Bonobo – Days to Come
January 23rd, 2007 by rui
Bonobo specialises in making the kind of beatsy electronica that makes young men in trendy T-shirts do that funny face-scrunchy thing and nod their heads with intensity. 2001′s "Animal Magic" and "Dial M for Monkey" drew a fond following, culminating in an exuberant live set at the Big Chill in 2005.
With his third album, "Days To Come", monkey king Simon ‘Bonobo’ Green treads new ground by incorporating the vocal talents of Bajka and Fink to his trademarks beats and samples. They add an element that elevates this album over recent offerings by similar acts.
Bajka is a distinctively-voiced singer who grew up in a commune, trvelling through exotic locations such as Afghanistan and Nepal. She is also undoubtedly the star of the album. In the title track, Days to Come, Bajk drips her honeyed voice over the tight, rhythmic backing. Nightlite is a bouncy, enticing song with a tasty percussive beat, punctuated by the sound of the cuica (you know, that squeaky Brazilian thing). The tune has been remixed both by electrojazz masters Zero dB and Bonobo himself, although the remixes aren’t on the album. Between the Lines is a great track, mixing an intense double bass-fuelled lurch with spacey Chinese-style flutes, gongs and Bajka’s lazy vocals. To be fair, there’s not that much more to it – but it’s a soulful groove that stands up for the whole duration of the track.
The same can’t be said for "The Fever", a tedious latino concoction that never really gets going. If anything, the instrumental tracks highlight Bajka’s
powerful effect. "Transmission 94 (Parts 1&2)" bimbles along pleasantly enough, "On Your Marks" starts off well, with frantic jazz drums and blaring horns, but most of the track lacks any solid development. It’ll go down well with the nerdy boys who like drum programming, though. However, Ketto is better than most of the other instrumentals on the album, ambling along with spacey arpeggios. Call me biased, but I’m a sucker for any tune with harps on it. The track grows around the main samples, ending up in a mystical shroud of sound.
Towards the end of the album, the pace changes. "If You Stayed Over" is a gorgeous, mournful ballad featuring professional miseryguts Fink. Bonobo shrugs off most of his production tricks to give the song an acoustic feel, backed by swooping strings, gentle piano and woodwinds. The song plays out with a prolonged rhythmic instrumental, reminiscent of Nick Drake. "Walk In The Sky" brings Bajka back in reflective mood, her distinctive pronunciation bouncing over snappy percussion. The final instrumental, Recurring, is a return to the style of Bonobo’s earlier albums, with tricksy timing, lush textures and upright bass. Overall, although the album lacks some of the menace and grit of Bonobo’s earlier works, "Days To Come" is an enjoyable listen for trendy T-shirted boys and girls alike.
Days to Come by Bononbo is out now on Ninja Tune.
Days to Come Launch – Bonobo live @ , The Luminaire 26th September 2006
As well as producing a studio album, Green has been brave enough to translate his tracks to live setting. Despite it being a Tuesday night, the Luminaire was packed to capacity, mostly with nice-looking young boys in check shirts. Support came from Dr Rubberfunk and his band www.myspace.com/drrubberfunk , who entertained us with a pic’n'mix of grooves, like children running amok in the Woolworths of funk.
Then Bonobo and his band took to the stage, playing a selection from the new album as well as older tracks. The Kilburn High Road is not the most glamorous location in the world, but the enormous mirror ball hanging from the ceiling of The Luminaire makes it glam in my book. Using a mixture of real instruments and samples, Bonobo’s songs become complex beasts that grow and swirl around the room. Often led by Tom Chant’s soaring soprano sax, the tunes bounced off the glitter ball like coloured lights. A stand-out moment was If You Stayed Over, sung by Fink and accompanied by a criminally under-miked bass clarinet. Halfway through, the plaintive song gave way to a phenomenal funky groove that got the audience nodding enthusiastically.
It wasn’t until later that we witnessed a small outbreak of dancing, as Dinosaur got reworked as a fast-paced, funky-as-hell number. The band even pushed the boat out a bit, previewing a brand new track in 7/4. To be honest it probably needs a couple more sessions in the studio, but a bold move nonetheless. Bajka turned up for the show and sang a few numbers, although her behaviour and performance was somewhat erratic. For subsequent dates her place has been taken by a variety of singers, including Belleruche’s smokey-voiced Kathrin de Boer.
The Bonobo machine is on tour again in the UK and Europe in February, and the details are on Mr. Green’s ubiquitous Myspace page. If you fancy a night of head-nodding, or even a little bit of shuffly dancing, then get yourself some tickets.
Kat Arney
