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Gorillaz front man Damon Albarn released the long awaited “iPad album” we were hearing about earlier this Fall on Christmas day for free. A very merry Christmas indeed! The entire album was recorded while on their American tour on nothing but an iPad. I’m still going through it as I post. Haven’t been blown away necessarily, but it’s a pretty cool concept to think about as you listen.

Albarn was quoted, “I wanted to make sure that it came out at the end of the tour because I don’t want anyone to think I’d tampered with it. I literally made it on the road in America over a month. I didn’t write it before; I didn’t prepare it. I just did it day by day as a kind of diary of my experience in America. If I left it until the New Year to release it, then the cynics out there would say, ‘Oh well, it’s been tampered with.’ But if I put it out now, they’d know that I haven’t done anything because I’ve been on tour ever since.”

Sweet deal if you ask me. I wasn’t really into Plastic Beach, so I’m hoping this gives me a little something extra. All the while, I’m keeping my expectations low because he did put minimal effort into it overall..or so it seems. The tracklist on the album website breaks it down to where he was as he laid down a track. Lovin’ the free music that’s been coming out lately! Including but not limited to the Klaxons release of Landmarks of Lunacy that you can get by clicking the link.

If you’re affluent enough to own an iPad..here are the apps he used. Maybe you could make it big at the comfort of your living room couch:

Speak It! / SoundyThingie / Mugician / Solo Synth / Synth / Funk Box / Gliss / AmpliTube / Xenon / iElectribe / BS-16i / M3000 HD / Cleartune / iOrgel HD / Olsynth / StudioMiniXI / BassLine / Harmonizer / Dub Siren Pro / Moog Filatron

-Skinny Genes

Tracklist

1. PHONER TO ARIZONA Delightful Choice!
Recorded in Montreal on 3rd October
2. REVOLVING DOORS
Recorded in Boston on 5th October
3. HILLBILLY MAN
Recorded in New Jersey and Virginia on 10th and 11th October
Additional Guitar: Mick Jones
4. DETROIT
Recorded in Detroit on 13th October
5. SHY-TOWN
Recorded in Chicago on 15th October
6. LITTLE PINK PLASTIC BAGS Delightful Choice!
Recorded in Chicago on 16th October
Additional Keyboards: Jesse Hackett
7. THE JOPLIN SPIDER
Recorded in Joplin on 18th October
Additional conversations with: Darren ‘Smoggy’ Evans
8. THE PARISH OF SPACE DUST
Recorded in Houston on 19th October
9. THE SNAKE IN DALLAS Delightful Choice!
Recorded in Dallas on 20th October
10. AMARILLO
Recorded in Amarillo on 23rd October
11. THE SPEAK IT MOUNTAINS
Recorded in Denver on 24th October
Stream and forest recorded in Santa Fe on 25th October by Mike Smith
12. ASPEN FOREST
Recorded in Santa Fe on 25th October and in Vancouver on 3rd November
Additional Bass: Paul Simonon
Additional Qanun: James R Grippo
13. BOBBY IN PHOENIX
Recorded in Phoenix on 26th October
Vocals and Guitar: Bobby Womack
14. CALIFORNIA AND THE SLIPPING OF THE SUN
Recorded in Oakland on 30th October
Train station announcement recorded at LA Train Station. Additional conversation with: Darren ‘Smoggy’ Evans, Mick Jones, Jamie Hewlett and Tanyel Vahdettin.
15. SEATTLE YODEL
Recorded in Seattle on 2nd November