Bonobo – Nightlite/ If You Stayed Over

Well this record has If Music written all over it. Bonobo,  Bajka and Fink do what they do best…

The songs here show in all its glory the varied, yet entirely coherent sound that Bonobo has made his own. ‘Nightlite’ features the unique, indefinable voice of Bajka (pronounced Biker). Bajka grew up as part of a travelling music commune called Embryo in places such as Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan. Now based in Germany she has released records on labels such as Ubiquity, Jazzman and Compost A massive and varied talent, here her soft-to-sharp vocals sit perfectly over a trademark falling chord change.

‘Recurring’ displays Simon Green’s odd talent for simultaneously defamiliarising and reassuring listeners, welding together disparate sounds that never let the attention waver. Finally, album highlight ‘If You Stayed Over’ showcases the inspired pairing of Bonobo with fellow Ninja artist Fink. The song’s wrenching vocals, Eleanor Rigby strings and ultra-sharp, blues sensibility add up to something very lovely indeed.

There you have it, a mouthwatering taster for a career-best album. Look out for Bonobo, and his new live show (including Bajka on selected dates) bigger and better than ever this coming Autumn.