Democrazy

Democrazy
Overview
Type	Double EP
Producer(s)	Damon Albarn
Released	December 8th, 2003
Recorded	June-July 2003
Genre	Lo-fi • electronic • indie rock
Length	29:30
Label	Honest Jon's

Democrazy is a vinyl-only solo double EP released in 2003 by Damon Albarn through his record label Honest Jon's. It is a solo release of a compilation of demos written by Albarn during the US leg of Blur's tour for their seventh album Think Tank. Several of the songs on this record would later go on to become complete Gorillaz songs, such as "I Need A Gun", which turned into the Gorillaz song Dirty Harry from their second studio album Demon Days.

Background

In August 2003, it was reported by the NME that Damon was working on recording a solo record. He revealed that he would be recording the music in American hotel rooms on a four track tape recorder while on tour with Blur for Think Tank. Initially, Albarn was unsure if the material would ever release at all, saying "I don't quite know how I'll put it out yet. I don't even know if I'll be allowed to, so I'll just have to wait and see. It's the lowest-fi record ever... it's not a commercial record".

On September 2003, Damon revealed the title of the record was Democrazy and that many of the songs for the record were written with Gorillaz in mind. In an interview with Billboard, Albarn said of the record "It deconstructs everything the music industry has built up, but I thought it would be interesting to let people hear a side to the music-making process they never get to hear. It's the lowest lo-fi record ever.".

The album was released on December 8th, 2003, and was limited edition, with only 5,000 copies being made. Albarn played a live gig for Democrazy at the then new West London club "Neighborhood" on December 22nd, 2003 and then recently in 2023 Half A Song became The Ballad the opening track to the ballad of darren.

Impact on Gorillaz

Democrazy's Reissued Double 10" Vinyl

Some songs from Damon Albarn’s Democrazy EP ended up being finalized as Gorillaz songs, one such example being "I Need A Gun" turning into the Gorillaz song "Dirty Harry" from Demon Days. Other songs from Democrazy were intended to become Gorillaz songs but ultimately did not make it past the demo stage, such as "Gotta' Get Down With the Passing of Time", which Damon originally wanted to become a Gorillaz song featuring Johnny Cash before his passing. Many of the songs on the album were written by Damon with Gorillaz in mind, as stated in official reports from NME and the official Blur fan club in 2003.

Track Listing

Disc one

1. "I Need a Gun"
2. "Reedz"
3. "Half a Song"
4. "Five Star Life"
5. "A Rappy Song"
6. "Back to Mali"
7. "I Miss You"
8. "Hymn to Moon"

Disc two

1. "Dezert"
2. "Sub Species of an American Day"
3. "American Welfare Poem"
4. "Saz Theory Book"
5. "Gotta' Get Down With the Passing of Time"
6. "End of Democrazy"

Trivia

• In the inside of the Democrazy vinyl, there are sketches and doodles drawn by Albarn with lyrics for the songs, similar to what he did with Gorillaz’ The Now Now super deluxe album booklet in 2018.
  • One of the drawings by Damon inside the Democrazy vinyl is a doodle of Mojo Jojo from The Powerpuff Girls. The image also reappears later on the front cover Democrazy's official double 10" vinyl reissue.
  • Gotta’ Get Down With the Passing of Time” was going to be on Demon Days and would feature Johnny Cash but his passing got the song scrapped.