Damon Albarn, 'Dr Dee': Singer Releasing Solo Album Based on Opera

Damon Albarn, otherwise known as the man who launched 1,000 albums, has announced yet another musical project due to hit shelves on May 8. The album, 'Dr Dee,' Albarn's solo debut, is a recording of the opera he wrote last year and is no less ambitious than his numerous other musical occupations (Gorillaz, the Good, the Bad, and the Queen, that Congo project, Blur.)

According to a press release, the album "is an 18-track work inspired by the life of John Dee (1527-1608), mathematician, alchemist, philosopher and advisor to Elizabeth I." Dee apparently "defined how we measure years" and "lives on in Shakespeare's words," but is "so shrouded in mystery that he's fallen from the very pages of history itself."

As for what you'll hear on the album, the release promises, "Albarn's voice with early English choral and instrumentation alongside modern, West African and Renaissance sounds." 'Song 2' this is not.

For more insight on the album, check out the trailer below. Just beware that when Albarn describes "a man who walked a very fine line between the dark arts and acceptable practice," he is talking about John Dee and not Professor Snape.

Watch Gorillaz Perform 'On Melancholy Hill' at Sessions

Watch the Full Gorillaz Set at Sessions

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