Wednesday 9 February 2011

Bonobo, thank you.


Bonobo and his array of beautiful songs have pretty much become the soundtrack to my life. The musical genius has managed to tantalise my musical ear buds for a very long time, and in gratitude, I thought it appropriate to devote a post to the brilliance that is Bonobo - or more specifically Simon Green – the man behind the music. 

Simon Green has a twelve year career under his belt, a range of songs worth boasting about and has successfully put his distinctive Bonobo stamp on each and every one of these songs. His songs come to life from his recurring use of steady beats, soft jingles, and flutters of a flute, oriental twangs or African guitar. These melodic combinations work well enough on their own - but sometimes, to enhance his songs and offer something else to the music scene - Green incorporates the distinctive voice of Bajka.

In order to identify a couple of songs that were ‘that little bit above the rest’ - I sat down and listened to my vast Bonobo playlist. Although selecting my two favourite songs has proved much harder than initially thought – I have been ruthless and managed to pick the two songs most listened to, by yours truly. The first is the beautiful Noctuary. The amalgamation of effortless baselines with chirpy chimes, mellow beats and lingering oriental twangs, is chill out at its best. Listen to it here.

            Another treasure is the soulful Walk in the sky, which – if listened to - unsurprisingly came up top of my favourite Bonobo tracks. The unique vocals of Bajka grace the Days to Come song. The delicate tinkle, unmistakable thudding and the faint tooting of a saxophone underpin the song and Bajka completes it. She harmonises the song with her intricate and distinctive voice, bringing it to life. Click here to listen.

            Although well-known in the University sphere, those who have either, not heard of, given little attention to or have failed to appreciate the magnificence that is Bonobo, I highly recommend that you sit, listen and love. 

Here are a few more of my favourites



1 comment:

  1. I FOUND YOU! Officially I am now a faithful follower! Anyways... Bonobo... I had one of their songs as my ring tones in first year and I just wrecked it for myself. It just signals absolute panic and oh my god where is my phone-ness. They came on in a club once and all I could hear was bring bring! But your article has persuaded me to give them another try... I'm listening to them now. Thank you. x

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