Rapid Review is our new review segment aimed at getting you across an album in lightning speed. Spend less time reading and more time listening.
It's been four years since British born, LA-based producer Simon Green AKA. Bonobo released his fifth studio album The North Borders. Commercially, it was his most successful album to date and saw him embark on a world tour that landed him in Australia for Falls Festival at the tail end of 2013. He didn't really take time off to make this record, rather using inspiration from the road to put it together. He drew inspiration from his residencies at Brooklyn club Output and tested out tracks on the world, taking his Outlier club series international. As a result the LP's biggest theme is migration. He's fascinated with the idea of people moving and taking their culture with them, “Is home where you are or where you are from, when you move around?” he asks.
Migration isn't going to shock any long-term fans of Bonobo. It's another, expansive record that positions itself between club beats and experimental work. While The North Borders was an atmospheric listen that transcended borders, Migration is even moreso a record for the world. There are sonic elements taken from all over the globe from earthy, tribal beats (Grains) to modern, R&B fused beats (Kerala).
He also uses vocalists to create some of his most traditional songs here. Break Apart with Rhye may be his most accessible single to date and No Reason explores the more delectable regions of Nick Murphy's voice. Migration, in general, is far easier than any of his other releases to sink your teeth into.
Outlier is a tied best with Kerala. Green is at his best on this record when he's pulling that enthusiasm he found in the club into the record. Both of these do this expertly. Outlier ascends into a howling, alarm-like synth that would awake the dancefloor at 4am and Kerala beautifully textures fragile beats with Brandy's honey-soaked vocal sample. These songs both stand alone and contribute to the overall narrative of the record.
There's not a bad song to be found here so when we talk worst, we're clutching at straws. The very fragile Second Sun would fail to captivate on its own, although it's beautiful in the context of the record, and No Reason with Nick Murphy doesn't really justify its lengthy run-time, much like Murphy's last solo single.
Bonobo's Migration takes us on a similar, albeit more electronic, journey to Tycho's Epoch. Epoch, however, failed to find defining moments where as Migration has plenty. He's effortlessly paired the instrumental with the vocal meaning that every time he takes a detour into club land, he returns to a memorable vocal. It's a record that twinkles with the fragile and excites with the expansive. You'll be hard-pressed to finish with the beautiful Figures and not feel like you've dipped out of the world for close to an hour. It's actually hard to do that without being boring but Bonobo succeeds time and time again. More people will flock to this record than ever.
