"Désolé" (English: "Sorry") is a song by British

virtual band In entertainment, a virtual band (also called a virtual idol, virtual singer, virtual group, virtual artists, cartoon group, cartoon idol, cartoon singer or cartoon band) is a band or music group whose depicted members are not people, but animate ...

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

featuring

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

an singer

Fatoumata Diawara Fatoumata Diawara (, born 21 February 1982) is a Malian singer-songwriter currently living in France. Diawara began her career as an actress in theatre and in film, including ''Genesis'' (1999), '' Sia, The Dream of the Python'' (2001) and ''T ...

. 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 is part of the ''

Song Machine ''Song Machine'' is an audiovisual project by British virtual band Gorillaz. It is a music video web series consisting of a collection of music videos and singles (music), singles that are released monthly by the band as episodes of the series, ...

'' project, which is a web series involving the ongoing release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.

Music video

The video, directed by

Jamie Hewlett Jamie Christopher Hewlett (born 3 April 1968) is a British comic book artist and illustrator. He is the co-creator of the comic book ''Tank Girl'' with Alan Martin (writer), Alan Martin and the virtual band Gorillaz, alongside Blur (band), Blur ...

, Tim McCourt, and Max Taylor, was filmed at

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and mainly features band members 2-D,

Noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures and made into a variety of shapes. The most common noo ...

and

Russel Hobbs Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

with Diawara and Gorillaz co-creator

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

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 Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gu ...

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 Antidisestablishmentarianism (, ) is a position that advocates that a state church (the "established church") should continue to receive government patronage, rather than be disestablished (i.e., be separated from the state). In 19th centur ...

with a mouth full of gluten-free cronuts on a speed boat without licking your lips."

Tracklist

Personnel

Gorillaz *

– vocals, instrumentation, director, keyboards, bass, guitar, drum programming *

– artwork, character design, video direction * Remi Kabaka Jr. – percussion Additional musicians & personnel *

– vocals * Voice Messengers – backing vocals * James Ford – keyboards, percussion, balafon, drums, zither *

Davide Rossi Davide Rossi (born 7 August 1970) is an Italian violinist, string arranger, orchestrator, songwriter, composer and conductor, perhaps best known for having been the electric violinist and multi-instrumentalist for the British electronic music d ...

– 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

Notes

References

{{authority control 2019 songs 2020 singles Gorillaz songs Songs written by Damon Albarn Parlophone singles Warner Records singles Songs written by James Ford (musician) Songs written by Remi Kabaka Jr. British contemporary R&B songs Bossa nova songs Song Machine