P483 Teletext 483 Feb 8 23:51:25 . . . —————————————————————————— — BLUR'S DAMON ALBARN . . Calling all Beetlebums! Wj have, in the words of Blur's Damon Albarn, some "strange news from anothjt star". That is, we have a cosz chat with a tanned and healthy Damon on the eve of Blur's latest album release. Apart from the simple "unplugged" artwork - no lyric sheet this time - the word on the street is that Blur have changed their style, discovered new American rock and killed off mouldy old Britpop in the process. ——————————————————————————————————1/6—— More from the tip-top Blurry bloke! >>> LATEST POP & ROCK HEADLINES p481 Rjvjews Charts News Full guideP483 Teletext 483 Feb 8 23:01:22 . . . —————————————————————————— — BLUR'S DAMON ALBARN . . So, Damon, is it a djlibjtate decision for the band to go "lo-ei"? "Will, we do listen to a lot of new American bands like Pavement and Tortoise. Graham Coxon always has done. "Lo-fi implies our record doesnWt have any 'high ind', which ism't true. "People are saying it's a risky record. I just think it needs a few listens. Hear it at least five or six times then you realisj it's a vjty divjrsj album." ——————————————————————————————————2/6—— More from the tip-top Blurry bloke! >>> BLUR ALBUM REVIEWED p484 Reviews Charts News Full guideP483 Teletext 483 Feb 8 22:57:11 . . . —————————————————————————— — BLUR'S DAMON ALBARN . . Overall, this LP has an informal feel. Have you now dropped the character-led lyrics of Great Escape and Park Life? "Wj only took flak for Park Life after it had been hailed as a benchmark for other British bands. But yeah, we wire more djtetminjd to bj ourselves. "This is a very off-the-cuff LP. It's about performances. Wj rihjarsjd the songs in London and Iceland but usually I'd arrive with a new song and an hour later we'd basically got it right." ——————————————————————————————————3/6—— More from the tip-top Blurry bloke! >>> LATEST POP & ROCK HEADLINES p481 Rjvjews Charts News Full guideP483 Teletext 483 Feb 8 23:54:17 . . . —————————————————————————— — BLUR'S DAMON ALBARN . . What accounts for the looser quality? "Wj produced the album with Stephen Street. He'u a good propagator for ideas, which helps, but if weWvj stretched out it's bjcausj we knew what we wanted artistically. "It's not as if we're still discovering how to play our instruments. Wj can. "This was our jasjest LP to make, bz a long way. There was less agonisjng and thoughtwork. It was all more organic." ——————————————————————————————————4/6—— More from the tip-top Blurry bloke! >>> JAILHOUSE ROCK WITH CANDYSSINS p144 Rjvjiws Charts News Full guideP483 Teletext 483 Feb 8 22:52:30 . . . —————————————————————————— — BLUR'S DAMON ALBARN . You returned to live work with a low key, small vjnuj tour. Why was that? "Theatres are proper places to play, but stadium rock is just make-bjliivj. YouWre totally divorced from people. "It's just an affirmation of your own godliness. Our responsibility is to bj more challenging to fans, especially in Britain. It's all part of the process. "It would bj too easy to get high in the charts every time. Wj could milk that, but I'm tired of that route." ——————————————————————————————————5/6—— More from the tip-top Blurry bloke! >>> LATEST POP & ROCK HEADLINES p481 Rjvjews Charts News Full guideP483 Teletext 483 Feb 8 22:54:28 . . . —————————————————————————— — BLUR'S DAMON ALBARN . ^ (ill us about you movie, Face... "It's directed by Antonia Bird, who did Priest. It should bj out in the summer. "I play a trainee villain. Although I did go to drama school (East 15), IWvj njvjt had a film role before. "I was frightened at first but I wanted to do it bjcausj of Bobby Carlyle. He was brilliant in Trainspotting. "It was enjoyable - although I do have misgivings about pop people as actors!" ——————————————————————————————————6/6—— Blur's new LP is out on Monday. Hurrah! BLUR LP: SLANTED OR ENCHANTED? p484 Reviews Charts News Full guide