Gorillaz Team Up With Octavian for Woozy New Track ‘Friday 13th’

Gorillaz have partnered with French-British rapper and singer Octavian for a new song, “Friday 13th,” which marks the latest installment in the animated outfit’s ongoing Song Machine series.

The track boasts a woozy groove filled with dreamy guitars, plus synths and drums that hit with a thud then carom into space. Octavian alternates between a steady flow and a sing-song drawl as he waxes about endless nights in his raspy lilt.

“Friday 13th” arrives with a video directed by Gorillaz’s artistic mastermind Jamie Hewlett. Filmed with everyone in self-isolation because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clip boasts a simple premise as footage of Octavian performing the song — as well as the heads of all the Gorillaz members — is superimposed over footage of speeding highways and tunnels drenched in psychedelic effects.

“Friday 13th” marks the fourth song in Gorillaz’s Song Machine series, which was launched earlier this year with the aim of moving outside the constraints of a typical album cycle. Other installments include “Aries,” which features New Order’s Peter Hook, “Momentary Bliss” with Slowthai and Slaves and “Desole,” with Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara. Gorillaz also recently shared the one-off track, “How Far?” featuring Skepta and late Afrobeat legend Tony Allen, dropping the song in tribute to Allen days after his death.