Bonobo’s delicate beauty ‘Black Sands’

Bonobo’s delicate beauty ‘Black Sands’

29 March, 2010 | 9.20AM

• Written by: Christen Reutens
• Filed under: Videos: bonobo, ninja tune

Modern jazz and trip hop are serious subjects for Gilles Peterson’s BBC Radio 1 listeners, so when they named Bonobo’s ‘Days To Come’ Best Album in 2006, Simon Green wisely decided to take his time to produce his next record.

‘Black Sands’ is Bonobo’s fourth studio album, and with it, the British producer and DJ has captured the delicate optimism of spring, as might be interpreted from the video for the album’s first single ‘Eyesdown’ (above).

Smart timing by Ninja Tune indeed. Through the album’s gentle tones, dark soothing chords, and soulful downtempo melodies, ‘Black Sands’ evokes the kind of heart warming feeling one gets at seeing the season’s first daffodils break out, defying the tough winter (or in our case, painful recession).

From the beautiful indie-laced drum & bass offering ‘Animals’, to the album’s lazy title track, and dubstep-tilted ‘Kiara’, Bonobo’s rich textures and world of dark yet peaceful sounds are wholly appropriate for our uncertain but hopeful times.

‘Eyesdown’ features the sultry vocals of Andreya Triana, who also appears on two of the album’s other tracks. She’s a great match for Bonobo’s serene music.

With Bonobo’s reputation as a downtempo pioneer still in tact 10 years after his debut release, it’s likely that ‘Black Sands’ will go down as one of the year’s best alternative dance albums.

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