Damon Albarn took his daughter on a family holiday to North Korea
Damon Albarn has revealed that he once took his daughter on a family holiday to North Korea.
During the latest episode of the Adam Buxton Podcast, the topic of conversation turned to parenting, with Albarn’s Gorillaz collaborator Jamie Hewlett admitting “he might be a bit guilty” of making it “too easy” for his children.
On the other hand, Albarn said, “I probably am a bit guilty of that in some ways, but I’ve also been very hard on my daughter in far as kind of culture and education.”
He then clarified that it wasn’t in terms of what music she chose to consume, but instead by ensuring she saw different parts of the world that opened her eyes up to less luxurious existences, adding, “Family holidays in North Korea, that kind of thing.”
When asked by Buxton if he genuinely went to North Korea on a family holiday, Albarn sincerely replied, “With my daughter, yeah. I did, really.”
Albarn added of these experiences, “Maybe my daughter is a bit more politically aware of a lot of people of her generation, I know that for a fact because she’s always telling me how she frustrated she is that nobody seems to care what’s happening.”
The Blur frontman did previously open up about his experience in North Korea during a 2015 interview with GQ, reflecting, “It is a fascinating place.”
He continued, “Honestly, although you’re acutely aware you’re only being given one image when you’re out there and there are multiple stories in every street that you’re not allowed to see, I felt that the people that I interacted with were really nice genuine human beings. Apart from the bullshit.
Albarn also shared that he surprisingly heard ‘Song 2’ by Blur in a karaoke bar while on his travels in North Korea.
The track, ‘Pyongyang’, which appeared on Blur’s 2015 album, The Magic Whip, was inspired by his visit to the North Korean capital.
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