Saturnz Barz
by Gorillaz (featuring Popcaan)

Album: Humanz (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This stratospheric tune incorporates trap-style beats with Gorillaz' animated lead singer 2-D crooning about feeling lost and alone in a digital world:

    With the holograms beside me
    I'll dance alone tonight
    In a mirrored world, are you beside me
    All my life?
  • 2-D is joined on the song by Jamaican dancehall stalwart Popcaan, whose other collaboration include songs with Drake ("Know Yourself, "Controlla"), Jamie XX ("I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times),") Melissa Steel ("Kisses For Breakfast"), Naughty Boy ("Should've Been Me") and AlunaGeorge ("I'm In Control").
  • The "Saturnz Barz" virtual reality 360° video was directed by Gorillaz member Jamie Hewlett and it features the animated crew exploring a surreal haunted house.

    The haunted house is a real one, located at 220 Hendrie Street in Detroit. The building sits alone in an empty field, across the street from a warehouse.
  • The clip was viewed more than three million times in its first 48 hours, breaking YouTube's record for the biggest debut of a virtual reality video.
  • The British voice that announces at the start of the song, "Press the button to begin," is sampled from a children's educational toy called Interactive Planetarium. The device, made by the company Scientific Toys, features narrated audio clips that explain the Solar System.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Chris Isaak

Chris IsaakSongwriter Interviews

Chris tells the story of "Wicked Game," talks milkshakes and moonpies at Sun Records, and explains why women always get their way.

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went Mainstream

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went MainstreamSong Writing

These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors ExaminedSong Writing

Doors expert Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, talks about some of their defining songs and exposes some Jim Morrison myths.