Bonobo: Dial M For Monkey

Two years ago Bonobo, Brighton native Simon Green's chimpy alias, put out Animal Thoughts and introduced his particular version of animated chill-out music to the world. For all its strengths and weaknesses, Bonobo's sound remains his own. Dial M For Monkey takes the simian out on his new affiliation with Ninja Tune, drawing from a similar range of approaches.

Green drapes his music on a foundation of cyclical beats, each tune with its own flavor of groove. Far from repetitive, each new cycle incorporates a new twist—which, of course, is the modus operandi of live drummers. Reverberant organ vamps appear everywhere, serving to preserve the flow and tie these pieces together into a coherent whole (which, incidentally, is another feature of Bonobo's style). The retro organ sound, together with spare, funky rhythms, recalls the spirit of '70s jazz-rock fusion and the burgeoning funk/disco scene of that era. All sorts of other voices chime in along the way, including flute on "Pick Up," which rides greedily on and off the backbeat, and "Nothing Owed," a spare downtempo ballad.

You have to accept Bonobo's music on its own terms or look elsewhere. It isn't particularly dynamic and it doesn't take a lot of risks. There certainly are no bright sparks or extended instrumentals. But in terms of consistency of sound and style, Dial M For Monkey is hard to match. When you're in a calm mood and you need a bath in washes of reverberant grooves, this is the thing. And, lest these impressions suggest any sort of flaccidity, rest assured the record remains fresh and clever all the way through.

No doubt the monkey line will soon see a surge in calls.

Visit Ninja Tune and True Thoughts on the web.

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