Damon Albarn hopes to live on as a hologram after his death.

Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn

The 49-year-old singer is fascinated by the fact his animated band Gorillaz have recorded with a number of now-deceased stars, including Bobby Womack, Lou Reed, Ike Turner and Dennis Hopper, but they will still be able to appear with his group in digital form, and hopes his own virtual likeness will be belting out his hits in the years to come.

He said: "We could almost have a whole evening of people who aren't here any more.

"I love the idea that eventually when I am here no longer I'll be just a hologram. They'll just press that button and up I pop."

As well as Gorillaz, Damon works with a string of other acts and projects, including Blur, The Good, The Bad and the Queen, and Africa Express, and compares his diverse career to being a farmer.

He explained: "I'm like a rotational crop farmer. I wanted to be a farmer as a child.

"I don't think you should push anything unless it's fertile ground."

Damon - who is joined by the likes of Jehnny Beth, Noel Gallagher and De La Soul on the new Gorillaz album - loves collaborating with new people and seeing what happens when they get into the studio.

He said: "I love that journey of meeting someone, playing an idea, talking around it, and then starting to move towards your destination.

"You've got to put people at ease. I never say, 'You've got to do this'. Maybe that's the secret, just let people be themselves."

Though the likes of Morrissey, Dionne Warwick and Sade declined the chance to appear on the new Gorillaz record, Damon didn't get upset.

He told Q magazine: "I don't take rejection personally. The more people you put your arms around, the better it is."