Bonobo
Days To Come

From the south of Great Britain, specifically from Brighton, comes Simon Green, also known as Bonobo. After a couple of albums with ups and downs, numerous compilations, and various collaborations, the English artist has pulled "Days To Come" out of the hat, a third endeavor of truly impressive caliber.

After a brief intro, the title track is so powerful that there’s a risk of immediately hitting repeat instead of continuing to listen to the album. The featuring is by Bajka, born in India, lived in South Africa, Nepal, Pakistan, Prague, Afghanistan, and, if she stops moving around, currently residing in Munich (Germany). Besides the title track, her very unique vocal timbre also accompanies Between The Lines, Nightlife, and Walk In The Sky. Ketto is the track I like the most and comes fifth in the album with a change of melody capable of stunning everyone for the finesse with which it introduces the second part of the song, for the genius of still finding, even in 2007, melodic choices of this kind. Thrilling. Transmission parts 1&2 is supposed to last 8 minutes, but I didn’t notice. It could last another 10 minutes. The ninth track, If You Stayed Over, is enhanced by the featuring of Fink, straight from the prolific Ninja Tune (which also signs the album itself), a piece with a hypnotic mood that brings to mind Portishead, even though Bonobo's melodic imprint unfolds entirely one and a half minutes from the end, transitioning from one sound to another with disarming naturalness. Walk In The Sky reaffirms, if there was any need, how prolific and functional the Bonobo/Bajka duo is, with a track that gets inside you from the first listen. The last track, Recurring, closes a remarkable work worthily, which I absolutely did not expect to hear.

Besides the splendid melodies, the entire rhythmic section of "Days To Come" is truly astonishing, with touches of class and finesse that demand headphones and many listens to be fully grasped. The entire album is a journey within different genres and styles, skillfully mixed into a sound that can only be categorized as Bonobo. Soul, glimpses of Jazz, Breakbeat, Downbeat, and Hip Hop influences are just some of the nuances that can be detected within this work, which does not deserve to be ignored, regardless of your musical orientation. I wonder if this maturity is the peak of a career or the beginning of a generation of Bonobo-branded sounds, capable of truly leaving you speechless. Logically, I hope for the latter. Listen to it, truly.

…and a heartfelt thank you to Manuel, who turned up with this CD a year ago.