Alexei Volkov
Plastic Beach is the third studio album by the English virtual band Gorillaz. It was released in Japan on March 3, 2010, and internationally on March 8, 2010, with a US release on March 9. The album debuted at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200 and has sold over 1.45 million copies worldwide. Plastic Beach was not the band's best-selling or most critically acclaimed album, but its experimental pop sound and collaborations with a wide range of artists made it stand out.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of release | 8 March 2010 (internationally) |
| Album by | Gorillaz |
| Album type | Third studio album |
| Genre | Experimental pop |
| No. of copies sold in the first week of sales in the US | 112,000 |
| No. of copies sold in the first week of sales in the UK | 74,432 |
| No. of copies sold worldwide | 1.45 million |
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What You'll Learn
Plastic Beach is Gorillaz's third studio album
Plastic Beach is the third studio album by the English virtual band Gorillaz. It was released in Japan on 3 March 2010 and internationally on 8 March 2010, with a US release on 9 March. The album was recorded from June 2008 to November 2009 and was primarily produced by group co-creator Damon Albarn.
Plastic Beach is the follow-up to the band's first two studio albums, Gorillaz (2001) and Demon Days (2005). The album was conceived from an unfinished project titled Carousel, which was later renamed. It features an extensive list of collaborations with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Gruff Rhys, De La Soul, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Mark E. Smith, and many others.
Upon its release, Plastic Beach received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. The album has sold over 1.45 million copies worldwide and has four singles: "Stylo", "Superfast Jellyfish", "On Melancholy Hill", and "Rhinestone Eyes". The album's cover art features the band's studio/home, making it the only Gorillaz album with this distinction.
Plastic Beach is known for its experimental pop sound and exploration of various musical genres. While it may not be the band's best-selling or most critically acclaimed work, it stands out for its unique sound and collaborations. The album's lyrics and themes delve into societal issues, including pollution, human nature, and technology.
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It was released in Japan on March 3, 2010
Plastic Beach, the third studio album by the English virtual band Gorillaz, was released in Japan on March 3, 2010, and internationally by Parlophone on March 8, 2010. In the US, it was released by Virgin Records on March 9, 2010. The album was produced primarily by group co-creator Damon Albarn and recorded from June 2008 to November 2009.
Plastic Beach is the only Gorillaz album to feature the band's studio/home on the cover art. It is also the second album not to feature any of the members on the cover. The album has four different variations of the cover art: a daytime one, an afternoon one, a dusk one, and a nighttime one. The cover of the Experience Edition and the iTunes Deluxe Edition shows the back of the island, while the US and Japanese Standard Editions show the front.
Plastic Beach featured collaborations with several notable artists, including Snoop Dogg, Gruff Rhys, De La Soul, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Mark E. Smith, Paul Simonon, Bashy, Kano, Little Dragon, Sinfonia ViVA, and The Syrian National Orchestra For Arabic Music. The album received generally positive reviews from critics and appeared on various lists of the best albums of 2010. It has sold over 1.45 million copies worldwide.
Upon its release, Plastic Beach debuted at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. It also peaked within the top ten of several other countries' charts. The album's lyrical content explores themes of consumerism, the impact of destructive and unsustainable lifestyles, and the importance of human connection.
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The album features many artist collaborations
The third studio album by the English virtual band Gorillaz, Plastic Beach, was released in Japan on March 3, 2010, and internationally on March 8, 2010. The album was produced primarily by group co-creator Damon Albarn, who chose to self-produce it, marking a departure from previous Gorillaz albums, which were recorded with outside producers.
Plastic Beach is notable for its extensive roster of guest artists, including:
- Snoop Dogg
- Gruff Rhys, who recorded two songs for the album: "Superfast Jellyfish" and "Leviathan"
- De La Soul, who feature on the song Superfast Jellyfish
- Bobby Womack
- Mos Def, who collaborated with Albarn on three songs, two of which made it onto the album
- Lou Reed
- Mick Jones
- Mark E. Smith
- Paul Simonon
- Bashy
- Kano
- Little Dragon
- Sinfonia ViVA (or sinfonia Viva), who feature on the song Electric Shock
- The Syrian National Orchestra For Arabic Music
The album also includes "loads of orchestral stuff", according to Albarn, although only a fraction of it made it onto the final album.
