Gorillaz – "Desolé" (Feat. Fatoumata Diawara)

After spending a good chunk the ’10s focusing on projects besides Gorillaz, Damon Albarn revived his virtual band in 2017 with Humanz. He hasn’t slowed down much since. Another Gorillaz album, The Now Now, quickly followed the next year, and recently the band has been embarking on something called Song Machine. After briefly teasing the new endeavor, it became clear that Song Machine would more or less function true to its title — periodically spitting out a new “episode,” or single, supposedly as/when they happen.

So far, we’ve heard “Momentary Bliss,” which featured Slowthai and Slaves. And now Gorillaz have returned with its successor. It’s not the Tame Impala collab we thought might be coming, but it’s a very pretty earworm called “Désolé” featuring the Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara.

“Désolé” is an airy track, buoyed by cool synths and a nimble beat, accentuated by little currents strings. Albarn and Diawara trade f throughout, and the song is sung in three languages altogether — English, French, and Bambara. It comes with a video that follows the next chapter in the story the band, featuring a couple the members hanging out at Lake Como. Check it out below.

“Désolé” is out now.