Bonobo | Artist

Simon Green aka Bonobo is a British electronic musician, producer and DJ born 1976 in Brighton UK and now based in Los Angeles. His soothing sound features smooth breakbeat loops, synth sounds, and dub effects with world music influences. For his live performances he uses a full band including string section. Bonobo's sound is oriented on beats and samples but typically "soothing", combining influences ranging from club to world music. Pitchfork named him a key figure in the 2000s downtempo electronica scene, while The Guardian associated him with the recent popularity of "ambient world electronica". Simon Green grew up in the South East of England in a musical family — his parents were involved in the English folk scene, and his sisters were both talented instrumentalists. “I wasn’t really into folk” he admits, “but I was grateful to be around it.” He describes his childhood as an environment in which “instruments and stuff” were happening all the time. As a teenager, he did what teenagers do, and “smashed around in a garage playing punky, shouty music.” He had a drum kit and guitars that he and his friends would play, and outside of their own raucous jam sessions, he’d be listening to the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins and Beastie Boys. Shouting and smashing in the garage later made way for sample-based hip-hop coming out of New York. While his earliest recorded work was firmly based in trip hop, his style soon became more upbeat and delved into genres such as jazz (which has led him to be described as a nu jazz artist) and traditional Indian music. He has collaborated with various artists, including Bajka, Andreya Triana, Erykah Badu, and Rhye, who have contributed vocals to songs on several of his albums. He also remixed albums for Gorillaz and Michael Kiwanuka. Outstanding albums include Animal Magic (2000), Dial 'M' for Monkey (2003), Days to Come (2006) and Black Sands (2010). The artist's stage name Bonobo is a reference to the great ape species, commonly known as the pygmy chimpanzee.

Artist Website: bonobomusic.com

Featured Albums: Bonobo

Related Artists: Simon Green