Gorillaz. Guinness Book of World Records. Guinness Book of World Records. Other projects include working with African musicians in aid of the charity Oxfam , writing and performing lead vocals on The Good , the Bad & the Queen as part of an unnamed supergroup and composing film soundtracks .. Oxfam. Oxfam. supergroup. Supergroup ( music ). film soundtracks. film soundtracks. He has also ventured into the world of opera with Dr Dee and Monkey  : Journey to the West .. world. world music. Dr Dee. Dr Dee. His debut solo studio album Everyday Robots -- co-produced by XL Recordings CEO Richard Russell -- was released on 28 April 2014 and featured collaborations with Brian Eno , Natasha Khan and the Leytonstone City Pentecostal Mission Church Choir as well as sampling several rants by Lord Buckley .. XL Recordings. Everyday Robots. Everyday Robots. XL Recordings. XL Recordings. Richard Russell. Richard Russell ( XL Recordings ). Brian Eno. Brian Eno. Natasha Khan. Bat for Lashes. Lord Buckley. Lord Buckley. In 2008 , The Daily Telegraph ranked Albarn number 18 in their list of the `` 100 most powerful people in British culture '' .. The Daily Telegraph. The Daily Telegraph. British culture. Culture of the United Kingdom. In a 2010 UK poll for Q magazine Albarn was voted the fourth-greatest frontman of all time .. Q ( magazine ). He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire -LRB- OBE -RRB- in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to music .. OBE. Order of the British Empire. Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Officer of the Order of the British Empire. 2016 New Year Honours. 2016 New Year Honours