Ninja Tune

Bonobo - Black Sands

£24.99

Product variants

Special Edition · 12" RECORD

Pickup available at 12 Bar Music and Social - Exeter

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Bonobo’s "Black Sands" is a masterful blend of electronica, jazz, and world music, offering an immersive auditory experience. Released in 2010, this album showcases Simon Green's talent for crafting intricate soundscapes that are both serene and dynamic. Tracks like "Kiara" and "El Toro" weave together lush instrumentation with electronic beats, creating a rich tapestry of sound. The standout track, "Stay the Same," features haunting vocals that add depth to the already layered compositions. "Black Sands" is a testament to Bonobo’s ability to transcend genres and create music that is both innovative and deeply emotive.

Tracklist

Prelude
Kiara
Kong
Eyesdown
El Toro
We Could Forever
1009
All In Forms
The Keeper
Stay The Same
Animals
Black Sands

Details

Format: 12" RECORD

Release Date: 29th March 2010

Barcode: 5021392584188

Why We Love It

Black Sands is the record that turned Bonobo from a crate-digging beatmaker into a proper bandleader. Simon Green built these tracks around live double bass, strings and woodwind as much as samples and programming, and the whole thing breathes because of it. It's downtempo without ever feeling static — there's real momentum in tracks like Kiara and Kong, and real warmth in the quieter moments. This is the sound of a producer figuring out how to make electronic music feel like a live band, and getting it exactly right.

Sam's Note

Great for the shop on a slow afternoon. Kiara in particular always gets someone asking what's playing.

Sounds Like

• Air
• Portishead
• Emancipator
• Nightmares on Wax

Mood

• Warm
• Cinematic
• Mellow
• Organic

Perfect For

• Sunday mornings
• Cooking
• Background for the shop

12 Bar Listening Guide

First Listen

Reveals More

Atmosphere

Originality

Why This Album Matters

Released in March 2010 on Ninja Tune, Black Sands marked the point where Bonobo moved from bedroom-producer downtempo into something closer to a full live band, layering double bass, strings and woodwind over his sampled foundations. It became his commercial breakthrough, going on to be certified silver in the UK, and set the template — lush, organic, cinematic — that would define his sound for the rest of the decade.

Simon Green, recording as Bonobo, is a British producer who started out sampling and looping in the trip-hop tradition before gradually building towards fuller, live-band arrangements. Signed to Ninja Tune since the early 2000s, he's since become one of the most consistently inventive names in downtempo and electronic music, known for taking his studio records on the road with a full live ensemble.

Electronic music built to feel like a live band, and it gets it exactly right.

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