Release
Bonobo - Black Sands (Ninja Tune)
Bonobo makes his return with Black Sands, a record that completely took me by surprise, as I had grown tired of his emotional-eastern chill out formula. That’s a little harsh, I admit but I really didn’t see what all the fuss was on his last record. I saw it pulling too hard on the emotional strings in a way that had been done to death by your Massive Attacks and Nitin Sawhneys. This new record for Ninja Tune sees him honing his craft and finding a great balance of beats, live musicians and the occasional vocal tune. Backed up by remixes worthy of any DJ who’s not afraid to go deep, if you only buy one chill-out or downbeat record this year, make it this one, because it’s spectacular and a perfect teaser to the upcoming solo Andreya Triana album forthcoming on Ninja Tune.
