Désolé is a song by Gorillaz and the tenth track from the band's seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. The song features Fatoumata Diawara and is one of a few songs from the Song Machine co-produced by James Ford.
On the Song Machine album, it is labelled as an 'Extended Version' and runs for 5:33. It was released almost eight months after the single version, which runs for 3:56 instead, though it had already been featured on the single's music video, released as part of the Song Machine web series.
In addition to producing the track, James Ford also provided keyboards, synthesizers and zither for the song. The drums and percussion were provided by both Ford and Remi Kabaka Jr. and the horns by Sébastien Blanchon. In addition to vocals by Diawara, the song also contains backing vocals from a group called Voice Messengers. The strings were all provided by members of the Demon Strings: violins by Alice Pratley and Ciara Ismail, cello by group founder Isabelle Dunn and viola by Nicola Hicks with arrangement done by Davide Rossi.
The song was mixed by Stephen Sedgwick, mastered by John Davis and engineered by multiple different individuals, including: Adrien Libmann, Andrea Fognini, Davide Lasala, Nora Fedrigo, Sylvain Mercier, Samuel Egglenton and Sedgwick himself.
Désolé is a song by Gorillaz released as Episode Two from the 2020 web series Song Machine. The song features Fatoumata Diawara and is one of a few songs from the Song Machine co-produced by James Ford.
The extended version of the song was released eight months later as the tenth track from the band's seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, though it had already been featured on the single's music video.
In addition to producing the track, James Ford also provided keyboards, synthesizers and zither for the song. The drums and percussion were provided by both Ford and Remi Kabaka Jr. and the horn by Sébastien Blanchon. In addition to vocals by Diawara, the song also contains backing vocals from a group called Voice Messengers. The strings were all provided by members of the Demon Strings: violins by Alice Pratley and Ciara Ismail, cello by group founder Isabelle Dunn and viola by Nicola Hicks with arrangement done by Davide Rossi.
The song was mixed by Stephen Sedgwick, mastered by John Davis and engineered by multiple different individuals, including: Adrien Libmann, Andrea Fognini, Davide Lasala, Nora Fedrigo, Sylvain Mercier, Samuel Egglenton and Sedgwick
Track Listing[]
| Song Machine Episode 2 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | 'Machine Bitez #4' | 0:35 | ||||||||
| 2. | 'Désolé' (feat. Fatoumata Diawara) | 3:56 | ||||||||
| 3. | 'Machine Bitez #5' | 0:45 | ||||||||
Total length: |
5:17 | |||||||||
Background[]
| “ | The word Désolé to us means humble. It is a really important word as sometimes, one can hurt someone without even knowing – so it is important to be kind. I really love this song! | „ |
| ~ Fatoumata Diawara, In Conversation: Gorillaz’ Noodle Interviews Fatoumata Diawara[1] |
Désolé was recorded sometime in 2019 and was sung in a combination of English, French and Bambara.[2]
On 6 December 2019, Jamie Hewlett posted a cropped screenshot of his computer monitor displaying Murdoc with his tongue out, captioned "Animatey".[3] Later, on 7 December, Jamie posted a cropped screenshot of Noodle playing her guitar with a monster glove simply captioned "Monster mitt".[4] These screenshots were the earliest teasers for Désolé.
Version Differences[]
The album, single, music video and lyric video versions of Désolé are all slightly different from eachother in terms of length and pronounciation of the word "contraband":
- The album version runs for the full length of 5:33 and pronounces "contraband" as "kɒntrəbænd" (the English pronunciation);
- The music video version runs for the full length and pronounces "contraband" as "kõtɾabɑ̃n" (the French pronunciation);
- The lyric video version runs for the edited length of 3:56 and pronounces "contraband" as "kɒntrəbænd";
- The single version runs for the edited length and pronounces "contraband" as "kõtɾabɑ̃n".
The reason for these changes between versions is currently unknown.
Music Video[]
- Main Article: Désolé/Music Video
The music video for Désolé premiered on the Gorillaz YouTube channel on 27 February 2020 at 11:00AM EST as part of Episode Two[5] of Song Machine. It was directed by Jamie Hewlett, Tim McCourt and Max Taylor and produced by The Line.
The music video accompanies 2-D, Damon Albarn and Fatoumata Diawara boating together on Lake Como in Italy and seeing various strange figures, with Noodle and Russel playing their respective instruments at the dock. Murdoc, on the other hand, was left alone at Kong Studios.
Lyric Video[]
The lyric video for Désolé would be uploaded a few months after the music video, on 4 September 2020, and clarified the lyrics of the songs for listeners not familiar with French or Bambara. Like most other Song Machine lyric videos, it features the heads of the four virtual band members plus Fatoumata's bouncing around a purple background within multiple circles. For the horns part, multiple copies of the head from the Song Machine cover art appear instead, alongside their megaphones, and are all painted yellow instead of grey.
