"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.
Contents
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."
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