Bonobo will give Manchester a double dose of his bass-orientated music when he comes to the city next week.
The DJ and producer, real name Simon Green, will perform twice on the night of Friday, 28 February, following up a live gig at the Albert Hall with a DJ set at The Roadhouse.
The live show will be accompanied with a full band including newly-discovered singer, Szjerdene, with the Brighton-born musician then going on to DJ late into the night at The Roadhouse after-party.
The current tour is an accompaniment to Bonobo’s most recent album release, North Borders.
North Borders is Bonobo’s fifth studio album to date and is a worthy successor to his highly acclaimed 2010 release, Blacksands.
It is both a continuation and an evolution from his previous album, remaining in tandem with the style and feel of Blacksands, but a more developed, confident and complicated organism.
A master of down-tempo electronica, Bonobo integrates ambient, soul, hip-hop, dub and jazz influences to create melodic compositions – a perfect accompaniment for drifting into the small hours.
His first album, Animal Magic, was released back in 2000 and since then Bonobo’s reputation has taken a steady trajectory – it may not have been a meteoric rise, but almost 15 years later he is widely considered a pioneer of electronic music.
He has worked with some talented vocalists in the past and North Borders is no exception – Erykah Badu, Grey Reverend from Cinematic Orchestra, Szjerdene, and Cornelia of Portico Quartet all feature.
Manchester’s beautiful Albert Hall is a fitting venue for Bonobo’s uplifting electronic orchestrations and, accompanied by Szjerdene’s jazzy vocals plus a full band including brass and string sections, it is set to be a very special evening indeed.
Picture courtesy of riccicoughlan via Flickr, with thanks
