DJ Koze about Damon
Koze has worked with some big names, including Damon Albarn, on Music Can Hear Us’ lead single, “Pure Love.” In 2015, Koze said, “I’m not gay at all, but a little bit I could imagine with Damon Albarn.”
“Did I really say that?” Koze says, snickering. “I don’t really know him, but as an artistic figure he is like a role model for me, how you can get old with dignity, be so open-minded, how you spend every day of your life making music, and of course, the musical genius, his expression, how he sings. For me he has a magic voice. It just hits me.”
He met Albarn at Coachella in 2022. They were in adjacent trailers, and, with Koze having remixed a Gorillaz track in 2019, Albarn introduced himself. They drank champagne and spoke about the writings of Hermann Hesse, and Albarn showed Koze that he speaks a little German. Albarn may well have aged with dignity as Koze says, but shortly afterward, Billie Eilish brought the Gorillaz frontman onstage during her headlining set and some of her fans mistook him for her dad.
DJ Koze interview x Rolling Stone, March 2025 [X]
+ Bonus, from Koze's 2015 Q&A
Rolling Stone: Who’s your favourite person to follow on Instagram? DJ Koze: I don’t have Instagram but if I did, maybe Damon Albarn. I’m not gay at all, but a little bit I could imagine with Damon Albarn. He’s a nice guy and he has a good attitude.
