Gorillaz are back in the driver’s seat and taking the long road up The Mountain, dropping a brand-new track today, ‘Orange County’ featuring Bizarrap, Kara Jackson, and Anoushka Shankar.
It lands alongside its companion track ‘The Hardest Thing’ (ft Tony Allen), forming a two track, eight minute piece that’s designed to be experienced back to back, not cherry picked and tossed in a playlist like background noise.
Both tracks appear on Gorillaz upcoming ninth studio album ‘The Mountain’, due out February, 27th 2026 via the band’s new label KONG, a limited edition Double A Side 7” vinyl is also available now.
‘The Hardest Thing’, written by Damon Albarn, opens with the voice of the late Tony Allen, Albarn’s longtime collaborator and friend who passed away in 2020.
It’s heavy, reflective, and built around grief and survival, with the lyric, “You know the hardest thing is to say goodbye to someone you love, That is the hardest thing” echoing into ‘Orange County’.
Where ‘The Hardest Thing’ sits in the shadows, ‘Orange County’ reaches for the light, Kara Jackson’s vocals cut through like a confession, while Shankar’s sitar work adds a cinematic edge that feels more spiritual than showy.
The track is produced by Gorillaz and Bizarrap, with writing credits shared between Albarn, Jackson, and the four time Latin Grammy winning Argentine producer.
‘The Mountain’ spans 15 tracks and stacks a wild lineup of collaborators including IDLES, Yasiin Bey, Black Thought, Johnny Marr, Omar Souleyman, Paul Simonon, Sparks, Trueno, and more, with additional appearances from past voices including Bobby Womack, Mark E Smith, and Tony Allen.
Tour wise, The Mountain Tour 2026 kicks off with two sold out Bradford warm ups on March 13th and 14th, before launching officially in Manchester on March 20th. The run includes UK and Ireland arena dates, plus a huge London show at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, June 20th supported by Sparks and Trueno.
No words on Australia yet, watch this space.
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