Bonobo Drops Seventh Studio Album, ‘Fragments’ [Stream/Listen]

Famed electronic producer and sonic sculptor Bonobo has released his seventh studio album, Fragments, out today on all streaming platforms.

After dropping his debut album Animal Magic over two decades ago, the five times Grammy nominated producer, whose real name is Simon Green, has spent the past several years honing his craft, producing now what is marked as his most engaging and emotionally intense record of his career.

Spanning just under an hour, Fragments highlights Green’s orchestral and production range, featuring a number of focused collaborations, including arranger and string player Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, vocalists Jordan Rakei, Jamila Woods, and Joji, producer O’Flynn, and composer Kadhja Bonet. The collection of tracks yearns for the dance floor, showcasing some of Bonobo’s hardest driving beats yet, thanks to Green’s first exploration of modular synthesizers, while also not making it too intense for a relaxing at-home listening experience. Songs like “Tides” easily wash over the listener with soothing vocals and a warm melody, while others like “Otomo” standout on the album as driving basslines, ethereal vocals, and upbeat percussion drive it closer to a club anthem. “Elysian” is another prized sonic composition on the album, as harpist Lara Somogyi shapes the arrangement through slow strings and whimsical harp melodies.

Born first out of “fragments” of ideas and experimentation in early 2020, Green overcame significant writer’s block with the help of collaboration and solo adventures into the deserts of California and our very own state of Utah.

“This is my seventh album and it’s been without a doubt the most difficult one to make,” Green shared on social media. “I’d honestly lost a little confidence somewhere over the past few years. That compounded with the whole mess of 2020 made the period of making this record an uphill struggle a lot of the time.As much as it’s a document of a weird and uncertain time, it’s also about optimism and joy. I’m extremely proud of it and I hope that sense of optimism is felt.”

Stream Fragments below and on all streaming platforms here.

Bonobo earned two Grammy nominations in the Best Dance/Electronic Recording category this past year for his recent collaborations “Heartbreak” featuring Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and “Loom” featuring Olafur Arnalds. Unfortunately, the Grammy Awards are currently postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Bonobo is slated to headline Salt Lake City, UT’s The Complex on March 18th in part of his Fragments Live Tour. For tickets, click here. Visit his website for a full list of upcoming tour dates and additional information.