Being a virtual band was always part of the sales pitch of Gorillaz, the pairing of the Blur musician Damon Albarn and the illustrator Jamie Hewlett, which has been releasing hip-hop-influenced concept albums since 2001.

And yet with “Humanz,” the fifth Gorillaz album and the first since 2010, Mr. Albarn found himself at the center of a decidedly real-world conundrum. To unify the album and its many collaborators, he tried to imagine an apocalyptic event — the election of Donald J. Trump — and the possible reactions to it. Then he convened some of the most vibrant talent in hip-hop, R&B, house, reggae and more: the pointed rappers Pusha T and Vince Staples, the nimble singer Peven Everett, the dancehall tear-jerker Popcaan, the early house music innovator Jamie Principle, the soul legend Mavis Staples and many more.

Mr. Albarn’s post-Britpop life has taken him in myriad directions all over the world. Last year, in a ceremony in Mali, he was given a griot name. “A mad experience,” he said last month in a conversation at the Greenwich Hotel. “It’s like, how is this happening to me? But through all my experiences, I just don’t think about it anymore. I just get on with it.” Not overthinking has become a hallmark. Otherwise, he wondered, “would I have ever been so brazen in some of the decisions I’ve made in the past?”

These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Every post-Blur project of yours involves some sort of cross-cultural conversation. Why is that?