Distance in Static is quite the fitting title for Bonobo’s newest record. Across its 14 tracks, Simon Green seems fascinated by finding something meaningful in the noise: fragments of memory, distant voices, half-heard transmissions, and fleeting moments of connection.
Four years after Fragments, Simon Green returns with Distance in Static via Ninja Tune. Marking his eighth album and 27 years performing as Bonobo, Green has hinted this may be his final traditional LP. Yet, rather than a definitive farewell, the 14-track record acts as a reflective transition, drawing on more than two decades of electronic experimentation before he explores new creative avenues.
The album opens with ‘Dawn,’ a brief, cinematic string introduction that transitions seamlessly into the club-oriented groove of ‘Cycles.’ This shift highlights the record’s central tension: Bonobo balancing his identity as an introspective composer with his role as a DJ, blending live instrumentation and manipulated samples with bass-heavy rhythms and dancefloor percussion.
While tracks like ‘Cycles’ and ‘Drift’ focus on rhythmic drive, ‘Fire on the Water’ (featuring Arooj Aftab) offers a more spacious, contemplative atmosphere, featuring Aftab’s spectral vocals amidst crackling textures and restrained percussion.
Collaboration drives the record, featuring a diverse cast including Joy Crookes, Nicole Miglis, Nilüfer Yanya, Ichiko Aoba, Kanako Yamamoto, and Aanya Martin. The album incorporates English, Urdu, and Japanese vocals alongside Iranian samples and Chinese guzheng recordings. ‘Talk to Me’ with Nicole Miglis offers accessible, warm electronic production, while ‘Always on Your Side’ features Joy Crookes over a signature downtempo framework, with her performance preventing the track from feeling nostalgic.
Green also takes bolder risks: ‘Youth’s Fountain’ (feat. Nilüfer Yanya) delivers raw energy, ‘Shokoufeh’ uses found sounds, ‘Equinoctial’ (feat. Ichiko Aoba) features orchestral arrangements, and ‘Mercury’ (feat. Kanako Yamamoto) ends with guzheng textures.
The album’s greatest strength lies in its rich texture and atmospheric detail. Though Distance in Static may end Bonobo’s traditional LP cycle, he remains full of creative ideas, leaning toward film scoring, installations, and smaller releases. Framing the record as a transition rather than a final farewell highlights its success. Instead of being a total reinvention of the Bonobo project, it harmonises the core facets of his career: downtempo, house, organic instrumentation, atmospheric electronica, and global vocal features.
Listen to Distance in Static:
