//GORILLAZ BIOGRAPHY//
Gorillaz records / music releases
The music of the Gorillaz project is what makes the project a profitable one. The creators of the project Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn signed a record deal (intially with Parlophone in the UK and EMI in Europe / Japan, and later Vrigin in North America) to provide musical material that the record company would release under the name 'Gorillaz'. The exact financial arrangement between the creators is not known but it is speculated that all performing and songwriting revenues accrured by 'Gorillaz' are paid to the Gorillaz Partnership (a company presumably owned by Jamie and Damon as the creators of the Gorillaz). To date over 5 million Gorillaz records have been sold worldwide. Main songwriting was credited to 'Gorillaz' or '2D / Murdoc' or '2D / Murdoc / Noodle / Russel', in particular Damon Albarn was never credited with writing any of the songs, although occasionally releases stated in the credits that he appeared. Collaborators were credited separately, but this was acceptable since the Gorillaz in their interviews talked about collaborating with other artists. Damon acts as musical director, writing the demos of songs himself, and deciding which material makes the cut, though he has relished the opportuinty to collaborate with a lot of other artists.
Jamie desgined the characters after listening to the initial music for the debut album, so it is not surprising that the music reflects the personalities of the band members in a real way, just as music made by a regular band would. Fans could hear 2D's distinctive vocal style on his tracks, and could also pick out Noodle's vocal contributions. The characters talked about their influences and favourite artists in print and audio interviews, which reinforced the links between the music put out and the characters.
In addition the artwork for the record sleeves was all Gorillaz themed, most often featuring pictures of the band members.