Bonobo - Dial 'M' for Monkey on CD

Description

Bonobo is Brighton-based beatmaker Simon Green's chosen moniker, and Dial M for Monkey follows naturally on from a selection of excellent records he has released over the last couple of years. Known for concocting hip-hop skeletons in his studio and then fleshing them out with live instrumentation and lush melodies, Green has excelled himself covering his erstwhile tunes with a sprinkling of magic dust that gives the whole thing a yearning, seductive glow. Meandering along at its own unhurried pace, Dial M… coruscates constantly with bright percussive sounds and reverie-inducing moods, casually introducing us to the producer's fantastic melodic content, array of innovative ideas and delicate sound-sculpting. In all, this is the sound of a man quietly inviting us into his private dream world for a nice cup of herbal tea and a biscuit. It'd be rude not to, wouldn't it? --Paul Sullivan Product Description Simon Green aka Bonobo presents nine perfectly formed tracks on a perfectly formed album. No huge, bloated, over-conceptualised rottage for the monkey man. He gets in, does what he has to do, gets out. From the opener, 'Noctuary', with its creepy stoned-Hammer feel, through the headnod sitar-funk of 'Flutter', on into the Rhodes-meets-Gamelan of 'D Song', the first third of the record sets out the tone for what is to follow - all beautfiully melodic and perfectly assembled but with enough of a creeping undertow to stop the music becoming empty or saccharine. 'Change Down' is all double bass folk and cut-up drums, 'Wayward Bob' is a devilish waltz, while single 'Pick Up' is a straight funk 'n' flute throw down. 'Something For Windy' sounds like a dub of a postman on his rounds, 'Nothing Owed' is epic pastoralia, while 'Light Pattern' rounds things off with what sounds like the theme to the best TV programme never made. With all instruments played, sampled and sequenced by Green's own fair hand, there is a consistency here, both within the tunes and across the record that crate diggers can only dream of. There is real development, the building of moods and feelings, a genuine attempt to make great music which is incidentally computer music. He may make a monkey of himself, but he's no musical mug… Review Funky downtempo breaks, smoky double bass and splashes of cinematic magic remaining the order of the day -- Musicweek, 31st May 2003 The downtempo soundscapes of Dial M For Monkey are ideal for luxuriating in, indolence is bliss.

Track Listings
1 Noctuary
2 Flutter
3 D Song
4 Change Down
5 Wayward Bob
6 Pick Up
7 Something For Windy
8 Nothing Owed
9 Light Pattern