''Meanwhile EP'' is an

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

by English virtual band

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

, released on 26 August 2021. The EP was released as a celebration of

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, an annual event that was cancelled in 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Background

On 29 June 2021, Damon Albarn revealed in an interview with

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

that Gorillaz was working on new "carnival-themed music", saying that their upcoming record would return to the band's roots. On 10 August 2021,

debuted three new songs, "Meanwhile" (featuring British rapper Jelani Blackman), "Jimmy Jimmy" (featuring British rapper

AJ Tracey Ché Wolton Grant (born 4 March 1994), known professionally as AJ Tracey, is a British rapper and record producer from Ladbroke Grove, London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by ''The Guardian'' in a list of "best new acts to c ...

), and "Déjà Vu" (featuring Jamaican singer Alicaì Harley), during a free concert at The O₂ Arena in London, England exclusively for

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

employees and their families. They then performed them again at the subsequent concert open to the public the next day (both of which served as the first live audience concerts of the

Song Machine Tour A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usually ...

Track listing

All tracks are written by

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

, Remi Kabaka Jr., and the tracks' respective guest(s).

Personnel

Gorillaz *

– vocals, production , bass, keyboards ,

steelpan The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro–Trinidadians and Tobagonians, Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 1992, the steelpan was declared ...

s , guitar,

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...

Jamie Hewlett Jamie Christopher Hewlett (born 3 April 1968) is a British comic book artist and illustrator. He is the co-creator of the comic book ''Tank Girl'' with Alan Martin (writer), Alan Martin and the virtual band Gorillaz, alongside Blur (band), Blur ...

– artwork, design * Stephen Sedgwick – mixing * Remi Kabaka Jr. – production, percussion , drum programming * John Davis – mastering * Samuel Egglenton – engineering * Femi Koleoso – drums * Mike Smith – keyboards *

Jeff Wootton Jeffrey Wootton (born 12 May 1987) is an English musician, guitarist and songwriter from Manchester. He has been the lead guitarist in the Gorillaz live band since 2010. A long time collaborator with Damon Albarn, he has also collaborated with ...

– guitar * Jesse Hackett – keyboards * Karl Vanden Bossche – percussion *

Seye Adelekan Seye Adelekan (born 15 May 1988), sometimes known mononymously as Seye ( ), is a Nigerian British bassist and singer-songwriter, best known as the live bassist for Gorillaz since 2017. Early life Seye Adelekan was born in Nigeria to a father wh ...

– bass Additional musicians * Jelani Blackman – vocals *

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist from Clarendon, Jamaica. Career In 1977, Levy formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bla ...

– vocals *

Jorja Smith Jorja Alice Smith (born 11 June 1997) is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Walsall, West Midlands, she has been writing songs since the age of 11. In 2012, Smith's friend uploaded her cover of Labrinth's "Earthquake" to YouT ...

– additional vocals * Isabelle Dunn – cello * Nina Foster – violin * Oli Langford – violin * Sarah Tuke – violin *

– vocals * Alicaì Harley – vocals * Ade Omotayo – additional vocals * Angel Silvera – additional vocals * Matt Maijah – additional vocals * Michelle Ndegwa – additional vocals * Petra Luke – additional vocals * Rebecca Freckleton – additional vocals Additional technical * Alicaì Harley – programming * Dave Guerin – engineering * Matt Butcher – engineering, mixing

References

{{Gorillaz 2021 EPs Gorillaz albums Albums produced by Damon Albarn Albums recorded at Studio 13 Parlophone EPs Reggae EPs Warner Records EPs