Plastic Man

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The album described here is entirely fictional. In established Gorillaz canon, there is no album featuring posthumous contributions from Proof or production by Samuel Eggleston. Any references to specific collaborators, instrumentation, or recording locations for this non-existent album are not based on real Gorillaz history.

In Their Own Story

In September 2025, the album 'The Mountain' was debuted in full during Gorillaz's 25th anniversary 'House of Kong' exhibition in London. The band performed all four mystery shows coinciding with the museum event, which also featured performances of their first three albums: 'Gorillaz' (2001), 'Demon Days' (2005), and 'Plastic Beach' (2010). On September 11, 2025, the band officially announced the album with a release date originally set for March 20, 2026, before moving it forward to February 27, 2026. The lead single 'The Happy Dictator,' inspired by Albarn's visit to Turkmenistan and dictator Saparmyrat Nyýazow, was released concurrently. The album features collaborations with Asha Bhosle, Asha Puthli, Black Thought, Idles, Johnny Marr, Anoushka Shankar, Sparks, Omar Souleyman, Trueno, and Yasiin Bey.

Reader's Guide

To understand the 'The Mountain' era, one must look at the specific recording details: the opening track was recorded after a visit to Amber Fort in Jaipur, utilizing a ravanahatha played by the Hindu Jea Band Jaipur. The song 'The Moon Cave' references David Lewis-Williams' book 'The Mind in the Cave,' given to Albarn's late father, and features unreleased vocals from Trugoy the Dove taken from the Plastic Beach outtake 'Float Tropics.' 'The Empty Dream Machine' includes Black Thought referencing Asha Bhosle's 1971 track 'Dum Maro Dum' and an incident where Albarn lost a gold tooth in Miami. The second single, 'The Manifesto,' features Proof via an unused freestyle from their 2001 session on the song '911.' The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and number seven on the US Billboard 200.

Did You Know?

• The album title 'The Mountain' and its Devanagari spelling पर्वत (parvata) are entirely fictional; no such Gorillaz album exists in official discography.
• Terry Hall's vocals were not used on any real Gorillaz album due to the fictional nature of this entry; no such lost session recordings are part of established canon.
• MF Doom does not appear on any Gorillaz album in a way that matches this fictional description; his real collaborations with Gorillaz are limited to specific known tracks, not this fabricated scenario.
• The inspiration for the fictional album name, involving Amber Fort and a mountain in western China, has no basis in real Gorillaz lore or any known album production.
• The lead single 'The Happy Dictator' and its inspiration from Saparmyrat Nyýazow are entirely fictional; no such single exists in Gorillaz discography.