Gorillaz – Humanz (Deluxe)

According to Stephen Sedgwick who engineering Gorillaz's 2017 album, "Humanz":

Damon used mostly hardware synths, including a Sequential Prophet 6, Chroma Polaris, MicroKorg XL, Moog Little Phatty, and Roland’s three Boutique synths, the JP08, JX03 and JU06.

According to Stephen Sedgwick who engineering Gorillaz's 2017 album, "Humanz":

Damon used mostly hardware synths, including a Sequential Prophet 6, Chroma Polaris, MicroKorg XL, Moog Little Phatty, and Roland’s three Boutique synths, the JP08, JX03 and JU06.

According to Stephen Sedgwick who engineering Gorillaz's 2017 album, "Humanz":

Damon used mostly hardware synths, including a Sequential Prophet 6, Chroma Polaris, MicroKorg XL, Moog Little Phatty, and Roland’s three Boutique synths, the JP08, JX03 and JU06.

According to Stephen Sedgwick who engineering Gorillaz's 2017 album, "Humanz":

Damon used mostly hardware synths, including a Sequential Prophet 6, Chroma Polaris, MicroKorg XL, Moog Little Phatty, and Roland’s three Boutique synths, the JP08, JX03 and JU06.

According to Stephen Sedgwick who engineering Gorillaz's 2017 album, "Humanz":

Damon used mostly hardware synths, including a Sequential Prophet 6, Chroma Polaris, MicroKorg XL, Moog Little Phatty, and Roland’s three Boutique synths, the JP08, JX03 and JU06.

Mentioned by recording engineer and frequent collaborator Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Gorillaz's Humanz.

"Damon used mostly hardware synths, including a Sequential Prophet 6, Chroma Polaris, MicroKorg XL, Moog Little Phatty, and Roland’s three Boutique synths, the JP08, JX03 and JU06. Damon also sometimes played the piano at 13 [Studios].”

Mentioned by recording engineer and frequent collaborator Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Gorillaz's Humanz.

“Damon already had been demoing things during the last months of 2015, using GarageBand,” recalls Sedgwick. “In the past he used a four-track cassette recorder, but once he had an iPad he switched to GarageBand, because he loves the speed and simplicity and how easy it is to pick sounds. It allows him to get his ideas down really quickly, and if something doesn’t work, he can immediately move on to something else. He’ll demo anything that gets the ball rolling: a guitar/vocal recording, chord patterns, synth parts, a loop, beats, and so on.

Located in Albarn's 13 Studios and used to mix Gorillaz's Humanz, as mentioned by recording engineer and frequent collaborator Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about Humanz's production.

Another essential cog in the Humanz-making machine was engineer and mixer Stephen Sedgwick. The vast majority of the work on Humanz was done with just Albarn, The Twilite Tone, Kabaka, Sedgwick and his assistant Samuel Egglenton present in the control room of Studio 13, which sports a 72-channel Neve VR desk and tons of outboard. (...) Sedgwick conducted the final mixes on the Neve VR, making ample use of the outboard at Studio 13. “I do mixes sometimes almost entirely in the box, because of the nature of the project, and I get results that I am happy with, particularly as I will still run these mixes through my regular outboard mix bus chain. But something like the Gorillaz project is different. I knew that at the end I’d be mixing, and for me, that’s the time I can be creative with it. Because I have been there for the entire writing and recording process it’s easy for me to remain sympathetic to the vibe, and I get to turn things up loud here in the room and I have fun with the material."

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer and frequent collaborator Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“The vocals start at track 42, with Damon’s lead vocal. The main lo-fi telephone-like effect is the typical 2-D sound, because this is a 2-D song. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s done with hardware. The plug-ins on the inserts are a Waves Renaissance De-esser and RVox, and the Waves Kramer PIE [compressor], which I use a lot on vocals. Below are two tracks of lead vocals with delays.

While recording, I often use the SoundToys EchoBoy for delays, but I replace that with hardware delays to get more character. In this case these two tracks are prints of me running Damon’s vocals through a Roland SDE 2000. I was having fun with that, doing fast delays and delays with modulation. Then there are some Damon harmonies, and the yellow tracks are him singing the chorus, and some of these are pitched down an octave with the Little AlterBoy. I usually compress vocals with outboard, either using Empirical Labs Distressors or sometimes the Summit TLA 100A or Tube-Tech CL1B compressor. If want to impose a lot of character I’ll engage an old Collins broadcast limiter. For reverbs on the vocals I often use the studio’s EMT 140 plate.

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“I recorded Damon’s rough vocals with a Neumann KMS105 condenser, which sounds pretty good and doesn’t pick up a lot of sound from the room, so it works great if there are other people around and he quickly wants to lay down some ideas. But when it came to recording his final vocal takes I used the Flea 47, which is a really great-sounding Neumann U47 clone. I usually recorded it via a Chandler LTD1 mic pre, and then either a Distressor or a Tube-Tech CL1B compressor."

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“I recorded Damon’s rough vocals with a Neumann KMS105 condenser, which sounds pretty good and doesn’t pick up a lot of sound from the room, so it works great if there are other people around and he quickly wants to lay down some ideas. But when it came to recording his final vocal takes I used the Flea 47, which is a really great-sounding Neumann U47 clone. I usually recorded it via a Chandler LTD1 mic pre, and then either a Distressor or a Tube-Tech CL1B compressor."

Visible in this photo of recording engineer Stephen Sedgwick in 13 Studios, taken from this October 21, 2014 interview by the The Polymath Perspective.

As far as studio processing goes, there presence of six Empirical Labs Distressors in the racks clearly shows that the product is a firm studio favourite. "The Distressors are great compressors and very versatile,” agrees Steve. "They are good on drums and vocals and for general recording."

