22 Facts About Song Machine

Song Machine is an audiovisual project by British virtual band Gorillaz.

Song Machine is mainly set in Gorillaz' haunted headquarters at Kong Studios, relocated to West London from its original location in West Sussex.

Song Machine began production in summer of 2019, with "Momentary Bliss" being the first episode produced.

All episodes of Song Machine are produced by Gorillaz Productions, a production company formed by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett that has been used since the 2019 Gorillaz documentary Reject False Icons to produce and release new material.

Song Machine eventually became an album, but this was not Albarn and Hewlett's original intention and they initially created Song Machine to be purely episodic, with Albarn stating that listening to the album was "like listening to an entirely different entity".

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Albarn has stated that Song Machine was created because he became tired of the typical six-month time period that making an album takes.

Song Machine is directed by Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett and produced by UK-based animation studio The Line, being co-directed by animators Tim McCourt and Max Taylor, who previously worked on the music video for "Humility".

Song Machine was originally inspired by 60s children's series like The Banana Splits, and by the binge-watching format of online streaming services.

Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett has mentioned that the art style for Song Machine was inspired by the artwork for the first Gorillaz album, which was inspired by classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons and Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones.

Song Machine was originally going to be set around Kong Studios with the animation of the characters added into filmed footage of Song Machine's recording sessions, but this was later made impossible after work had to be done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Hewlett ran out of Studio 13 footage.

On 29 January 2020, the first "Song Machine Bitez" was posted on YouTube and music streaming services.

Each episode of Song Machine is proceeded by a 10-second snippet teasing the next episode.

On 9 September 2020, during the premiere of "Strange Timez", it was announced that Song Machine was going to be released as a full studio album called Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez with eleven tracks, featuring guest appearances from artists such as Elton John, Robert Smith, Peter Hook, Beck, St Vincent, Schoolboy Q, Octavian, 6lack, JPEGMafia, Chai, and various others.

When Song Machine episodes are premiered live on YouTube, there are usually appearances from the characters in the live chat and comments section of the episodes.

Song Machine went on a two month long hiatus after the release of "Pac-Man".

Song Machine has been noted by critics for its unique approach to releasing music.

Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez is a studio album by Gorillaz that contain the eleven episodes of the Song Machine web series as tracks on the album, plus several bonus tracks.

Song Machine Radio with Gorillaz is a monthly hour-long four-part Apple Music program hosted by the characters, with each episode featuring personalized music selections, special guests appearances and various discussions.

Song Machine was first played live through a set of three international virtual live gigs called Song Machine Live.

Song Machine has had various merchandise produced for it since "Momentary Bliss" premiered on 30 January 2020.

The merchandise for Song Machine is usually a limited edition art print, t-shirt, or sticker sheet that is released on the official online Gorillaz store with the premiere each episode.

On 26 November 2019, a month before Song Machine was officially launched, a set of limited edition holiday merchandise featuring artwork of the characters as they appear on the Song Machine title card was released.