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It sold 74,432 copies in its first week in the UK
Plastic Beach, the third studio album by the English virtual band Gorillaz, was released in Japan on 3 March 2010 and internationally on 8 March 2010. The album sold 74,432 copies in its first week in the UK, debuting at #2 on the UK Albums Chart. The album also debuted at #2 on the US Billboard 200, selling over 112,000 copies in its first week in the US.
Plastic Beach was not Gorillaz's best-selling or most critically acclaimed album. However, its experimental pop sound and collaborations with a diverse range of artists made it stand out. The album was produced primarily by group co-creator Damon Albarn and conceived from an unfinished project titled Carousel. Recording took place from June 2008 to November 2009.
Plastic Beach featured collaborations with several notable artists, including Snoop Dogg, Gruff Rhys, De La Soul, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Lou Reed, Mick Jones, and Paul Simonon, among others. The album's lyrical content explored themes of consumerism, environmental concerns, and human connection.
The album's cover art is notable for being the second Gorillaz album not to feature any of the band members. Instead, it depicts the band's studio/home, with the Experience Edition and iTunes Deluxe Edition showing the back of the island, and the US and Japanese Standard Editions showing the front.
Plastic Beach received generally positive reviews from critics and appeared on several lists of the best albums of 2010. As of 2021, Gorillaz have accumulated 3,872,838 album sales in the UK and sold over 38 million equivalent albums worldwide.
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The album explores themes of identity and human connection
Plastic Beach, the highly anticipated third studio album by the virtual band Gorillaz, was released on March 3, 2010. Produced by Gorillaz and Steven Street, the album featured an impressive array of collaborations with various artists, including Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, and Lou Reed. The album's release was preceded by a sophisticated multimedia campaign, including website updates, animated videos, and even an iPhone app, which collectively served to unveil the narrative and aesthetic of the new project.
Plastic Beach explores themes of identity and human connection in a world increasingly saturated by consumerism and artificiality. The album's title itself is a play on the idea of a 'plastic' or artificial beach, alluding to the artificiality and disposability of modern life. This theme is further explored in the album's artwork, which features a surreal image of the band members lounging on a beach made of plastic debris, surrounded by a vast ocean of discarded consumer products.
The album delves into the idea of identity and the self in a world where authenticity is often hard to find. Songs like "On Melancholy Hill" and "Broken" explore feelings of isolation and disconnect, reflecting on the challenges of maintaining human connections in a digital age. The use of collaborators adds another layer to this theme, as each guest artist brings their own unique identity and perspective to the album, highlighting the diverse and multifaceted nature of human identity.
Human connection, or the lack thereof, is another central theme of Plastic Beach. "Rhinestone Eyes," for example, laments the loss of human interaction in a technology-driven world, while "Some Kind of Nature" celebrates the beauty of finding genuine connection and love in an artificial world. The album also touches on environmental concerns, reflecting on how our consumerist culture impacts the natural world and, by extension, our own humanity.
Through its exploration of these themes, Plastic Beach presents a thought-provoking commentary on modern life. It invites listeners to reflect on their own sense of self and connections with others, questioning the impact of artificiality and consumerism on our lives and the world around us. By doing so, the album offers a unique and compelling perspective on what it means to be human in an increasingly disconnected and artificial world.
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Frequently asked questions
Plastic Beach, the third studio album by the British virtual band Gorillaz, was released on 3 March 2010 in Japan, 8 March internationally, and 9 March in the US.
Plastic Beach received generally positive reviews from critics, appearing on several lists of the best albums of 2010. It debuted at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200.
The album was conceived from an unfinished project titled Carousel. Its name came from band member Damon Albarn's concern about the overwhelming amount of plastic on a beach he visited.
