The Valley of the Pagans
{{Short description|2020 single by Gorillaz featuring Beck}}
{{Infobox song
| name = The Valley of the Pagans
| cover = The_Valley_of_the__Pagans_by_Gorillaz.png
| alt =
| border = yes
| type = single
| artist = Gorillaz featuring Beck
| album = Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez
| released = 5 November 2020
| format =
| recorded = 2020
| studio = Damon Albarn's home studio, Devon, England
| venue =
| genre =
- Alternative rock{{cite web|url=https://www.avpress.com/showcase/gorillaz-unleash-song-machine/article_c0d0f844-1fe3-11eb-8160-3f86d8210a48.html|title=Gorillaz unleash 'Song Machine'|website=Antelope Valley Press|date=6 November 2020 }}
- electronic
- funk rock{{Cite web|url=https://www.readdork.com/reviews/gorillaz-sound-machine-season-one-strange-timez-ep|title=Gorillaz - Sound Machine: Season One - Strange Timez EP|website=Dork|last=Dhindsa|first=Jasleen|date=29 October 2020|accessdate=4 November 2020}}
- synthwave
- disco{{Cite web|url=https://diymag.com/2020/10/22/gorillaz-song-machine-season-one-strange-timez-album-review|title=Album Review GORILLAZ - SONG MACHINE: SEASON ONE - STRANGE TIMEZ|website=DIY|last=Kerwick|first=Sean|date=23 October 2020|accessdate=4 November 2020}}
| length = 3:01
| label = {{hlist|Parlophone|Warner}}
| writer = {{hlist|Damon Albarn|Remi Kabaka Jr.|Beck Hansen}}
| producer = {{hlist|Gorillaz|Kabaka}}
| chronology = Gorillaz
| prev_title = The Pink Phantom
| prev_year = 2020
| next_title = Cracker Island
| next_year = 2022
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Beck
| type = single
| prev_title = No Distraction (Khruangbin Remix)
| prev_year = 2020
| title = The Valley of the Pagans
| year = 2020
| next_title = Find My Way
| next_year = 2021
}}
{{External music video|header=Music videos|{{YouTube|dGiORwFCzyI|"The Valley of the Pagans" (Original Version; Reupload)}}}}
{{External music video|header=no|{{YouTube|aNGA90mUJds|"The Valley of the Pagans" (Alternate Version)}}}}
}}
"The Valley of the Pagans" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring Beck. The track was released on 5 November 2020 as the ninth and final single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, and the eighth episode of the Song Machine project, a web series which involves the ongoing release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
Background
The demo version of the song, titled "West Hollywood", was leaked on 2 August 2020. It was recorded at Damon Albarn's home studio in Devon, England in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Music video
The video, directed by Jamie Hewlett, Tim McCourt, and Max Taylor, opens up in the Kong Studios garage where Noodle is driving a similar car from the "Stylo" music video, but a portal opens up behind them and Noodle backs up into it. The portal transports the band into Grand Theft Auto V where Noodle speeds down various streets in the game. Beck appears in a smartphone seen on the bottom right of the screen and 2-D is shown talking to him in the back seat of the car. The video ends with the band driving through another portal that sends the car crashing into the ocean at Point Nemo, where Plastic Beach remains.
The music video on the band's YouTube page was taken down five days after it premiered. An alternative version of the video without the Grand Theft Auto V footage was uploaded in its place on 9 March 2021.
Track listing
{{tracklist
| total_length = 4:13
| extra_column = Producers
| title1 = The Valley of the Pagans
| note1 = featuring Beck
| writer1 = {{hlist|Damon Albarn|Remi Kabaka Jr.|Beck Hansen}}
| extra1 = {{hlist|Gorillaz|Kabaka}}
| length1 = 3:01
| title2 = Machine Bitez #17
| note2 = with 2-D, Murdoc, Russel and Noodle
| length2 = 0:36
| title3 = Machine Bitez #18
| note3 = with 2-D, Murdoc, Russel and Noodle
| length3 = 0:36
}}
Personnel
Gorillaz
- Damon Albarn – vocals, instrumentation, director, keyboards, bass, guitar, drum programming
- Jamie Hewlett – artwork, character design, video direction
- Remi Kabaka Jr. – drum programming
Additional musicians and personnel
- Beck – vocals
- Rudy Albarn – drums, percussion
- David Greenbaum – engineering
- Dylan Herman – engineering
- Stephen Sedgwick – mixing engineer, engineering
- Samuel Egglenton – engineering
- John Davis – mastering engineer
References
{{reflist}}
{{Song Machine}}
{{Gorillaz}}
{{Beck}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valley of the Pagans}}
Category:Songs written by Damon Albarn
Category:Songs written by Remi Kabaka Jr.
Category:Songs written by Beck