was the high watermark of his career to date; a masterful record, marrying Green’s inimitable melodic genius to cutting
edge electronics, bass and drums.
Black Sands went on to sell over 160,000 copies worldwide, and since its release, Bonobo has toured the world with
his live band, wowing audiences of thousands at a time with the hypnotic, extended live versions of the album’s tracks.
He amassed more than 50 million recorded plays on LastFM and over 300,000 likes on Facebook.
All this comes as the result of over ten years hard work, and five albums that have honed Green’s skills. A born musician,
Green – like many artists – expresses himself most articulately via his music. The result is that his work is always
keenly felt, and always feels imperative. There are no wasted moments, and always myriad great ones.
It’s tempting to relate Green’s yearning, emotive aesthetic to his upbringing in rural Hampshire. His move to Brighton
is also an influence; his skill at drum programming perhaps harking back to his days DJing and producing in the small,
musically fertile town. Under the initial guidance of Tru Thoughts’ Rob Luis and at nights such as Phonic:hoop, Bonobo
found an early education in music.
His first album – 2000’s Animal Magic’ – was released via Tru Thoughts before being picked up by Ninja Tune. It announced
him as a serious talent; able to bring a true musician’s edge to electronic music, with all the freedom that skill
allowed. His subsequent albums for Ninja, Dial M for Monkey and Days to Come, developed his sensibility, won him
fans across the globe, and saw him develop his live show into a mesmeric re-working of his records.
He also worked hard as a DJ, a part of Green’s arsenal that perhaps truly came into its own at the same time as Black
Sands was generally welcomed as his best album to date. 2012 saw Green take the uptempo, club re-edits of Black
Sands from a seminal Boiler Room performance in London to dance floors across the world, and unveil a new light
show that further enhanced the impact of these stunning songs. A remix album was released featuring reworkings by
fans and peers such as Machinedrum, Floating Points, Mark Pitchard, Lapalux and Falty DL.
Later the same year, he finally settled down in his New York studio to write his fifth studio album. Now, in 2013, he
stands ready to take things up yet another notch. The North Borders is another long stride forward – both a natural
evolution and a continuation of the electronic palette of Black Sands. Thematic, resonant, addictive and perfectly
formed, it’s a thrillingly coherent statement piece. With vocal features from no less than Erykah Badu, as well as Grey
Reverend (Cinematic Orchestra) and Cornelia (Portico Quartet) it’s another finely balanced body of work, leaving room
for the beautiful, rich productions themselves to breathe and shine.
Bonobo has a long history of unearthing new talent (Andreya Triana, Bjaika) and The North Borders sees him do so
once again. The startling vocals of new collaborator Szjerdine are sprinkled across the North Borders, and Green has
yet again found the perfect voice to enhance where he’s at.
With a huge run of international tour dates set to commence shortly after the album’s Spring release date, plus a host
of weighty press and radio campaigns and a bleeding edge online campaign, 2013 looks set to be Simon Green’s
year, which is very good news for the rest of us, too.
After teaching himself guitar and piano around the age of 12, Barrett Richards pooled his efforts towards electronic instrumentation about two years later. He began taking production as seriously as he did DJing during that time, and involved himself deep into the Northeast rave scene. It was no surprise that in time, though, personal growth and 14 years of production experience paired with a degree in audio engineering would breed a new sound. Kastle came to life at a pivotal moment after a big move from Boston back to his hometown of Pittsburgh in March 2009. After nearly a year of conceptualizing, he knew he was working on something special.
The name itself implies a fortress, a personal space that is used to cultivate a long-time love of hip-hop and R&B and fuse it with the magnetizing effect that dubstep, garage and bass-heavy music has had on Barrett and, really, the various communities of underground electronic music.
The studio and touring dichotomy of an artist’s life is a perfect yin & yang for Kastle in both his production and outlook. His professional experience as an engineer puts forth clean, crisp production, but his love for the party provides a playful bass that eats a room. Altogether, the wide varieties of vocals – both originals and sampled – are a key element to Kastle’s sound. “I grew up on hip hop and R&B, and sampling is considered an art form,” he says. “It’s becoming more and more fun to dig through old records and find obscure samples.” He cites another unexpected influence -legendary French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, who had once said that “it’s not where you take things from, it’s where you take them to.”