THE last time I saw Damon Albarn – until now that is – was at Wembley Stadium in July 2023.
He and his Blur bandmates, arms around each other, took a final bow before disappearing into the balmy summer night.
Two years to the week later, he's talking to me about his latest exploits with Africa Express and Gorillaz.
But first he provides a moment of reflection on the Blur reunion which has paved the way for this year's all-conquering return of Britpop in the shape of Oasis and Pulp.
"There were certain reasons why the decision was made to play Wembley . . . blah, blah, blah," he says without going into detail.
"We did it. I made an album around it. I gave my heart and soul to it.
"But there was no agenda of world domination. It was something I felt was necessary to do — briefly."
'Oasis won the battle, the war'
After an ensuing radio silence, I've been given the chance to find out what Damon's been up to since.
"I'm back," he affirms when our video call flickers into life. "I'm ACTUALLY back.
"I've been incredibly busy making music — it's what I love to do — so I suppose I'm going to have to share some of it soon.
"Inevitably there will always be a dustbin bag full of stuff that needs dropping off at the recycling!"
Damon's looking relaxed and happy as he continues: "Right off the back of it [Blur], there was so much going on.
"I was doing an opera in Paris and starting on the new Gorillaz record.
"It's been crazy, it really has. But the world's gone crazy so it doesn't seem in any way strange."
One thing for certain about this restless soul is that he's never been the type to kick back and rest on his laurels.
It should come as no surprise that BEFORE Blur's last gigs (in the States), Damon headed to the Mexican jungle with Africa Express to make music with a dizzying array of 70-plus artists from four continents.
He's long been the consummate collaborator and the movement he co-founded 20 years ago is the perfect vehicle for him.
"I've got a huge musical family between Africa Express and Gorillaz," he says.
"I guess there are producers who have worked with as many people but for physically being on stage with people, I'd be up there."
The latest Africa Express album, Bahidora, named after the festival they attended, is a thrilling, intoxicating mash-up of styles.
I think we can officially say that Oasis won the battle, the war, the campaign, everything
It is described by Malian singer and contributor Fatoumata Diawara as "African rhythms, electronic textures, Latin soul, rock, hip hop — everything".
Damon puts it like this: "What we always are is a mad, chaotic exchange of ideas, sounds and motifs."
In other words, exactly the type of diverse, egalitarian sonic playground he loves.
"I killed Damon the pop star many years ago," he insists. "It was a gentle death. I'm just not that interested in being the centre of attention.
"Don't get me wrong, I embrace it when it's necessary but it's only a bit of me.
"And Africa Express is always an amazing opportunity just to become one of many."
To prove his point, take a look at the joyful group photo taken in Mexico in which you can just spot Damon among a sea of smiling faces.
His observations inevitably bring us back to the subject of Oasis, very much "the centre of attention" since reforming in a blaze of publicity.
I remember Damon predicting that the Gallagher brothers would reunite and telling me: "The funny thing is that our two nights at Wembley will be dwarfed by their seven."
Turns out they're only doing five but he is magnanimous, effusive even, about his old, so-called rivals
"Well, it was obvious, wasn't it? he says. "I think we can officially say that Oasis won the battle, the war, the campaign, everything.
"They are the winners. They take first place. In the face of such overwhelming evidence, I am happy to accept and concede defeat.
"It's their summer and God bless them. I hope everyone has a wonderful time but I'm going to be in a very, very different place."
I point out that Oasis, unlike Blur, haven't released an album to go with their tour — but that Pulp have.
"God bless them as well," laughs Damon about Jarvis Cocker and Co. "God bless everybody!"
This prompts him to reflect on the Nineties in the context of our uncertain world of 2025.
He says: "I'm not being funny but it does feel like a more innocent, joyous age than now."
That said, he adds: "Nostalgia's OK but I try and stay away from it as much as possible. Sometimes you can't help but be lost in it."
He admits that he felt very emotional at the Blur shows and that Oasis might find it tougher than they think.
"I couldn't do as many gigs as they're doing," he says. "That's a lot of the same emotion.
I believe in everybody having the right to give their opinions — sit down with each other, look each other in the eye and talk
"They're very brave and I hope it's worth it. You know, money isn't everything."
We move on — and I can't help thinking that money certainly isn't everything when it comes to Africa Express.
It is a passion project rooted in Damon's discovery of Mali as a source of sublime music and his burning desire to interact with it.
"It totally began there," he says of the landlocked country in West Africa with northern borders stretching deep into the Sahara.
"I was touched so profoundly by the culture of Mali. It was akin to a true revelation.
"I felt it was really important to tell as many people as possible that we need to learn about other cultures and embrace them."
Damon expresses his sadness at "where we are now" with people using "their differences as an excuse to become enthralled by populism".
