Gorillaz have released the first installment of a new series called Song Machine on the band’s YouTube channel in the form of a song, “Momentary Bliss”, featuring slowthai and Slaves.

On the surface, Song Machine appears to be a behind-the-scenes look at the ever-mysterious British group. As live-action exchanges occur between musicians in the studio, animations of text boxes and the mischevious Gorillaz characters run amok in the background, who sometimes lend a hand on tracking. The visual accompaniment for “Momentary Bliss” is one part music video, one part documentary, one part Saturday morning cartoon, and all Gorillaz.

The song itself begins with a simple kick and snare drum, and then some reverb-laden guitar notes. Slowly, a keyboard comes in as the song becomes more complex. The lightly-brooding background vocals then come to the forefront as slowthai comes in with his own rhymes. The music builds until eventually the drums are pounding and the rapping gets progressively louder and louder into a final chaotic crash as cartoon flames and lightning bolts engulf the studio. Then, everything rolls back to the simplistic beginning with the refrain of “we could do so much better than this/emotionally in fences and momentary bliss.”

Check out the video for episode one of Gorillaz’ Song Machine, “Momentary Bliss”, featuring slowthai and Slaves.

Gorillaz – “Momentary Bliss” featuring slowthai and Slaves (Episode One)

[Video: Gorillaz]

Get up-to-date info on the latest releases from Gorillaz, including details on Song Machine, on the band’s website.