It never fails to amaze me how swiftly a moment of fortune can so easily become a noose round the neck. Especially in the oh so fickle world of the music biz. In the case of Bonobo the moment, or perhaps the year, of fortune came when he released his debut album 'Animal Magic', at the precise time that 'chill' was the buzz word on everyone's lips. Never mind the fact that, even on the evidence of those first efforts, he was a truly gifted producer, you can't beat the power of the buzz. As is the way of these things, the buzz became the murmur, and soon became the background hum, as endless chillout comps, ads, and media campaigns swamped the shore of our consciousness.
A young Simon Green (for it is he who is the monkey king) refused to be dragged down by the lazy journalistic prose that labeled him 'chillout' and 'downtempo'. Far from it. He upped the stakes, and indeed, even stuck his neck out, moving from his original label Tru Thoughts to Ninja Tune, and set about taking things to the next level.
Cos it's all about the levels with Bonobo. Not in a techy, studio kinda way, but in the levels of involvement with his music. On the surface there are the organic, pastoral atmospheres, the catchy melodies, the elements that caught people from his first album. You can engage with a Bonobo tune in that way if you wish, and will be well rewarded for it. But it's the deeper, slightly hidden levels that you should investigate, for they bring the greatest prize. It's these elements that he explored on 'Dial M For Monkey', as a greater focus on live instruments, the intricacies of rhythm, the darker shades of the soul, and almost a sleight of hand, that meant that you could be in one mood one minute, and the next you would somewhere different.
'Dial M For Monkey' showed the set of brass balls that Bonobo (like his namesake) had, and these would be tested again as he set about building his live band. He duly found the right musicians, self financing rehearsals, and fine tuning a live show that brought out the elements of his music that had hitherto gone largely unnoticed, as the band swung and rocked their way through shows at Glastonbury, The Big Chill, Jazz Cafe, and internationally exotic settings from Italy to Russia.
He set about building his DJ style in the same way, refusing to conform to the preconceived ideas of a laid back style, and aiming headlong for the dancefloor, with a heavy mixture of hip hop, weighty jazz, broken beats, Latin, funk, and soul, with the occasional cheeky bit of psyche rock and drum and bass thrown in. Just to keep you on yer toes right? Now a DJ of international repute, Bonobo has played all over the world, including playing to huge audiences in the USA and Canada with Amon Tobin, a progress culminating in Ninja Tune asking him to put together a Solid Steel mix album. Bugger the lounge, lets dance.
Now, with the expectations duly dispatched with the good hiding they deserve, the field is wide open for Bonobo to push himself even further, and we await the next album, due late 2005 / early 2006, with our minds well and truly opened to the possibilities.
"Lots of live shit", says Bonobo."Strings, horns, drums and vocals. More energy and a bigger, heavier sound".
(from the label’s site)
There is more than one artist with this name: a British producer/musician/DJ and a Dutch electronic project.
1) Bonobo is Simon Green, British producer, composer, musician and DJ, responsible for the notable tracks Flutter and Pick Up.
With the experimental warmth of ‘60s french films and the pizzicato flavor of breakbeats, Bonobo established a niche of post-party chill-out. Green debuted in 1999 fromBrighton at 18 years old with a track on Tru Thoughts Recordings’ When Shapes Join Together compilation. Though tempted by offers from Mute and XL after the official issue of “The Scuba EP” and the “Terrapin” single, Green stuck with Tru Thoughts for the acclaimed debut LP Animal Magic. This completely self-produced and mainly self-instrumented album was highlighted by downtempo dub, funk, and an equally likable use of sitars. Animal Magic was an obvious success and plans were quickly made for careful European support appearances, as well as a follow-up album onColdcut’s Ninja Tune label in 2001, called Dial “M” for Monkey. A tour to support the record followed and was documented on the 2005 EP Live Sessions.
Also in 2005, Bonobo contributed to the Solid Steel series, with his Bonobo Presents Solid Steel: It Came From The Sea. The release date was scheduled for 10 October, 2005 but was released a week early. The mix features several exclusive tracks as well as remixes and re-edits.
His album, entitled Days to Come was released on October 2nd 2006. The first single from the album, Nightlite, featuring vocals by Bajka, was released on August 14th.
Days to Come was voted Best Album of 2006 by Gilles Peterson’s listeners.
His most recent album, Black Sands was released in March of 2010. It features the single. Eyesdown, featuring the vocalist Andreya Triana.
(from LastFM)
