The three-day Park Live Almaty festival continues at Pervomayskie Prudy near Almaty. The headlining band Gorillaz performed there the day before. However, Kazakhstani netizens were discussing not only the concert but also the image of the band's frontman and founder, Damon Albarn. A correspondent from Kursiv LifeStyle attended the performance and figured out what exactly was on the musician's clothes... reports the website infohub.kz.
Albarn took the stage with other Gorillaz members in clothing reminiscent of military uniform. The musician wore a pilotka on his head, and under his jacket was a T-shirt with an inscription in Cyrillic.
Due to lighting and stage effects, many initially thought that Albarn's pilotka had a patch with the Russian flag. The inscription on the T-shirt was also difficult to read. Therefore, assumptions appeared on social media that the musician thus decided to make a controversial political statement.
But in fact, the pilotka featured the flag of Bulgaria — white, green, and red. The vocalist wore a vintage Cold War-era soldier's pilotka, which fans had given him at a concert in Plovdiv. Due to the lighting, the colors of the patch indeed initially resembled the Russian tricolor.
The inscription on the T-shirt also had nothing to do with Russia. It was in Serbian: "Studenti pobedjuju," which translates as "Students win." This is the slogan of Serbian student protests and anti-government actions.
Albarn himself spoke about wars in the world and made anti-war statements several times during the concert. The musician also linked Gorillaz's creativity to protest against military conflicts, including in Ukraine and Palestine.
Pacifist themes have long been present in the band's visual style. Camouflage, peace symbols, and other elements with pacifist references have appeared in the musicians' images and Gorillaz's design long before the performance in Kazakhstan.
Therefore, Albarn's unusual image at the concert turned out to be more of a reference to anti-war and protest aesthetics than a statement in support of Russia.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle wrote that a new mural dedicated to the British virtual band Gorillaz appeared in Almaty. The work adorned the facade of the Tau Samal residential complex.