He says our world is becoming increasingly polarised, and adds: "I refuse to be on either side. However strongly I feel sometimes, I just can't go there.
'I've always gravitated to Latin America'
"I believe in everybody having the right to give their opinions — sit down with each other, look each other in the eye and talk.
"Africa Express is one of those forums where all this can be discussed. That's the nature of it."
If the movement began as a collaboration between African and Western musicians, today its scope knows no borders, hence its work with Syrian refugees and now this Mexican adventure.
The latest enterprise came about when Africa Express was invited to the Bahidora Festival in February 2024, set in a beautiful nature park — a two-hour drive south of Mexico City.
As well as appearing on stage, the collective took the opportunity to spend inspiring days with local musicians and record an album which bursts with energy and ideas.
Of the experience, Damon says: "Firstly, I love Mexico. I've always gravitated to Latin America.
"Their enjoyment of music is unparalleled. They're so open about it."
He adds: "So we attended this wonderful festival on the site of an Aztec lake used by the emperors long before the conquistadors
"It was a beautiful experience. You sleep in tents. You wake up in a jungle. You swim in a lake and you play music. What's not to like?
"We had to do a concert so we decided, 'Let's make a record as well'. It's probably the most coherent of all our records."
One of its revelations is Hacernos Asi, a bittersweet song by Mexican artist Luisa Almaguer.
As a trans singer, she has encountered intolerance but says being with Africa Express has been "life-changing".
I'm looking forward to sitting at the piano and just letting the madness unfold in front of me
The song features backing from Damon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, Joan As Policewoman, bassist Seye Adelekan and the Mexican Institute Of Sound.
Damon says: "Luisa's a magical spirit who has come into all our lives and I just hope her voice can be heard by as many people as possible.
"It is a voice that has travelled through great adversity and is unique."
The same group of musicians appear on the wistful Soledad (meaning solitude), which finds Damon singing in Spanish.
"Yeah, my daughter would say badly," he confesses. "Because she can speak fluent Spanish, she's highly critical but I love singing in Spanish. I think it is becoming more and more the language of music."
Another artist who made the trip to Mexico is effervescent South African Moonchild Sanelly, noted for her incredible "moon mop" which she makes from teal-coloured wool.
"She was perfect, fitted in like a treat," reports Damon. "She's a great improviser and very confident. Everybody loves Moonchild."
And what about the fabulous Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara, who has been working with Africa Express for more than ten years and appears on the tracks Kuduro and Seya?
He says: "Fatou's like my sister, I'm very close to Fatou. I think I met her when she was 18 (she's 43 now). I've just been around for so bloody long! I'm 58 next year — that's just an insane thought."
Letting the madness unfold
My chat with Damon is taking place as he prepares to join Africa Express, enhanced by many Mexican musicians including Luisa Almaguer, for a series of festival dates across Europe culminating in tonight's show in Barcelona.
"I'm looking forward to sitting at the piano and just letting the madness unfold in front of me," he says.
Next up after that is the state-of-the-art Gorillaz House Of Kong exhibition which opens on August 8 at the Copper Box in London's Olympic Park.
It is described as a "peek behind the curtain into the unseen world" of the virtual band Damon formed in collaboration with artist Jamie Hewlett.
"It's a big, big thing," he says. "We're all contributing and we've been working with SWEAR, who do a lot of stuff at Glastonbury."
The exhibition culminates in four special Gorillaz shows at the venue. The first (Aug 29) focuses on the self-titled debut album, the second (Aug 30) on Demon Days and the third (Sep 2) on Plastic Beach.
I've been sworn to secrecy about the "Mystery Show" on September 3 but I can say it promises to be a generation-hopping thrill.
For the first two shows, the musicians will be behind screens, letting the cartoon players provide all the visuals, just like back in the day.
"When we went to Japan, we got in a lot of trouble for that," recalls Damon. "Everybody wanted their money back.
"The first time I appeared on stage was after Glastonbury with Plastic Beach. I had still been taking a back seat in front of 150,000 people.
"We realised that Gorillaz required a frontman. I had to unretire myself!"
Before he goes, Damon discusses the healing power of music in more general terms.
He is aware that his creative outlets, Gorillaz and Africa Express, can do an enormous amount of good in bringing people together, not only from different backgrounds but also across generations.
"There's not enough empathy between the generations," he says.
"They all feel like they're against each other and that's crazy. If you're young, you will be old and if you're old, you were once young.
"Unfortunately, getting on social media and gushing incoherence and anger is not the way.
"Personally, I'd rather sit at the piano and make a song with somebody I disagree with."
Damon leaves me with an astonishing admission but maybe it explains how he navigates our divided world with a song in his heart.
"I don't have a telephone, Simon. And I have no engagement with social media."
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