D minor · Camelot 7A · 128 BPM
Somebody That I Used to Know
by Gotye
- 128
- BPM
- D minor
- Key
- 7A
- Camelot
- 86
- Danceability
- 57
- Acousticness
Gotye began writing "Somebody That I Used to Know" with a sample of Brazilian jazz guitarist Luiz Bonfá's 1967 instrumental "Seville", then found the drums before working on the lyric and melody. He described the process as gradual and linear, writing the first verse, the second verse, and the first chorus before hitting a wall. For the first time ever, he felt there was no interesting way to add to the male character's story, and even considered finishing the song after the first chorus. The third session was devoted to writing a female part and shifting the perspective, which solved the problem.
The song was recorded between January and May 2011 at Gotye's parents' house on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. Finding a suitable female vocalist proved difficult after a high-profile singer cancelled the collaboration at the last minute. He tested his girlfriend, Tash Parker, but their happiness meant it did not work out, so he followed the recommendation of engineer François Tétaz and used Kimbra instead. Released in July 2011 as the second single from Making Mirrors, the song went on to top charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, and sold more than 13 million copies by September 2012. At the 55th Grammy Awards it won Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Somebody That I Used to Know runs at 128 BPM, the tempo of house, disco and most club dance music. In classical terms it sits in allegro territory. A bar of 4/4 lasts 1.88 seconds, and a quarter-note delay is 469 ms. It is in D minor, Camelot 7A, which shares its notes with F major and mixes cleanly with G minor and A minor.
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