For the past 26 years, Bonobo – the moniker for artist, producer and DJ Simon Green – has quietly shaped the sound of British dance music. While Fred again.. and Calvin Harris have made their mark in flashier style, Green’s journey has offered an alternative vision, but no less prestigious: Grammy nominations, his series of popular Outlier parties and seismic performances at venues like London’s Royal Albert Hall and the Sydney Opera House, all while remaining signed to an independent label, Ninja Tune.
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Put that to Green, a softly-spoken presence, and he is fittingly understated. “I sometimes forget we did all that,” he says, speaking to Billboard U.K. from Ibiza, a quarter of a century on from his 2000 debut Animal Magic. “When you’re in those moments, you’re not really acknowledging them: you just think of the next gig or record.” Reflection is rare, particularly for an artist who has repeatedly innovated their sound. “There’s always a thought of: ‘Let’s just keep moving forward. What can we do next?’”
Green’s eighth LP Distance in Static, released Sept. 11, is a prime moment to take stock. The record possesses all that makes Green’s music such an outlier in the contemporary electronic space: thoughtful instrumentation, striking guest vocalists and forthright dancefloor bangers, a combination few of his contemporaries can match. The LP feels like a career-spanning collection of hits, despite featuring entirely new material – a “retrospective feel” that Green notes is “not a backwards-looking one.” He adds, “there are definitely nods to the other records but a broader palette to choose from.”
