As we roll into Fall 2025, superstar producer, musician and singer Narada Michael Walden turns up the warm vibes with his brilliant, tropical-flavored new single, “Coconut Wire” Featuring Santana, which spotlights the magical guitar playing of special guest Carlos Santana.
Stream / Share / Purchase "Coconut Wire" Ft. Santana HERE
“Coconut Wire” Ft. Santana is available as a digital single today, Oct. 10., and will be featured on vinyl editions of Walden’s recently released album, Still Yours For the Summer.
For Walden, the idea for “Coconut Wire” began several years ago when he was in Hawaii with Santana to write songs for the guitar legend’s album Blessings and Miracles. “Being in Hawaii naturally put me in the mood to do something with an island feel plus a bit of reggae,” he explains. “Of course, if you call people on the phone, you’re using the ‘coconut wire,’ as they like to call it. That title stuck in my head.”
The song wasn’t completed in time for Santana’s album, but Walden remembered it as he finished recording Still Yours For the Summer. “It fit the vibe of the record,” he says. “I ended up rewriting it a couple of times with my wife, Katie, and I made it even more Hawaiian.”
The song wraps itself around listeners like a gentle yet intoxicating breeze. Justus Dobrin’s lush acoustic guitar merges with Santana’s arresting, hook-filled melody line, and Walden sings, “On the sunset beaches/ palm trees in the sunrise/ waterfalls greet you” before a heavenly team of background vocalists – Cornell “CC” Carter, Kelly Covington, Katie Walden and Kristie Isaacson – join in with “aloha in your eyes.”
Santana’s majestic guitar playing is peppered throughout the track, and there are not one, but two high-flying solos – mid-song and outro. It’s a sound and style so uniquely Carlos Santana – joyous, stinging, sensuous and spiritual. As Walden notes, the guitar icon laid down several takes of each solo, which resulted in an embarrassment of riches.
“I call it “choosing is confusing,” he says with a laugh. “Each solo is so beautiful and magnificent in its own way, so in the end you just go with the idea ‘Which one will still sound great in 100 years?’”
Walden also sings the praises of Santana’s guitar tech, Tim Mech, who added touches of slide guitar underneath some passages. “It really fit the island spirit, and Carlos just loved it,” he says.
The veteran hitmaker treasures his friendship and working relationship with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. “I first heard Carlos Santana back in college,” he says. “The Black kids were in their dorms, smoking a little grass and listening to Santana’s first album. The music was so raw and blazing, and I realized that those kids had a new hero.
“Then I went to see the Woodstock movie, and there on the big screen was Carlos making history,” he continues. “His music and playing had a profound impact on me. Fast-forward a few years and my mentor John McLaughlin introduced me to Carlos. He was so friendly and beautiful, and I’m freaking out inside. He put me at ease, because that’s Carlos. So it’s amazing all these years later to be in the studio with him. I’m still like, ‘How does this happen?’”
For his part, Santana echoes the sentiment: “Playing with my Brother, Narada Michael Walden on ‘Coconut Wire’ was pure aloha,” he says. “He brings a positive vibration that feels like the sun on your skin. We tapped into the island heartbeat, rhythmic, and flowing like waves to the beach. This music connects your soul to the spirit of the islands and reminds us that every moment can be paradise.”
Catch an exclusive interview featuring Carlos Santana on Walden’s All In Podcast HERE.
Stream / Share / Purchase Walden's new album, Still Yours For the Summer HERE
