Andromeda
by Gorillaz (featuring D.R.A.M.)

Album: Humanz (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This upbeat track finds Gorillaz lead singer 2-D celebrating good times. The song is set in a nightclub called Andromeda, which was an old soul club in the area where Gorillaz founding member Damon Albarn grew up. "Andromeda was this nightclub in Colchester where they played soul music," he explained to BBC Radio 1's Mistajam. "There wasn't a lot of that around in the '80s in Essex, but there was that Essex soul boy kind of theme that existed… it was a positive thing in a quite grim world."
  • The song features a playful verse by American hip-hop recording artist D.R.A.M, who is best known for his US Top 5 hit "Broccoli."
  • Speaking on the Song Exploder podcast, Damon Albarn credited "two of the '80s greatest pop songs" as inspirations for the tune: Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)." In fact, the working song title was "I Can't Go for Billie Jean."
  • The cover note for this song on the album cover reads "For Ethyl." The track was written in part from a place of grief for "all these beautiful people" that Albarn has known who have passed away." In particular, he had in mind Ethyl, the deceased mother of his partner.

    "She was very ill when I first sat down at the piano," said the Gorillaz co-founder. "And I was just thinking about her. It all came out in one splurge; it was one take, the whole thing."
  • D.R.A.M. was not the first choice for this song. Both Rag 'n' Bone Man and Christine and the Queens had previously come up with versions that Albarn said "didn't work."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")Songwriter Interviews

A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal Tap

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal TapSong Writing

Based on criteria like girlfriend tension, stage mishaps and drummer turnover, these are the 10 bands most like Spinal Tap.

Alice Cooper

Alice CooperFact or Fiction

How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?