A Very Successful Migration

Migration is the sixth studio album by English record producer and DJ Bonobo, released on January 13th, 2017. The UK-born, L.A. based musician’s latest release is characterized by melancholic and wistful moods using a rich palette of electronic, world, jazz and soul influences. Bonobo showed his inclination towards dreamy, warm and fuzzy grooves and soundscapes on his previous releases, but ‘Migration’ is the album on which he thoroughly explores these ethereal realms.  With this perfect mix of organic and electronic sounds, Simon Green (the real name of Bonobo) shows a whole other level of musical maturity, sounding more accomplished and assured than ever. The vocal contributions from Nicole Miglis (Hundred Waters), Nick Murphy (Chet Faker) and Michael Milosh (Rhye), as well as the vocal samples from Pete Seeger and Brandy. give the record its finishing touches.

As its title implies, ‘Migration’ is about Green's experience moving to his new home in California and traveling around the world. In that sense, it is more personal than its predecessors. On this album, Bonobo expands his beautiful, elegant sonic palette even more than before. As one critic brilliantly noted, “with headphones on, the whole sounds like the arrival of spring, bursting with richness and color.” Although deeply inspired by nature, like in all of his previous works, Bonobo isn’t afraid to use anything that comes its way as an inspiration or as a sound source; an airport elevator in Hong Kong, rain in Seattle, a tumble dryer in Atlanta, and a fan boat engine in New Orleans - all of these and more are included on this dreamy record. For him, music is boundless as life itself. He once stated that “life has highs, lows, loud and quiet moments, beautiful ones and ugly ones. Music is a reflection of life... Over time, the identities of places evolve…is home where you are or where you are from when you move around?” ‘Migration’ is a perfect reflection of this state of mind and life perspective. Being the most sophisticated effort of his career, the album is an impressive improvement over its predecessors and by far the most listenable record of Bonobo’s fifteen-plus year career. It is an album with equal appeal for electronic music fans and general listeners, and a record that elevates downtempo as a genre with far more potential than ever before.

Bonobo (real name Simon Green) is a British musician, producer, and DJ based in Los Angeles. Green has recorded and performed solo DJ sets under the name Mr Blue and together with Robert Luis from Tru Thoughts as Nirobi and Barakas. His first release under the moniker Bonobo was in October 2001 with the song "Terrapin" on the Tru Thoughts compilation When Shapes Join Together. He released his debut self-produced and self-instrumented album ‘Animal Magic’ on Tru Thoughts in 2000, becoming one of the new downtempo pioneers. Bonobo released six albums, all of them being praised by critics and fans.