BBC Review
Bonobo has blossomed into something beautiful at his own pace.
Paul Clarke 2010-03-24
There was little in Bonobo’s first two albums – 2000’s Animal Magic and 2003’s Dial ‘M’ For Monkey – to suggest that Simon Green could ever craft anything as grand, expansive and accomplished as Black Sands.
Back then his moniker could almost have referred to his tendency to merely ape other trip hop producers without adding anything substantially individual himself. 2006’s Days to Come might have scooped Gilles Peterson’s Radio 1 listener’s prize for Album of the Year, but even then few would have predicted that four years later Green would have become a one-man Cinematic Orchestra, responsible for an album that can stand alongside Every Day or Ma Fleur as a classic of its genre.
For it’s not just a record label that Bonobo shares with Cinematic Orchestra these days. Like Jason Swinscoe, Green has progressed from predominantly sample-based production to more live instrumentation, although Green plays most instruments himself rather than relying on an extended family of musicians. But, more to the point, Green has become equally adept at mastering mysterious and multi-layered atmospheres.
Black Sands’ 12 tracks aren’t generally as long, interconnected and intricate as those on Cinematic Orchestra albums, but Green does call on a slightly wider range of influences than his contemporaries. So whilst the spiralling, symphonic likes of Animals and the title-track could indeed have come from Every Day, We Could Forever saddles an Afro-inflected guitar and skittish flute to deep sub-bass and Kiara combines Oriental strings with cut-up beats. He’s also found an ideal vocalist for his beats in the form of young singer Andreya Triana, who adds the same sort of insouciant elegance to Eyesdown and The Keeper familiar from her work with Mr. Scruff and Flying Lotus, and which bodes well for the pair’s further collaborations on Triana’s own forthcoming solo album.
But although the parallels with Bonobo’s peers are obvious, his fourth album doesn’t just sit in their shadows. Rather, it’s an inspiring example of how, free of pressure and publicity, he has blossomed into something beautiful at his own pace.
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Comment number 1.
At 22:50 29th Mar 2010, andrew hilton wrote:very nice album indeed, i hihly recommend a lsiten
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Comment number 2.
At 10:07 30th Mar 2010, Jay_76 wrote:Really enjoying this album, can't wait to see him live.
However I do feel you're being very harsh on his earlier work, I have loved all of his LPs and urge people to listen to them. The new album sits nicely with his other work and feels like he's simply evolved and progressed his sound rather than re-invented himself, which is a very good thing in this case.
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Comment number 3.
At 11:40 8th Jun 2010, Jason wrote:I must agree with Jay_76 - His earlier work is both beautiful and for the record is NOT sample-based. He recorded all of the instrumentation on the earlier work and produced it in a way which sounded sampled. It is worth checking the blurb about the album on the label website which says, (and I quote,)
"Bucking the late-90s reliance on sampling, Simon Green (the man behind the monkey) wrote, played, recorded and produced the entire record himself."
Taken from - http://www.tru-thoughts.co.uk/releases/Bonobo/TRU007
Otherwise, good review - marvellous album and one of the most beautiful I've heard in recent times.
However, please be sure to get your facts straight before passing judgement in future. Thanks!
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Comment number 4.
At 20:37 9th Jun 2010, r-jm wrote:help me please: "Eyesdown" reminds me of another track by someone else (pre the vocal piece) - can some one guide me ; it's doing my head in. thx
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Comment number 5.
At 02:40 26th Jul 2010, ho_hum1 wrote:I had to register after reading the first sentence of this review just to let other readers know that if you like Black Sands, then there is no doubt that you will like Bonobo's older work just as much, or even more. To say that based on his earlier work you could not have seen him creating Black Sands is something I don't understand.
Perhaps we should all go back to Animal Magic, and give it a listen or two...
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Comment number 6.
At 22:53 28th Sep 2010, rob h wrote:I have also had to register simply to say that this is the second ridiculous review I have read on the bbc website recently regarding electronica albums. Bonobo's 1st 2 albums are full of amazing beautiful music, laden with rich textures of colourful contrasting instrumentation. Black sands is the next step in his work that has been built from the beginning, and anyone who enjoys this album would love his other work. Also the fact that the inlay in this CD thanks and lists all his past and present players shows this reviewer hasn't really bothered to do his job properly?
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Comment number 7.
At 23:23 28th Sep 2010, johnny1 wrote:Quite simply a terrible review. Paul Clarke has done little or no research into Bonobo as an artist.
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Comment number 8.
At 08:29 27th Feb 2011, hilsbra wrote:Paul Clarke your head is full of spuds!! Bonobo's first two albums are very very naughty!!
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