Bonobo's Still Soulful Despite Bass Influence

Back in his adopted home of New York City, British mood creator Simon Green, better known as Bonobo, is enjoying being still for the first time this year. He's “switched on all the machines” to work on some new stuff, and is “just trying to recover; my whole sleep pattern is a mess at the minute,” he chuckles.

Such an issue tends to arise when one creates a record as robust and downright beautiful as The North Borders. Exploring sounds more beat-driven and electronically focused than on his four previous releases, the expansive LP has sidestepped the live jazz and trip hop that earmarked his earlier output, exploring earthy layers and textures instead. And through the right speakers or headphones, it can transport the listener to a musical utopia.

“Being 2013 it's good to [progress],” remarks Green. “But I still think there's the same principle there; I use the same approach to music, just with a different palate of sounds. I'm more informed by UK bass music [right now], but there's still soulful aspects in there.

“But you never know what's going to happen when you put something out, so it feels amazing because it's been over ten years since the first record, and [Bonobo] still seems to be expanding and moving upwards. I've been amazed by the response to [The North Borders], especially now that there seems to be this culture of blowing up very quickly with one record, and that culture almost seems to be encouraged. It feels refreshing to know that there are still people who will follow someone further than one hype record.”

Long before 1999, when, as a 23-year-old, he first credited a track to Bonobo (Terrapin), Green has used music as an escape. And since that initial cut found its way onto the compilation When Shapes Join Together, put out through pioneering UK indie label Tru Thoughts, he has buried that ideal beneath everything he's produced.

“I find music very immersive and therapeutic, and I start getting a bit twitchy if I haven't made [anything] for a little while,” Green says. “It's a very escapist thing, it's very meditative; it's a good way of zoning out into something else. That's how I use it and that's the way I work.”

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