On his 2013 release The North Borders, British producer Simon Green (aka Bonobo) continues along the organic-meets-electronic path that his 2010 release Black Sands followed, but this walk takes place as it's turning to dusk, and there are varying degrees of mist and chilliness along the way.
Opener "First Fires" with Grey Reverend (singer/songwriter L.D.
Brown) sounds like it could be quite warm, but it's entirely autumn-minded sweater music that wistfully wonders what to do with "faded dreams" as Green allows bits of glitchy sunlight to shine through his cloudy synth construction.
"Emkay" is the clangs and echoes of a seaside port at night that wonderfully shuffles its way up to a lighthouse tune, then there's majestic songstress Erykah Badu wonderfully vibing ("We don't need no truth/Got plenty/Now it grows on trees") on "Heaven for the Sinner" over Bonobo's deep version of the broken beat.
"Towers" suggests sleepy urban buildings in twilight with a vibraphone representing the little bits of life and light that will sparkle through the night, while "Don't Wait" is just before the dawn, as innocent chimes chase away the eerie things that lurk in the darkness.
Still, it's not all drifting as the great "Know You" drops a jazzy breakbeat while the high stepper "Ten Tigers" struts to something sounding like an inverted handclap, although there's little here that will make sleeping cats jump off the couch.
Fine song structure and an overall album flow that's nearly perfect are things Bonobo regulars might expect at this point, but his discography hasn’t offered up a rainy day soundtrack so fitting until this one, so hope the weatherman has bad news and plan on staying in.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First FiresLarry D. Brown, Simon Green | Bonobo | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | EmkaySimon Green | Bonobo | Play | 05:25 | 12 MB | 29 MB |
| 3 | CirrusSimon Green | Bonobo | Play | 05:52 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 4 | Heaven for the SinnerErykah Badu, Simon Green | Bonobo | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | SapphireSimon Green | Bonobo | Play | 04:47 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | JetsSimon Green | Bonobo | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 7 | TowersAlexander "Agor" Cowan, Simon Green, Szjerdene Mulcare | Bonobo | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 8 | Don't WaitSimon Green | Bonobo | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Know YouSimon Green | Bonobo | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 10 | AntennaSimon Green | Bonobo | Play | 03:32 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | Ten TigersSimon Green | Bonobo | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 12 | TransitsSimon Green, Azjerdene Mulcare | Bonobo | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 13 | PiecesCornelia, Simon Green | Bonobo | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 58 mins | 135 MB | |||||
| 58 mins | 345 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erykah Badu | Composer, Featured Artist, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals |
| 2 | Bonobo | Primary Artist |
| 3 | Larry D. Brown | Composer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals |
| 4 | Kirstin Agresta Copely | Harp |
| 5 | Cornelia | Composer, Featured Artist, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals |
| 6 | Alexander "Agor" Cowan | Composer, Vocal Arrangement |
| 7 | Jason Disu | Trombone |
| 8 | Simon Green | Composer, Electronics, Fender Rhodes, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Kalimba, Producer, Programming, Vibraphone, Xylophone |
| 9 | Grey Reverend | Featured Artist |
| 10 | Mike Lesirge | Clarinet, Clarinet (Bass), Flute, Flute Arrangement, Horn Arrangements, Sax (Tenor), String Arrangements |
| 11 | Kevin Metcalfe | Mastering |
| 12 | Azjerdene Mulcare | Composer |
| 13 | Szjerdene Mulcare | Composer, Vocal Arrangement |
| 14 | Prabjote Osahn | Violin |
| 15 | Leif Podhajsky | Artwork, Creative Director, Design |
| 16 | Kelly Pratt | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 17 | Lucy Railton | Cello |
| 18 | Mike Simmonds | Violin |
| 19 | Vince Sipprell | Viola |
| 20 | Szjerdene | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 21 | Sterling Winfield | Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |