Gorillaz pay tribute to Tony Allen on moving new double single ‘The Hardest Thing / Orange County’

Gorillaz have offered up another preview of forthcoming album ‘The Mountain’ (out on 27th February), this time in the form of a double singe - entitled ‘The Hardest Thing / Orange County’ - that’s both heart-wrenching and life-affirming. 

A homage to the late, great Tony Allen, ‘The Hardest Thing’ sees Gorillaz’ musical mind Damon Albarn ponder on grief and hope, as he repeats the track’s central refrain: “You know the hardest thing is to say goodbye to someone you love / That is the hardest thing” - words that hit all the harder given that it’s Allen’s own voice which introduces the song. 

Companion track ‘Orange County’ then organically bleeds into the arrangement, bringing with it a brighter, bouyant aspect courtesy of vocals from Kara Jackson (a former U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate), sitar from Anoushka Shankar (a 14-time GRAMMY-nominated player) and production from Argentine innovator Bizarrap. 

The pair of songs are the latest in a string of singles lifted from ‘The Mountain’, including ‘The Happy Dictator’ (feat. Sparks), ‘The God Of Lying’ (feat. IDLES), ‘The Manifesto’ (feat. Trueno and Proof), and ‘Damascus’ (feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey). And that’s not where the collaborations end, either - elsewhere on the record, Johnny Marr, Jalen Ngonda, Mark E Smith and more are also credited. 

Watch the official visualiser for ‘The Hardest Thing / Orange County’ below.