Sorry folks, but that Tame Impala x Gorillaz collab is probably not happening

Every now and again there's a big news story that sends international music press into a frenzy, and it seems that the latest thing to do so is a promising collaboration between Gorillaz and Tame Impala, teased on a Gorillaz member's socials overnight. As expected, the post went off. Uploaded by one of Gorillaz' 'members', Noodle, the cover art depicted Gorillaz driving through the cover art of Tame Impala's sensational Currents record in their signature imitation jeep, potentially teasing a new collaboration much like how they teased their returning track with slowthai just the other week.

As predicted, this quickly swept the indie world into a full storm. Gorillaz are one of music's best collaborators, and having relaunched their careers last week via the aforementioned slowthai collaboration (which also features UK punk band Slaves), a potential collaboration with Perth's own Tame Impala makes sense, right? Through in the fact that the official Gorillaz Instagram account commented on it too, and you have everything you need to form the perfect, click-y headline - and that's what international music media did (can't blame 'em, honestly).

However, much like that time Rage Against The Machine were supposedly playing Splendour In The Grass, we're going to be the bearer of bad news here. As it turns out, the meme was created by the admin on Facebook page 'Memes by Chris', who has developed somewhat of a cult following expertly photoshopping music cover arts and creating memes that have carved him an audience some 11 thousand-people strong.

As you can see, ol' mate trickster Chris initially photoshopped the Gorillaz Geep over the cover art for Tame Impala's forthcoming record The Slow Rush, and then a few days later, the cover art that whipped the internet into a frenzy - Gorillaz driving through the wavy artwork for Currents, a.k.a. the one grabbed and posted online by Noodle.

Following the very immediate explosion of followers and engagement, Memes by Chris posted an update on socials yesterday, explaining the situation.

"I'm sure a lot of you have heard about it already, but if you haven't, one of the members of Gorillaz posted one of my creations to their official Instagram account. It has gathered a lot of attention in the past 24 hours and I know it will continue to do so for a minute. I would like to address some things about it to all of you:

1. Yes, I am incredibly happy and excited about it.
2. It still feels unreal to me.
3. Yes, I did make this and posted it here on January 23rd, 2020. About a full week or so before they posted it.
4. No, I did not specifically make this for Gorillaz.
5. No, Gorillaz didn't reach out to me, nor have they reached out to me yet.
6. No, I don't have any insider knowledge in regards to whether or not a collaboration between Tame Impala and Gorillaz is taking place.
7. I do not want nor do I expect any great fame or fortune from this. More than anything else, I just hope that someone official from Gorillaz or their social media crew reaches out to me and acknowledges the job I put into making this since it has now gathered a lot of attention in the realm of music news at this time.
8. Yes, I do have an Instagram account in which you can follow me. IG: christopherbabal."

There ya have it. A Gorillaz x Tame Impala track may definitely be in the pipeline, but you should take Noodle's latest upload with a grain of salt - it was a fan-made edit that quickly became the curious case of indie's most popular collaboration of 2020. Now, let's hope that after seeing the reaction to his collaboration, they actually make it happen - it's what we crave.

Give the ol' trickster a follow on Instagram though, because when one of the world's biggest bands posts your image on socials without any credit, it's tough to gain an audience: INSTAGRAM.