Bonobo

★★★★ Black Sands NINJA TUNE. LP

Brighton multi-tasker revamps own fourth album, 10 years after.

From Slipknot to These New Puritans, the 10th anniversary reissue album remains a thing. Peripatetic Brighton-raised, LA-lured Bonobo AKA oneman chillout orchestra Simon Green has also been at the nostalgia fountain. His 2010 fourth LP Black Sands proved a musical and commercial pivot, expanding his skillset from late-night downtempo to a more elemental world music. Behind the new Lake District cover image, red vinyl and “offset printed paper inners”, it hasn’t aged a bit. The Japanese-sounding Prelude still hints at Studio Ghibli; Kiara gives it full electro-hiccup; and if you want more cowbell from a sonic architect drawn to live samples, try flute-enhanced standout Kong or El Toro’s mariachi-meets-Krupaparadiddles. The honeyed tones of Andreya Triana enhance on Afrobeat workout We Could Forever. Black Sands inadvertently led Green to Grammy nominations and EMAs; a decade on, it still sounds like yesterday. Easy to love, difficult to imitate.