"Arabesque" is a song by British rock band

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

from their eighth studio album '' Everyday Life''. It was released on 24 October 2019, along with the single "

Orphans An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

", and appears on the first side of the album ''Sunrise''. It features vocals by Belgian singer

Stromae Paul van Haver (; born 12 March 1985), better known by his stage name Stromae (), is a Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter and producer. He is mostly known for his music blending hip hop and electronic music. Stromae came to wide public attenti ...

and horn sections by

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's ri ...

and his band. The song was written by all band members,

Karnivool Karnivool is an Australian progressive rock band formed in Perth in 1997. The group currently consists of Ian Kenny on vocals, Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking on guitar, Jon Stockman on bass, and Steve Judd on drums. Karnivool emerged from a band ...

guitarist Drew Goddard, Femi Kuti and Stromae, while production was handled by The Dream Team. It is the second release by the band to feature

profanity Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...

("same fucking blood" appears in the final verses of the song), with the first being the remix of "

Lost! "Lost!" is a song by the British rock band Coldplay. It was co-produced with Brian Eno and Markus Dravs for the band's fourth album, ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends''. The song was released on 10 November 2008 as the third offici ...

" featuring Jay-Z, although this marks the first instance of Chris Martin swearing.

Background and promotion

On 24 October 2019, the band announced the release (on the same day) of the songs "Arabesque" and "Orphans" as a dual release and as the first singles off ''Everyday Life''. In anticipation of the new era, the band set up a countdown leading up to the release a few hours in advance. Arabesque was performed live on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

as part of the Annie Mac Show on 27 November 2019.

Critical reception

"Arabesque" received critical acclaim. Dan Stubbs of

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

stated that the song "finds Coldplay in less familiar territory than 'Orphans', in that it has French vocals and a sax freakout that shifts the song into a modern jazz piece that couldn’t be more in tune with the nu-jazz zeitgeist if it tried." Writing for ''Under the Radar'', Christopher Roberts named "Arabesque" the best song of the week, stating that it is "one of the most interesting songs the band has released in years". Christian Eede of ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' wrote that "Coldplay are digging up their roots and toying with the base-level fabric of their sound with an attacking, seductive piece that storms trumpet-first", and named "Arabesque" one of the best tracks of October 2019. ''Muzikalia'' placed it on their unranked "Best Songs of 2019" list.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the "Orphans / Arabesque" liner notes. Coldplay *

Guy Berryman Guy Rupert Berryman (born 12 April 1978) is a Scottish musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the bassist of the rock band Coldplay and electronic supergroup Apparatjik. Raised in Kirkcaldy, he began to play bass from an early age ...

– bass guitar, hand clap, writer *

Will Champion William Champion (born 31 July 1978) is an English musician and songwriter best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Southampton, he learned various instruments during his childhood, being influenced b ...

– drums, keyboards, percussion, vocals, writer *

Jonny Buckland Jonathan Mark Buckland (born 11 September 1977) is an English-born Welsh musician and songwriter best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Pantymwyn, he began to play guitar from an early age, being ...

– guitar, writer *

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Uni ...

– guitar, hand clap, vocals, writer Additional musicians * Omorinmade Anikulapo-Kuti – alto saxophone * Babatunde Ankra – trombone * Drew Goddard – guitar, writer * Daniel Green – keyboards *

Samir Joubran Samir (variantly spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In Arabic, Samir () means holy, jovial, loyal or charming. In Albanian, it translates literally as “so good” but the connotation is clo ...

– guitar *

Wissam Joubran Hatem Joubran ( ar, وسام جبران) (born February 19, 1983) is a Palestinian composer, oud (an Arabic lute) virtuoso, and master lute maker. He is a member of the group Le Trio Joubran. Biography Joubran was born in Nazareth, Israel. ...

– guitar * Adnan Joubran – guitar *

– horn, writer *

Made Kuti Omorinmade Kuti (born 26 September 1995) known professionally as Made Kuti, is a Nigerian afrobeat singer, songwriter and instrumentalist. He released his debut album titled '' For(e)ward'' in 2021. Early life Made Kuti was born to Femi and Fun ...

– orchestrionics * Ayoola Magbagbeola –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

* Gbenga Ogundeji – trumpet * Bill Rahko – keyboards *

Davide Rossi Davide Rossi (born 7 August 1970) is an Italian violinist, string arranger, composer, conductor and a record producer, perhaps best known for having been the violinist, guitar and keytar-player for the British electronic music duo Goldfrapp f ...

– strings * Rik Simpson – keyboards *

– vocals, writer Production * Chris Allgood – assistant mastering * Lionel Capouillez – additional engineer * Michael Freeman – mixing * Daniel Green – producer, programmer * Adnan Joubran – additional engineer *

Emily Lazar Emily B. Lazar is an American mastering engineer. She is the founder, president, and chief mastering engineer of The Lodge, an audio mastering facility that has operated in New York City's Greenwich Village since 1997. She won a Grammy Award for ...

– mastering * Bill Rahko – producer, programmer * Lance Robinson – additional engineer * Davide Rossi – additional engineer * Jacques Du Plessis - additional engineer * Gavin Flax - additional engineer * Rik Simpson – producer, programmer *

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed She ...

– mixing * Matt Wolach – assistant mixing

Charts

Release history

References

2019 singles 2019 songs Coldplay songs Parlophone singles Songs written by Chris Martin Songs written by Guy Berryman Songs written by Jonny Buckland Songs written by Will Champion Experimental rock songs Jazz fusion songs {{2019-single-stub