Gorillaz release album recorded on iPad

Always quick to embrace changes in technology, British band Gorillaz has released an album created and recorded on an Apple iPad. The cartoon hip-hoppers released the new album - The Fall - on Christmas Day free of charge to members of their online fan club.

Former Blur frontman Damon Albarn is the leading creative figure in the Gorillaz collaboration and he is never short of innovative ideas having even put on virtual concerts where the band is represented by cartoon avatars.

The musician explained on the album’s microsite http://thefall.gorillaz.com/ that he had used an array of iPad Apps to create the new album, including Speak It!, SoundyThingie, Mugician, Solo Synth, Funk Box, Gliss, AmpliTube, Xenon, iElectribe, BS-16i, M3000 HD, Cleartune, iOrgel HD, Olsynth, StudioMiniXI, BassLine, Harmonizer, Dub Siren Pro and Moog Filatron.

The album was created during Albarn’s spare time on the road, during a North American tour and a physical release was pencilled in for some time in 2011.

"I did it because there's a lot of time that you just spend staring at walls essentially and it was a fantastic way of doing it," Albarn commented. "I found working in the day, whether it's in the hotel or the venue, it was a brilliant way of keeping myself well. I literally wrote everything on the day in each place and there's a strange sort of sound of America and its musical traditions that comes through. It feels like a journey through America."

The Fall comprises 15 new songs, with references to American geography peppered throughout the tracklist, including Phoner to Arizona, Detroit, The Snake in Dallas, Amarillo, Aspen Forest, and Bobby in Phoenix.

This latest release from Gorillaz follows their third studio album Plastic Beach, which was released in March 2010 and reached number one in several countries. It has reportedly sold more than a million copies worldwide.