| “ | New arrivals, fresh survival | „ |
Damascus (also stylized in Arabic as دمشق, lit. Damascus) is the fourth single and eleventh track from Gorillaz' ninth studio album, The Mountain. The song features American rapper Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) and Syrian singer Omar Souleyman.
Background[]
Damascus is the finalized version of an Plastic Beach-era outtake titled Fresh Arrivals.[2] It was one of three songs that Gorillaz worked on with Yasiin Bey, the others being Sweepstakes and Stylo.[3] Omar Souleyman was also involved in the original recording.[2] In addition, the intro section is taken from a (presumably) different track, known as Sunday Monday, of which a 43-second snippet was shown through the Pirate Radio teaser for Plastic Beach.
The song was premiered live during the House of Kong "Mystery Show" on 3 September 2025 at the Copper Box ArenaW.[4] It was later performed at the 'Together for Palestine' fundraising concert on 17 September at Wembley ArenaW with the London Arab Orchestra and included a special intro by Yasiin Bey, in which he recited the English translation of Imam Muhammad b. Nāsir al-Darʿī's 'The Prayer of the Oppressed'.[5]
On 3 December, the song was leaked as the fourth single from the album by a Spotify advertisement.[6] On 10 December, the song was revealed for the first time to Kong Card subscribers, before being released publically two days later.
Visualiser[]
The visualiser for Damascus was originally scheduled for release on the same day as the single. However, the premiere was quietly privated after fans pointed out that the Syrian flagW used in the promos was the old flag of the Ba'athist SyriaW (the flag of UAR), which is commonly associated with the Assad regime. Following this, Gorillaz changed the flag to the new flag of independence, also known as the 'revolution flag', and the video was premiered the following day.
Lyrics[]
[Intro: 2-D (heavily modulated), Yasiin Bey]
Sunday, Monday
Tuesday, Wednesday
Thursday
All crashed out on Thursday
All crashed out on Thursday
And Friday is a voice
Fresh, fresh, fresh
Top dial on your radio (Fresh)
D.A. in the place you're so (Fresh)
Souleyman, and the place you know
Make ‘em know every place you go (Fresh)
[Verse 1: Yasiin Bey, Omar Souleyman]
كل يوم عيني بعينُه
باجر ويني ووينُه
Ship from Damascus, Nemo Point
The fantasy is real, feel free, enjoy
كل يوم عيني بعينُه
باجر ويني ووينُه
New brand news in an old school voice
Hush, Habibi, it's time to make noise
راحت منّي نِدامة
إنْ ما نمت بحضانُه
Here to navigate the waves in the dark no map
Stars in the heavens and the breeze on my back
راحت منّي نِدامة
إنْ ما نمت بحضانُه
Hallelujah holler, Faddal, yalla
Turkish coffee, Starbucks, get off me
Here to navigate the waves in the dark no map
Stars in the heavens and the breeze on my back
Know where I’m headed and I be where I’m at
That’s the way it is, and it’s like
[Chorus: Yasiin Bey]
New arrivals, fresh survival
New arrivals, fresh survival
New arrivals, fresh survival
New arrivals, fresh survival
[Verse 2: Yasiin Bey, Omar Souleyman]
New
Ship from Damascus, Nemo Point (Fresh)
The fantasy is real, feel free, enjoy (Fresh)
New brand news in a soulful voice
Hush, Habibi, it's time to make noise (Fresh)
Faddal, yalla, Hallelujah holler (Fresh)
Turkish coffee, Starbucks, you're corny (Fresh)
Navigate the waves in the dark no map
Stars in the heavens and the breeze on my back (Fresh)
لا يا حبيب الأول
لو إنك تَرب ما دوسك (Fresh)
Big Ship from Damascus, Point Nemo
Inspiration movement in Sterry-o
Here we go
لا يا حبيب الأول
لو إنك تَرب ما دوسك (Fresh)
Yes, superfresh as I’m known to be (Fresh)
See a real cool ruler don’t overheat, fresh
لو إنك زبون حجازي
يِحرِم عليّي ملبوسك (Fresh, fresh)
You see, hallelujah holler, Yella, yalla (Fresh)
Turkish coffee, Starbucks, warning (Fresh)
لو إنك زبون حجازي
يِحرِم عليّي ملبوسك (Fresh, fresh)
See me, navigate the waves in the light, not the black (Fresh)
Stars and the heavens and the breeze on my back (Fresh)
Say hallelujah holler, Yella, yalla (Fresh)
Turkish coffee, starbucks, you’re corny (Fresh)
Know where I’m heading, and I be where I be (Fresh)
They got it how they go it
But not like…
[Chorus: Yasiin Bey]
New arrivals, fresh survival
New arrivals, fresh survival
New arrivals, fresh survival
New arrivals, fresh survival
[Post-Chorus: Yasiin Bey]
D.A. in the place you're so (Fresh)
Dante in the place you’re so (Fresh)
Souleyman, in the place you know (Fresh)
Make ‘em know everywhere you go… (Fresh)
Top dial on your radio,
D.A. in the place you're so (Fresh)
Dante in the place you’re so (Fresh)
Souleyman, in the place you know (Fresh)
(Fresh)
Personnel[]
- Damon Albarn — vocals, songwriter, production
- Yasiin Bey — vocals, songwriter
- Omar Souleyman — vocals, songwriter
- James Ford — production
- Remi Kabaka Jr. — production
- Samuel Egglenton — production, engineering
- Viraj Acharya — percussion
- Stephen Sedgwick — engineering
- Marta Salogni — mixing
- Heba Kadry — mastering
- Jacob Clements — mastering assistant
Videos[]
Gallery[]
Promotional Artwork[]
Visualiser[]
Trivia[]
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach Pirate Radio Teaser
- Damascus is the only single from The Mountain that doesn't have its title written in Hindi on the single artwork.
- It is also the only visualiser from the album that doesn't contain any lyrics (not counting the title card).
- Damascus also incorporates another Plastic Beach outtake for the intro, Sunday Monday, which was featured on the Pirate Radio Plastic Beach teaser.[4]
References[]
- ↑ Brandle, Lars (12 December 2025). "Gorillaz Share 'Damascus' From Forthcoming Album 'The Mountain'". Billboard. Retrieved on 12 December 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Albarn, Damon (24 February 2023). "Damon Albarn: Studio Tour, 'Cracker Island' & Coachella". YouTube. Apple Music, located at 16:30. Retrieved on 18 September 2025.
- ↑ "50 Cent & Mos Def Drop In On Semtex". Hip Hop With Semtex. BBC Radio 1Xtra (11 December 2009). URL status: dead. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved on 18 September 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 @GorillazGuy67 (7 September 2025). "Gorillaz - Fresh Arrivals (ft. Omar Souleyman & Mos Def) (Live 2025 Copper Box Arena)". YouTube. Retrieved on 18 September 2025.
- ↑ @palarvauk (18 September 2025). "Together For Palestine Sep 25 | Damon Albarn". YouTube. Retrieved on 4 December 2025.
- ↑ u/Animalboy_ (3 December 2025). "Damascus Announcement on Spotify!? Is it coming out Friday?". Reddit. Retrieved on 4 December 2025.