Lyrics[]
[Intro: Fatoumata Diawara]
Eh
Eh, ah
[Verse 1: 2-D & Fatoumata Diawara]
Désolé, désolé contraband
Désolé, I'm a long way from land
Désolé, I don't know what to do
Désolé, désolé, I'm tryin' to hold on to you
[Chorus: 2-D, Fatoumata Diawara & Both]
Désolé, désolé, ko teriya mana diya
Désolé, a kana ma lamè
Désolé, désolé, désolé
Désolé, désolé, a kana ma lamè
[Verse 2: 2-D & Fatoumata Diawara]
Désolé, désolé compliqué
Désolé, I don't know what to say anymore
Désolé, while everyone on the move
Désolé, désolé, I'm trying to hold on to you
[Chorus: 2-D, Fatoumata Diawara & Both]
Désolé, désolé, ko teriya mana diya
Désolé, a kana ma lamè
Désolé, désolé, désolé
Désolé, désolé, a kana ma lamé
Désolé
Désolé
[Verse 3: 2-D & Fatoumata Diawara]
Désolé, désolé contraband
Désolé, c'est une longue file d'attente
Désolé, tous mes fantômes sont bleus
Désolé, désolé, I'm trying to hold on to you
[Bridge: 2-D, Fatoumata Diawara & Both]
Désolé, désolé, désolé, ah ahan
Désolé, o diyalen, o diyalen, ah ahan
Désolé, désolé, désolé, ahaan
Désolé, désolé, ah, yeah, yeah
[Outro: 2-D & Fatoumata Diawara]
Désolé, désolé
Désolé, désolé
[Intro: Fatoumata Diawara]
Eh
Eh, ah
[Verse 1: 2-D & Fatoumata Diawara]
Désolé, désolé contraband
Désolé, I'm a long way from land
Désolé, I don't know what to do
Désolé, désolé, I'm tryin' to hold on to you
[Chorus: 2-D, Fatoumata Diawara & Both]
Désolé, désolé, ko teriya mana diya
Désolé, a kana ma lamè
Désolé, désolé, désolé
Désolé, désolé, a kana ma lamè
[Verse 2: 2-D & Fatoumata Diawara]
Désolé, désolé compliqué
Désolé, I don't know what to say anymore
Désolé, while everyone on the move
Désolé, désolé, I'm trying to hold on to you
[Chorus: 2-D, Fatoumata Diawara & Both]
Désolé, désolé, ko teriya mana diya
Désolé, a kana ma lamè
Désolé, désolé, désolé
Désolé, désolé, a kana ma lamé
Désolé
Désolé
[Verse 3: 2-D & Fatoumata Diawara]
Désolé, désolé contraband
Désolé, c'est une longue file d'attente
Désolé, tous mes fantômes sont bleus
Désolé, désolé, I'm trying to hold on to you
[Bridge: 2-D, Fatoumata Diawara & Both]
Désolé, désolé, désolé, ah ahan
Désolé, o diyalen, o diyalen, ah ahan
Désolé, désolé, désolé, ahaan
Désolé, désolé, ah, yeah, yeah
Availability[]
Album Extended Version[]
- Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (all versions).
- Song Machine Cassette Tapes (Noodle, 2-D and Murdoc's mixes).
Single Version[]
- Song Machine Episode Two (Désolé single).
Music Video Version[]
- Désolé official music video.
Lyric Video Version[]
- Désolé official lyric video.
Videos[]
Gallery[]
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| The full image gallery for Désolé may be viewed at Désolé/Gallery. |
Trivia[]
- The French word "Désolé" means "Sorry".
- Though this song was Fatoumata's first time collaborating with Gorillaz, she had previously worked with Damon Albarn as part of Africa Express and was featured on four songs by Rocket Juice And The Moon, a group consisting of Albarn, Tony Allen and Flea, those being Lolo, Follow-Fashion, Benko and Fatala.
References[]
- ↑ Noodle. "In Conversation: Gorillaz' Noodle Interviews Fatoumata Diawara". ClashMusic.com. Retrieved 27 February 2020 12:01:55 (UTC).
- ↑ Noodle. "In Conversation: Gorillaz' Noodle Interviews Fatoumata Diawara". ClashMusic.com. Retrieved 27 February 2020 12:01:55 (UTC).
- ↑ @hewll. "Animatey". Instagram.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ↑ @hewll. "Monster mitt". Instagram.com. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ↑ Gorillaz. "Gorillaz - Désolé ft. Fatoumata Diawara (Episode Two)". YouTube.com. Retrieved 27 February 2020 11:00:00 (UTC).