Damon Albarn & Jamie Hewlett Go Monkey

Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the creative minds behind Gorillaz, are turning their recent show Monkey: Journey To The West into an album. They will go under the name Monkey and the album will be released this summer.

The album is, of course, based on the opera which premiered at Manchester International Festival last year and recently opens at London's Royal Opera House from July 23 - 26. The Mandarin lyrics are based on ancient Chinese texts. Recording of the album took place in London and Beijing over the last twelve months.

The tracklisting of the album is as follow.

Monkey's World
Monkey Travels
Into The Eastern Sea
The Living Sea
The Dragon King
Iron Rod
Out Of The Eastern Sea
Heavenly Peach Banquet
Battle In Heaven
O Mi To Fu
Whisper
Tripitaka's Curse
Confessions Of A Pig
Sandy The River Demon
March Of The Volunteers
The White Skeleton Demon
Monk's Song
I Love Buddha
March Of The Iron Army
Pigsy In Space
Monkey Bee
Disappearing Volcano

You can now listen to three tracks from the album at the official site. They are "Heavenly Peach Banquet", "I Love Buddha" and "The Living Sea".

The album will be available as digital download, gatefold CD and collectible vinyl boxset. The collectible boxset includes
- Double gatefold album, over two heavyweight vinyl LPs, with one-side especially etched
- Exclusive over-sized art poster by Jamie Hewlett
- 60-page booklet, containing story, lyrics, illustrations and sketches
- Hand-made red box, with contents housed in a black foam tray