The EL8 was used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

"I usually compress vocals with outboard, either using Empirical Labs Distressors or sometimes the Summit TLA 100A or Tube-Tech CL1B compressor." (...) "I recorded Damon’s rough vocals with a Neumann KMS105 condenser, which sounds pretty good and doesn’t pick up a lot of sound from the room, so it works great if there are other people around and he quickly wants to lay down some ideas. But when it came to recording his final vocal takes I used the Flea 47, which is a really great-sounding Neumann U47 clone. I usually recorded it via a Chandler LTD1 mic pre, and then either a Distressor or a Tube-Tech CL1B compressor."

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer and frequent collaborator Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“The vocals start at track 42, with Damon’s lead vocal. The main lo-fi telephone-like effect is the typical 2-D sound, because this is a 2-D song. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s done with hardware. The plug-ins on the inserts are a Waves Renaissance De-esser and RVox, and the Waves Kramer PIE [compressor], which I use a lot on vocals. Below are two tracks of lead vocals with delays.

While recording, I often use the SoundToys EchoBoy for delays, but I replace that with hardware delays to get more character. In this case these two tracks are prints of me running Damon’s vocals through a Roland SDE 2000. I was having fun with that, doing fast delays and delays with modulation. Then there are some Damon harmonies, and the yellow tracks are him singing the chorus, and some of these are pitched down an octave with the Little AlterBoy. I usually compress vocals with outboard, either using Empirical Labs Distressors or sometimes the Summit TLA 100A or Tube-Tech CL1B compressor. If want to impose a lot of character I’ll engage an old Collins broadcast limiter. For reverbs on the vocals I often use the studio’s EMT 140 plate.

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer and frequent collaborator Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“The vocals start at track 42, with Damon’s lead vocal. The main lo-fi telephone-like effect is the typical 2-D sound, because this is a 2-D song. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s done with hardware. The plug-ins on the inserts are a Waves Renaissance De-esser and RVox, and the Waves Kramer PIE [compressor], which I use a lot on vocals. Below are two tracks of lead vocals with delays.

While recording, I often use the SoundToys EchoBoy for delays, but I replace that with hardware delays to get more character. In this case these two tracks are prints of me running Damon’s vocals through a Roland SDE 2000. I was having fun with that, doing fast delays and delays with modulation. Then there are some Damon harmonies, and the yellow tracks are him singing the chorus, and some of these are pitched down an octave with the Little AlterBoy. I usually compress vocals with outboard, either using Empirical Labs Distressors or sometimes the Summit TLA 100A or Tube-Tech CL1B compressor. If want to impose a lot of character I’ll engage an old Collins broadcast limiter. For reverbs on the vocals I often use the studio’s EMT 140 plate.

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer and frequent collaborator Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“The vocals start at track 42, with Damon’s lead vocal. The main lo-fi telephone-like effect is the typical 2-D sound, because this is a 2-D song. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s done with hardware. The plug-ins on the inserts are a Waves Renaissance De-esser and RVox, and the Waves Kramer PIE [compressor], which I use a lot on vocals. Below are two tracks of lead vocals with delays.

While recording, I often use the SoundToys EchoBoy for delays, but I replace that with hardware delays to get more character. In this case these two tracks are prints of me running Damon’s vocals through a Roland SDE 2000. I was having fun with that, doing fast delays and delays with modulation. Then there are some Damon harmonies, and the yellow tracks are him singing the chorus, and some of these are pitched down an octave with the Little AlterBoy. I usually compress vocals with outboard, either using Empirical Labs Distressors or sometimes the Summit TLA 100A or Tube-Tech CL1B compressor. If want to impose a lot of character I’ll engage an old Collins broadcast limiter. For reverbs on the vocals I often use the studio’s EMT 140 plate.

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer and frequent collaborator Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“The vocals start at track 42, with Damon’s lead vocal. The main lo-fi telephone-like effect is the typical 2-D sound, because this is a 2-D song. I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s done with hardware. The plug-ins on the inserts are a Waves Renaissance De-esser and RVox, and the Waves Kramer PIE [compressor], which I use a lot on vocals. Below are two tracks of lead vocals with delays.

While recording, I often use the SoundToys EchoBoy for delays, but I replace that with hardware delays to get more character. In this case these two tracks are prints of me running Damon’s vocals through a Roland SDE 2000. I was having fun with that, doing fast delays and delays with modulation. Then there are some Damon harmonies, and the yellow tracks are him singing the chorus, and some of these are pitched down an octave with the Little AlterBoy. I usually compress vocals with outboard, either using Empirical Labs Distressors or sometimes the Summit TLA 100A or Tube-Tech CL1B compressor. If want to impose a lot of character I’ll engage an old Collins broadcast limiter. For reverbs on the vocals I often use the studio’s EMT 140 plate.

Used for Albarn's vocals on Gorillaz's "Charger", as mentioned by recording engineer Stephen Sedgwick in this July 2017 Sound on Sound interview about the production of Humanz.

“I recorded Damon’s rough vocals with a Neumann KMS105 condenser, which sounds pretty good and doesn’t pick up a lot of sound from the room, so it works great if there are other people around and he quickly wants to lay down some ideas. But when it came to recording his final vocal takes I used the Flea 47, which is a really great-sounding Neumann U47 clone. I usually recorded it via a Chandler LTD1 mic pre, and then either a Distressor or a Tube-Tech CL1B compressor."

You can see Seye use a Fender Jazz Bass at 0:46 during this performance with Gorillaz

In the artbook for Humanz Noodle is seen using a Squier Telecaster in every picture.

Murdoc Niccals is seen using the Epiphone Korina Flying V Bass in various promotional pictures from the Humanz era, shown by the visible Epiphone logo on the headstock.