Damon Albarn news

"Dr Dee," a new studio album by Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz, The Good, The Bad & the Queen), is due out May 8 through Virgin Records.

The 18-track work was inspired by the life of John Dee (1527-1608), a mathematician, alchemist, philosopher and advisor to Elizabeth I. Dee is a singular enigma: an Englishman so influential that he defined how we measure years, so quintessential that he lives on in Shakespeare's words; yet so shrouded in mystery that he's fallen from the very pages of history itself.

Described by Albarn as "strange pastoral folk," the music of "Dr Dee" is a fitting companion to the end of another Elizabethan age. The album combines Albarn's voice with early English choral and instrumentation alongside modern, West African and Renaissance sounds. "Dr Dee" was recorded late last year in Albarn's West London studio and also in Salford with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. The album was mixed by Valgeir Sigursson in Reykjavik. 

View trailer here: http://youtu.be/Zskz5TCaxLE

Damon Albarn will perform songs from the album at OneFest in the UK on April 14, alongside singers and musicians featured on the album, including Madou Diabate. www.onefestuk.com 

A stage production created by Albarn and Rufus Norris, depicting Dee's fall from prominence to poverty and isolation, which showcased to critical acclaim at the Manchester International Festival last year, will play at English National Opera this summer as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

Track listing:

1) The Golden Dawn
2) Apple Carts
3) Oh Spirit Animate Us
4) The Moon Exalted
5) A Man of England
6) Saturn
7) Coronation
8) The Marvelous Dream
9) A Prayer
10) Edward Kelley
11) Preparation
12) 9 Point Star
13) Temptation Comes In The Afternoon
14) Watching the Fire That Waltzed Away
15) Moon (Interlude) 
16) Cathedrals 
17) Tree Of Life 
18) The Dancing King