Aside from seeing the name and relating it to the particular species of monkey, I hadn’t given Bonobo that much thought.. until I found his recent album, Black Sands, and started to preview its tracks.

Maybe the easiest way to describe Black Sands is that it takes some of the ideas of Plaid, slows them down, heads towards an assemblage style in the vein of Four Tet, and then incorporates a variety of instruments and vocals to tug at the heart strings.  This album is lush, powerful, intriguing, and beautiful.  It’s downtempo, without a sight of aggression through any segment, and it has plenty of dub styling and analogue filters which tend towards all sorts of warm and heady feelings.

Andreya Triana is also the other name to watch on this particular release.  I haven’t heard her work before, though she appears on three of the twelve total tracks and is a joy to the ears.  I do hope their collaborations continue, as they fit together so well.