British DJ Bonobo returns to jazz fest after 12 years

Musician plans to perform pieces from hit album

Simon Green, a British DJ and musician who is better known as Bonobo, will be back at the Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival after some 12 years.

“I’m happy to have another chance all that time later to come back again,” he said.

“Ten years ago I didn’t know where I’d be at this time, so to still be doing it in a way that I’m still really happy with is pretty cool.”

Green said he’s always found music to be therapeutic and a way to escape, and hopes his show will be able to connect and communicate with audiences. Although Green makes Bonobo albums by himself, he will be playing with a six-piece band live. In preparation, he said he “deconstructs the records after he makes them, and gets the musicians to reinterpret the music.”

Audiences can expect the show to be a fairly accurate representation of his 2017 album, Migration, which was nominated for best dance/electronic album at the Grammy Awards, and reached the top 5 in the U.K. However, Green said the show can go off on tangents as well.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been touring the record, so it’s developed a little bit more, the tracks have taken on a new life since we started touring them, but it represents the record and also expands on it at the same time,” he said.

The show will also include AV and video elements, which Green said will create an immersive experience.

Bonobo plays Tuesday, June 26 on the TD Mainstage at Bessborough Gardens. U.k.-based DJ Daktyl opens the show at 8 p.m., with Bonobo taking the stage at 9:15 p.m.

Tickets are still available at www. saskjazz.com/tickets.