Chris Daly fucks, then he sleeps.
Say whatever else you might be so inclined to about Bonobo, but you certainly can’t say he’s been traveling at less than the speed of sound these days. Fresh off his 18 month, international “North Borders” tour, he dropped the appropriately named The North Borders Tour – Live, a CD/DVD combo chronicling the affair in which he employed a 12-piece backing band as he was slappin’ de bass, man. (I caught the DC stop. Trust me, it was incredible.) Earlier this year, the musician also known as Simon Green also released his Ten Tigers EP.
As if that weren’t enough, the simian soundsmith is in the midst of yet another worldwide tour. This time he’s spinning DJ sets, reminding the masses of his impeccable selection skills. He also recently did a near hour long Mixed By for Thump, because, you know, fuck sleep, I guess. (Tracklist below if you’re into that kind of thing.)
Which leads us to what one can only assume will be his final project of 2014, the soon-to-be-released Flashlight EP, the first single of which you can stream now and snag a copy of for free if you’ll Shazam it (a verb I never thought I’d use outside of a discussion of Billy Batson, but there’s technology for you). While bearing no resemblance to the Parliament track of the same name, Bonobo finds a spirited, yet mellow groove that is every bit as worthy of the name. Relaxed guitars interplay nimbly with lightly played percussion and synthesizers that just work, plain and simple. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to go take nap. Just mapping out these exploits has made me sleepy.
Tracklist:
Moderat – Bad Kingdom (DJ Koze Remix) [Monkeytown Records]
Genius of Time – Juno Jam [Running Back]
Kaytranada – Leak Me Alone (feat. Shay Lia) [XL Recording]
Leon Vynehall – Butterflies [Clone Royal Oak]
Dark Sky – lyp – [Mister Saturday Night Records]
Lake People – Night Drive [Rumors]
Butch & C. Vogt – The Infamous (Robytek vs. Shielf Re-Edit) [Rebirth]
Throwing Snow – As You Fall [Houndstooth]
Dorian Concept – Ann River, Mn [Ninja Tune]
Nalepa + William Arcane – Feel [Team Supreme]
Mr. Mitch – The Lion, The Bitch and the Bordeaux [Gobstopper Records]