Demon Strings are an orchestral string section and the in-house string section for musician Damon Albarn.

Role in Gorillaz

Before the band was officially formed, its members appeared on Demon Days. They later performed at Demon Days Live shows, where they were credited simply as the Demon Days Strings.^[1] Following their appearance on the reworked version of the track Hong Kong from the compilation album D-Sides, they began to be credited as the Demon Strings. In 2010, the group joined Gorillaz on their Escape to Plastic Beach world tour, performing at every show.^[2] They also joined the band for the Birmingham and London dates of the Humanz Tour in December 2017.^[3] Some of its members, including bandleader Isabelle Dunn, later collaborated with Gorillaz again on the single Désolé (from Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez) and the track Meanwhile (from the Meanwhile EP).

In September 2025, they reunited with the band for a series of concerts at the Copper Box Arena in London. At each show, Gorillaz performed their first three albums and their upcoming ninth studio album, The Mountain, in full. The string section performed with the band at all of the shows except for the performance of the Gorillaz album. The following month, Demon Strings were featured on The Manifesto, the second single from The Mountain. They also perform on the single The Hardest Thing.

Musical Career

Formed in 2005 by British cellist Isabelle Dunn and her manager, Tee Bowry, Demon Strings began as an in-house string section for Damon Albarn. They performed on several of his projects, including Gorillaz, Monkey: Journey To The West, The Good, The Bad & The Queen and his solo work. The group later expanded to collaborate with various other artists, including Mark Ronson^W, Bobby Womack, Ibeyi^W, Jamie T and Paul Weller^W.

Members

• Isabelle Dunn – cello
• Sally Jackson – violin
• Stella Page – viola
• Amanda Drummond – viola
• Al Mobbs – double bass
• Emma Smith – double bass
• Prabjote Osahn – violin
• Dan Keane - cello
• Nina Kapinsky - viola
• Antonia Pagulatos - violin
• Oli Langford - violin
• Kotono Sato - violin

Discography

• Gorillaz — Demon Days (2005)
• Gorillaz — Sarm Studios Session (Live Tracks) (2005)
• Gorillaz — Demon Days Live at the Manchester Opera House (2006)
• The Good, the Bad & the Queen — The Good, the Bad & the Queen (2007)
• Gorillaz — D-Sides (2007)
• Monkey — Journey to the West (2008)
• Bobby Womack — The Bravest Man In The Universe^W (2012)
• Damon Albarn — Everyday Robots^W (2014)
• Damon Albarn and The Heavy Seas — Live At The De De De Der (2014)
• Ibeyi — Ibeyi^W (2015)
• Blur — The Magic Whip (2015)
• Jamie T — Trick^W (2016)
• The Good, The Bad & The Queen — Merrie Land^W (2017)
• Paul Weller — On Sunset (2020)
• Gorillaz — Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (2020)
• Gorillaz — Meanwhile EP (2021)
• Blur — The Ballad of Darren (2023)
• Gorillaz — Demon Days Live from the Apollo Theater (rec. 2006, rel. 2025)
• Gorillaz — The Mountain (2026)

Trivia

• Prior to the band's formation, some of its members had already played together on some records, such as Roots Manuva's Run Come Save Me^W (2001) and Melanie C^W's Reason^W (2003).

References

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