GORILLAZ and BLINK 182 working on new albums this year after long hiatus

blink 182 gorillaz new album 2016

Blink 182 and Gorillaz have been in the studio this year

I’ll admit, I don’t follow a lot of bands like I used to during my skater punk days and post-90s alternative funk, so it’s kind of awesome to hear two bands that soundtracked a good 10+ of my younger years have been in the studio in 2016. Both Blink 182 and the Gorillaz have all but confirmed new music is being prepped for possible albums this year, and fans are salivating over the prospect of new music from both bands. New collaborations are assured and teased along with fresh voices and familiar faces. Blink 182 has been recording with Alkaline Trio’s frontman Matt Skiba since longtime Blink guitarist/vocalist Tom Delonge left the band in 2015, and the Gorillaz have hinted at collaborations with the likes of David Bowie and Massive Attack. All signs point to funky new sounds in 2016!

Read a little more about what’s been going on in the studio with Blink 182 and who’s collaborating with the Gorillaz after the jump.

gorillaz new album 2016

Gorillaz may have collaborated with David Bowie and Massive Attack

Gorillaz signatures Jamie Hewlitt and Damon Albarn have both been subtly teasing progress toward a new album via Instagram, and now we’ve got brief glimpses of the band working with well-known artists and producers. Instagram clips from Hewlitt show Albarn and US producer Anthony ‘Twilite Tone’ Khan as well as British singer-songwriter Liam Bailey tinkering together recently. Also, there have been claims that the late great David Bowie could have collaborated with the Gorillaz, and it’s been reported that a deleted Instagram post claimed Massive Attack had visited the Gorillaz studio. Tentative proof some intriguing talent is joining the band for what Albarn has called a “really fast” future album.

It seems things are still in early stages in the Gorillaz camp, but the new album is in motion and it’s worth keeping our fingers crossed for a 2016 release followed by a 2017 tour.


blink 182 2016 mark hoppus travis barker matt skiba

Blink 182 has finished new album with guitarist Matt Skiba

Unlike the Gorillaz, drummer Travis Barker says the new Blink 182 album is done. This time around, Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba is taking over for guitarist and singer Tom Delonge. Skiba has been playing and recording with the band since Delonge’s departure in 2015, and Barker seems pretty happy with the new line-up saying, “Just having someone who wants to be in the studio all the time with us has been amazing…I love us all being in the studio and throwing around ideas and really collaborating.” Honestly, I’m a little torn over not having the trio of Mark Hoppus, Tom Delonge, and Travis Barker back together, but I’m also curious about the new Blink 182’s potential with Skiba contributing vocals. Plus, it seems like Delonge has been staying busy with Angels and Airwaves, and I still really want to check out the strange-looking animated short film Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker that he worked on in 2014.

So, regarding a new Blink 182 album in 2016, it sounds like it’s just a matter of piecing together the best track list and setting a release date. Barker made it clear recently that the band has recorded enough new music for two records, but the three members are narrowing it down. “It’s just a matter of picking what 12 to 14 songs are gonna be on the album… I think we wrote 26 or 27 – so right now everyone’s just pushing for their favorites.”


Personally, new music and full-length albums from both Blink 182 and the Gorillaz, with infusions of Alkaline Trio, David Bowie, and Massive Attack, is enough to make me smile. Add to that the idea of both bands going on tour in the near future, and the old school lineup at Vans Warped Tour this summer, and I’m pretty sure I’ll get the chance to see a handful bands I called favorites at one time or another! Talk about a weird/great/flashback of a year.

Just for fun, here’s the video for the last thing the Gorillaz did, which was with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and André 3000 of Outkast for a song called “Do Ya Thing.”