Watch Blur’s 30-Minute ‘The Magic Whip’ Documentary

Last week, Blur dropped The Magic Whip, their first album in 12 years. The band has now shared The Magic Whip: Made in Hong Kong, a 30-minute documentary detailing the making of their eighth full-length.

The mini-documentary captures interviews with each member of the English four-piece -- frontman Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree -- along with footage of the band in the studio and their trip to Hong Kong as well as Albarn’s visit to North Korea.

After a festival cancelation, the band began recording in Hong Kong, which proved to be very fruitful for the recently reunited outfit.

“We just went in there and played our hearts out, and I think if you listen to the music, there’s a sense of urgency about it,” James says in the documentary. “We got so much done in so little time [which] speaks to the fact it wasn’t a getting-to-know-me, getting-to-know-you session. It was straight into the deep-end.”

However, after the sessions, the music went largely untouched before Coxon revisited it some time later.

“I wanted to have a look at it; I really wanted to see because if it is there, I’d regret it for the rest of my life,” Coxon recounts. “I felt this weird duty. I’ve messed up with Blur quite a lot in the past. I thought maybe if I have a look at this stuff and something comes of it, it would sort of readjust balance for past shame.”

You can watch the complete film in the video above.