Blur never seem to intentionally reunite for a new album. Every 10 or so years, they lay down some plans to get together for a handful of shows, and suddenly they find themselves in the studio again. Something just draws Damon Albarn to write songs that only his Blur bandmates — Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree — are suited to bring to life. That’s what’s happened once again on The Ballad of Darren, and why Blur are gracing the eighth edition of the Consequence cover story.
Call it a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same. In our exclusive interview from journalist Charlotte Gunn, Albarn details how different his world is, not just from when Blur began, but the last time they put out an LP (2015’s The Magic Whip). He’s no longer a London resident, having departed for his country home full-time, and his musical sanctuary under the Westway, Studio 13, is no longer solely under his control. He’s lost heroes and collaborators, and even his relationship with America has, in his own words, “matured, to say the least.”
All the while, his status with a younger generation of fans has only grown through Gorillaz’s success. Yet he still finds his way back to Blur. That’s the magic of the group, and of The Ballad of Darren: regardless of his many side or solo projects Albarn, there is an alchemy with his original band that means they’re always able to create something great again — no matter how long the “mad gap” between albums.
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So maybe the initial intention of the songs that became The Ballad of Darren wasn’t a Blur record; once Albarn, Coxon, James, and Rowntree were in a room together again, it couldn’t have been anything else. Read about why in Blur: The Ballad of Damon, and check out the cover story artwork below.
— Ben Kaye
Editorial Director
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