Throwback Thursday:: Bonobo (DJ SET)
Artist Overview
Fragments is the most emotionally intense record that Bonobo – aka Simon Green – has ever had to make. It’s no surprise that it’s also his masterpiece. The album features Jamila Woods, Joji, Kadhja Bonet, Jordan Rakei, O’Flynn and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. Born first out of fragments of ideas and experimentation, the album ultimately was fused together in a burst of creativity fuelled by both collaboration and Green’s escape into the wild. The artwork for ‘Fragments” is by Neil Krug who returns after creating the art for 2017’s ‘Migration’. Krug has also made a visualiser for ’Rosewood”.
One of the biggest names in dance music, Green’s career includes 3 GRAMMY nominations and playing to over 2 million people for the tour supporting his 2017 album Migration. Migration was a top ten album in multiple countries, top five at home in the UK and a Billboard dance album number one in the US. He’s also a favourite mainstage performer at the world’s greatest music festivals. As part of the tour announced today Bonobo will play three dates at the legendary Royal Albert Hall in London in addition to dates in Brighton, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham.
Fragments is a series of 12 sonic affirmations, featuring some of the hardest and most hip-shaking grooves that Green has ever created. The ballads are perfectly placed throughout; they capture a world in flux and glow with hope. Coaxing the ideas out initially took some hard work. The constantly-touring Green creates best while on the move; the global shutdown forced him to stand still.
Musical themes began to arise through Green’s exploration of modular synthesis, recordings he had made of harpist Lara Somogyi, his work with arranger and string player Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, his own playing of the Fender Rhodes and more, as the album was created, recorded and mixed by Green over the past two years. The album also came into focus as he sought refuge on solo adventures into nature, away from the shutdowns and wildfires and into the blazing California desert.
“Tides,” featuring Chicagoan singer and poet Jamila Woods, acted as a catalyst, and the album began to click into place around it. “I knew I had a centrepiece, I knew how it was all going to sound,” he says. Working with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, musical themes began to emerge. Recording orchestral musicians in actual studios helped bring the songs “out of the box” even more.
A rhythmic framework started to come together too: the structures of UK bass music and rave began to seep into beats that would become tracks like “Otomo” (eventually co-produced by O’Flynn and featuring a sample of the Bulgarian choir 100 Kaba-Gaidi), and “Sapien.” The ”old school, Detroity, Moodymann and Theo Parrish inspired” “Shadows” was recorded with friend Jordan Rakei. “Rosewood,” “Closer” and “Counterpart” each start with an ecstatic snap to them, but snake down surprisingly different paths. Somogyi’s harp and Atwood-Ferguson’s strings mingle together on the beatless “Elysian.” Two ballads flesh out the second half of the record: “Day by Day” featuring Kadhja Bonet and “From You” featuring Joji.
Mix Overview
This mix was part of MixMag’s 2017 Cover Mix Series and, while a few years old by now, does not feel dated and is the perfect way to kick back and close out the week strong.
Tracklist:
1. Bonobo ‘Bambro Koyo’ Ganda (Ghost edit)
2. O’Flynn ‘Glow Worm’
3. Bonobo ‘Outlier’
4. Theo Parrish ‘Warrior Code’
5. Bonobo ‘No Reason’ (instrumental)
6. Hot Chip ‘Atomic Bomb’(John Talabot remix)
7. Kidkanevil feat Phasma ‘Inakunaru’ (Bonobo reshuffle)
8. Soccer96 feat Swann Hunter ‘Flight Formation’ (Glenn Astro DJ-Friendly edit)
9. Music People ‘Always On’
10. Liquid Dope ‘Terra-Humara’
11. Axel Boman ‘Moon Dancer’
12. Youandewan ‘10405 (Alice)’
13. Denis Sulta ‘Nein Fortiate’
14. Gold Panda ‘Chiba Days’
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Throwback Thursday
Throwback Thursdays is a celebration of the nostalgia and memories associated with the music of the past. We believe that music is the connective language that binds us all, regardless of our backgrounds or cultures. Every Thursday, we take a trip down memory lane and feature songs and artists from different eras that have left a lasting impact on our lives. Join us in reliving the memories and emotions of the past through the universal language of music. Check out our other Throwback Thursday posts. Don't forget to use the hashtags #DaileyThrowBacks #ThrowbackThursdays #MusicConnectsUs
New Music to Share
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