Damon Albarn

In a photo from Polymathperspective, Damon Albarn's Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 is visible next to his Moog Voyager, highlighting its use in his setup.

In a user-uploaded photo from Polymathperspective, Damon Albarn's Casio SA-7 is visible on his shelf beneath a Casio SA-9.

If the first two Gorillaz albums set the bar high for star guests – Ike Turner, Dennis Hopper, Shaun Ryder, Ibrahim Ferrer and so on – it’s no surprise that Plastic Beach comes loaded with more celebrities than a Royal Command Variety Performance.

And, like a Variety Performance, your expectations rise in the presence of the great and the good. Wow – that’s Lou Reed on ”Some Kind Of Nature”! And he’s singing what sounds like a track from Transformer! As played on Fisher- Price toys! And wow again – that’s Mick Jones on the title track! With Paul Simonon playing the bassline from “Guns Of Brixton”! With Damon dicking about on a Stylophone!"

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.

You can see the Shure SM7B during the first Song Machine episode ‘Momentary Bliss’ at 1:15

According to this article, Damon uses this in his recording studio.

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.

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 "Clint Eastwood", as mentioned by producer Tom Girling in the September 2001 Sound on Sound article "Recording 'Clint Eastwood'".

''We used the Neumann TLM170 for Damon's vocal, and we hired some gear when we went to Jamaica, so I think he probably went through an 1176 as well, or perhaps a Distressor," explains Tom. "We used a Neve 1073, which is an EQ with a mic amp on as well, so the mic was plugged straight into that, and then after that I think it was the 1176 and straight into Logic."

This article mentions that Damon uses this keyboard.

Damon uses this keyboard in his studio according to this article.

In this picture, Damon can be seen using the Hohner Airboard in this photo.

"Taking this record on tour meant a new piano, so as luck would have it he called us to see the new Roland HP-508."

In this image (Screencap from the 2017 gorillaz tour) Damon is seen with a Prophet 6 synthesizer on top of his piano

You can see his ARP Quartet in between some other synths and effects units.

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."

In this YouTube video at 1:44:06, you can see Damon Albarn using the Suzuki Pro-37 Melodion in this performance

The Moog Filtatron App for iPad was used on the making of Gorillaz' "The Fall".

The 3630 is listed in the inventory of Albarn's 13 Studio.

According to this article, Damon has this drum set in his recording studio.

According to this article, Damon uses this in his recording studio.

According to this article, Damon owns the massive TL Audio VTC desk.

"Taking this record on tour meant a new piano, so as luck would have it he called us to see the new Roland HP-508."

In the Last.fm Sessions video for "Blur - New World Towers," Damon Albarn can be seen using a Yamaha VSS-100.

Damon Albarn is shown with the Casio KX-101 synthesizer, recognizable by its boombox-like appearance, in a user-uploaded photo on Polymathperspective.

Has it on shelf next to a Moog Voyager.

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].”

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."