How Far? (Gorillaz song)

"How Far?" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, featuring Tony Allen & Skepta. The track was released on 2 May 2020 without any prior announcement as the fourth single for the first season of Gorillaz's Song Machine project, which involves the ongoing release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring previously unannounced guest musicians over the course of 2020. The single marks the first posthumously released material featuring Tony Allen.

"How Far?"
Single by Gorillaz featuring Tony Allen & Skepta
from the album Song Machine (Season One)
Released2 May 2020 (2020-05-02)
Format
Recorded2020
StudioStudio 13
Genre
Length2:46
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Gorillaz
  • Ford
Gorillaz singles chronology
"Aries"
(2020)		 "How Far?"
(2020)		 "Friday 13th"
(2020)
Skepta singles chronology
"Waze"
(2019)		 "How Far?"
(2020)
Tony Allen singles chronology
"Rejoice"
(2020)		 "How Far?"
(2020)
Music video
"How Far?" on YouTube

Background

"How Far?" was written and recorded in the weeks prior to lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.[1]

On 30 April, 2020, Tony Allen, an afrobeat drummer featured on the song, died of abdominal aortic aneurysm at the age of 79.[2] Allen had previously worked with Gorillaz founder, Damon Albarn, through a band called The Good, the Bad & the Queen, where both participated as members through the early 2000's.[3]

Without any prior announcement, "How Far?" released a few days later on 2 May 2020, as a standalone audio with no accompanying video or episodic EP like other Song Machine releases. According to a press release, the song was released as an official tribute to Allen.[4]

Tracklist
No.TitleLength
1."How Far?" (featuring Tony Allen & Skepta)2:46
Total length:2:46

Personnel

Gorillaz

  • Damon Albarn – vocals, instrumentation, songwriting, director, music producer
  • Jamie Hewlett – artwork, character design, video direction
  • Remi Kabaka Jr. – drum programming, percussion, live drums, music producer, A&R

Additional musicians

  • Tony Allen – vocals, drums, songwriting
  • Skepta – vocals
  • Konoto Sato – violin
  • Stella Page – violin
  • Ciara Ismail – violin
  • Isabelle Dunn – violin

Technical

  • Stephen Sedgwick – mixing, engineering
  • Samuel Egglenton – mixing, engineering
  • John Davis – mastering, engineering

References
  1. "Gorillaz Pay Tribute to Tony Allen With New Song 'How Far?'". Rolling Stone. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  2. Daniel Kreps; Elias Leight (April 30, 2020). "Tony Allen, Pioneering Afrobeat Drummer, Dead at 79". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  3. "Damon Albarn forms new band". NME. 28 July 2006. Retrieved 28 July 2006.
  4. "Gorillaz Share New Song "How Far?" With Tony Allen and Skepta: Listen". Pitchfork. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
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