Aries
by Gorillaz (featuring Georgia)

Album: Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Aries" is the third episode of Gorillaz' Song Machine video series. Released on April 9, 2020, the song features a bass guitar and vocal contribution from former Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook, and drums from singer-songwriter Georgia.
  • Lyrically, the song finds 2-D singing lackadaisically about a romance. Having given up on love and isolated from others, he is cautiously considering another relationship.
  • The video, directed by Jamie Hewlett, features the cartoon group driving vehicles across a highway landscape. Near the end of the clip, bassist Murdoc injects singer and longtime rival 2D with an unknown substance and smiles sinisterly.
  • The song title does not appear in the lyrics. According to Gorillaz guitarist Noodle, it references the star sign and the Ancient Greek God of War, both named Aries. She said: "Highly impatient and competitive, many Aries have the fighting spirit of your mythological ruler." Noodle's explanation seems to tie in more with the video's storyline than the song's lyrical content.
  • Damon Albarn joined Peter Hook & The Light on stage during the latter's October 14, 2023, gig at London's Eventim Apollo.

    "Not long ago, I was honored to be asked by a wonderful, very kind gentleman if I'd play with him," Hook told the crowd. "And this track is what we did, innit, Damon?"

    From there, Albarn and Hook performed "Aries," marking the first time they played the song together live.

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