Comments (1) ... Bonobo (Simon Green) is one of those artists whose name just always seems to have been around. Whether or not you've listened to his music, you've heard the name Bonobo, though there's a pretty good chance knowing or not that you've heard his work. Regardless, his latest album Black Sands is one you should be listening to. It drifts through a number of sounds, from cinematic Flying Lotus influenced bubblers, to sultry, soulful ballads, on to simply classic downtempo jams.

1. Prelude
2. Kiara
3. Kong
4. Eyesdown (feat. Andreya Triana)
5. El Toro
6. We Could Forever
7. 1009
8. All in Forms
9. The Keeper (feat. Andreya Triana)
10. Stay the Same (feat. Andreya Triana)
11. Animals
12. Black Sands

Beyond those examples, there are Bonobo's oft heard Asian influences, an an unmistakable (yet mostly hard to hear) quality of Latin influence, itself influenced through an English filter, that makes it hard not to equate songs like "El Toro" with the work of Quantic. If you're looking for Bonobo's classic laid back, downtempo sound, you'll find it in heavy supply and high quality here. The bass lines are superb, the percussion unexpected and fresh, and the cinematic touches are basically trademark for Bonobo.

There are some special moments, three in fact, when guest vocalist Andreya Triana is brought in, and that's when some of the most unforgettable songs on this album happen. The effect of the music blent so flawlessly with Triana's warm, soulful vocal style is pure heaven to absorb. If you're familiar with the tone of Bajka, who Bonobo has worked with in the past, you'll hear similarity. The songwriting itself takes on a slightly different style of lushness on these tracks, and it provides a welcome variety that I can't imagine not having on this album. There are no other singers involved, and that suits the album perfectly.

Bonobo's focus on Black Sands seems not to be on exploring uncharted reaches of his sound, but on the deepening of it, and in it's own subtle, internal and profound way, makes his past work sound somehow two-dimensional.

http://soundcloud.com/ninja-tune/bonobo-black-sands-mini-mix

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