Damon Albarn To Play At Sydney Opera House

British musician Damon Albarn will make his Sydney Opera House debut with an intimate performance on Monday 15 December, 2014 to celebrate the recent release of his critically acclaimed new solo album, Everyday Robots (Parlophone).

Everyday Robots, an album which “underlines that Albarn is an artist of originality and depth, a master of melody, and a gifted, inventive musician” (MOJO), features guest appearances from Brian Eno and Natasha Khan of Bat For Lashes, and is the first record to be released under his own name.

Joining Albarn onstage is his new live band The Heavy Seas, including guitarist Seye Adelekan, drummer Pauli The PSM, guitarist Jeff Wootton and Mike Smith on keyboards, with the addition of a string quartet and six-member choir.

Albarn’s eclectic musical style and observational lyrics have made him one of the world’s most influential and consistently interesting contemporary musicians. He was first heard alongside Blur bandmates Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree through the band’s wry commentary on English life on classic albums Modern Life is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994), and The Great Escape (1995).

The 46-year-old Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, producer and composer’s career also encompasses the massive global success of virtual band Gorillaz; two full length opera compositions (Dr Dee and Monkey: Journey To The West); Africa Express, the collective of African and Western musicians founded by Albarn and Baaba Maal in 2007; and writer and producer credits on Bobby Womack’s acclaimed The Bravest Man In The Universe (2012). Other releases include Mali Music (2002), The Good, The Bad & The Queen (2007) with The Clash’s Paul Simonon; and Rocket Juice & The Moon (2012) with Tony Allen and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Ben Marshall, Head of Contemporary Music at Sydney Opera House said, “Damon Albarn is one of the great figures in modern music and we’re incredibly proud to present his debut solo performance in Australia. His restless inventiveness, inquisitiveness and taste across all his projects have been an inspiration to me and this will be an amazing summer evening in the Opera House Concert Hall.”