"Désolé" (English: "Sorry") is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara. The track was released on 27 February 2020 as the second single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. The song was part of the Song Machine project, a web series which involved the release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
Music video
The video, directed by Jamie Hewlett, Tim McCourt, and Max Taylor, was filmed at Lake Como in Italy and mainly features band members 2-D, Noodle and Russel Hobbs boating with Diawara and Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn after having been transported to the lake via a portal inside Kong Studios, the band's fictional headquarters. Throughout the video, virtual bassist Murdoc Niccals can be seen inside Kong Studios, attempting and failing to cross the portal.
Release In a press release, fictional band member Russel said of the song's recording: "Making 'Désolé' with Fatou was a real moment for me, you know. She's an African Queen. This lady made the song what it is, beautiful, like life. What can I say about 'Désolé'? They say sorry is the hardest word, but that's not true... Try saying antidisestablishmentarianism with a mouth full of gluten-free cronuts on a speed boat without licking your lips."
Track listing
Personnel Gorillaz Damon Albarn – vocals, instrumentation, director, keyboards, bass, guitar, drum programming Jamie Hewlett – artwork, character design, video direction Remi Kabaka Jr. – percussion
Additional musicians & personnel Fatoumata Diawara – vocals Voice Messengers – backing vocals James Ford – keyboards, percussion, balafon, drums, zither Davide Rossi – strings, string arranger Alice Pratley – violin Ciara Ismail – violin Izzi Dunn – cello Nicola Hicks – viola Sébastien Blanchon – horn Adrien Libmann – engineering Andrea Fognini – engineering Davide Lasala – engineering John Davis – mastering engineer Nora Fedrigo – engineering Samuel Egglenton – engineering Stephen Sedgwick – mixing engineer, engineering Sylvain Mercier – engineering
Charts Chart (2020) Peakposition
Notes
References