Albarn revealed that he was making a solo album in May, telling Rolling Stone magazine that he was working with producer and XL Records label boss Richard Russell. "Richard does the rhythmic side and I do everything else," Albarn said. "It's sort of folk soul."
Quizzed further on working with Russell and the sound of his album, Albarn said: "We worked together on the Bobby Womack record, and really enjoy working together. He's done spectacularly well as a music mogul, but I think he wants to focus his energy on producing records. Making a solo record is can be such a disaster, so I thought if we're going to make a record with my name on it, I should get someone to really produce it – take that responsibility away from myself.