Bonobo
Fragments

Among the most representative names in electronics in recent years stands out Simon Green, known to many by the moniker Bonobo.

Originally from Brighton and transplanted to the United States (first in New York, then in warm Los Angeles), Green has developed an increasingly personal style over time. Moving away from the mix of hip-hop and downtempo of his beginnings, he has incorporated elements of world music, ambient, and jazz that have characterized his sound, which has progressively become ethereal and evocative.

The albums of the 2010s revealed Bonobo to the general public, however, while in Black Sands the influence of hip-hop is still strong, the subsequent The North Borders and Migration are closer to house and post-dubstep realms (an approach facilitated by a greater use of synthesizers and electronic sounds).

In 2022 Bonobo returns with Fragments, an album recorded during a challenging period like the current one, marked by a pandemic that is affecting our lives and personal relationships. Simon was stranded in Los Angeles and, unable to return to the UK, took advantage of the situation to organize nature hikes. He visited the sand dunes of Death Valley and the discovery of those metaphysical landscapes perhaps inspired him. The artist himself recalls it in an interview published by Billboard:

Living in Southern California, especially coming from the U.K., the whole landscape around here is kind of strange and weird and wonderful and just there to explored. And it’s a good way of having experiences that don’t involve travel or getting amongst crowds of people. I really took the opportunity to get out — and also just exploring L.A. There was this unique situation of not having any traffic, and being able to just traverse the city and find your corners.

Fragments is indeed a product of our times, characterized by detachment, reflection, solitude. But let’s get into the details and try to place this work in the discography of Bonobo.

Let’s clear up any misunderstandings: the latest effort by Simon Green does not deviate from what he has done over the past decade. There are the combinations of live and digital instrumentation, nods to club music, the now well-known ability to blend intangible atmospheres and a certain concreteness. This cocktail of elements, all in all fascinating, is accompanied by an overly polished and mannered production, the true weak point of the work. There are positive moments, but some tracks would have worked better with essential arrangements or simply with a less polished sound.

Nevertheless, the new LP by Bonobo flows smoothly from beginning to end. This pleasantness is favored by melodies crafted with modular synths, often brisk bpm, and the presence of prestigious voices, such as Jamila Woods in "Tides", one of the most beautiful pieces of Fragments.

It is worth reiterating the differences with Migration, which is very ethereal and influenced by ambient. Here, it is Simon Green's club-oriented side that prevails, revealing itself in a rather varied manner. We encounter deep-house moments (the single "Shadows", the intertwining of vocal samples and airy sounds of "Age of Phase"), 2-step rhythms ("Otomo", "Closer") and a track like "Sapien", dominated by irregular beats and an aggression rarely found in the British producer's music. Notable also are "From You" and "Day by Day", more relaxed and with excellent vocals.

As we go through the tracklist, we encounter strings, harps, and saxophones multiple times, which at times enrich the compositions and at other times seem excessive, with the risk of becoming cloying (as happens in the suspended "Elysian").

There is little left to add. The analysis, in fact, outlines the image of a successful album, more appreciable if one is starved for good music (a thought expressed by a friend when we were discussing the Blackalicious).

Finally, I find some of the criticisms read online out of place, which speak of a lack of inspiration and artistic decline: Fragments, on the contrary, returns to us a Bonobo in form, guilty only of having over-decorated his productions a bit too much.

We are not at the levels of Black Sands, but the judgment is undoubtedly positive.