Both Blur and Gorillaz will record new albums – but Blur's will come first, according to Jamie Hewlett, Damon Albarn's Gorillaz co-creator. Hewlett, who is responsible for Gorillaz' artwork, confirmed both bands would be returning at a launch event in New York for Monkey: Journey to the West, the opera on which he and Albarn collaborated.

A fan at the event apparently recorded Hewlett and posted his remarks to the fansite gorillaz-news.livejournal.com. Hewlett was quoted as saying: "Damon's touring with Blur – he's doing a world tour with Blur at the moment, and then they're working on a new album, so there isn't really time for him, and I'm doing other stuff as well. So I think … we'll come back to it when the time's right."

However, Hewlett warned that in an age of declining revenues for musicians and the music industry, it's harder than ever to pull together a project such as Gorillaz.

"The music industry's changed so much since we started doing Gorillaz," he said. "There's no money in the industry so, you know, you get these amazing new bands, like the Strypes from Ireland … Aged 14, make songs and film it in their bedroom. It doesn't cost anything, and so Gorillaz is kind of expensive. It's expensive to do because it's animated."

There have already been confusing signals this year about the likelihood of a new Blur album. In May, Albarn told the crowd at a Hong Kong gig: "We have a week in Hong Kong, and we thought it would be a good time to try to record another record, so we're going to make one here in Hong Kong." However, just weeks later, producer William Orbit told NME the band had abandoned their recording sessions: "It was all over with Damon, and the rest of the band were like, 'Is this it?'" Orbit also tweeted: "Damon, brilliant and talented tho he is, is kinda a shit to the rest of Blur."