Fragments

Artist: Bonobo

Released: January 2022

Length: 51m 21s

My review:

Fragments is the 7th studio album by Bonobo, the stage name of Simon Green, an English musician, producer and DJ that currently resides in L.A. This record comes after more than 2 decades of hard work and graft in the scene that has seen Simon hone down his skills, constantly cultivating his craft and ultimately reaping the rewards. This is easily one of my favourite Bonobo albums, there is a perfect balance of electronic to instrumental sounds, featured artists to solo songs and for me you can hear the natural progression from his previous work and follow the journey taken to get here. His sound is always developing and changing, mirroring the growth and progress in his life, something I feel everyone should be doing on some scale, but something that is especially important for the creatives, that desire to advance, improve and keep pushing the boundaries should always be present.

It has been really special to follow Simon's musical journey and witness first hand the development and evolution as he cut out his own style and redefined his overall sound with a unique blend of Electronica, Jazz, Ambient, Downtempo, Trip-Hop and House. From his debut album, Animal Magic released in 2000 it was clear that there was already a keen ear, fine tuned for selecting samples, composing melodies and layering all these sounds so effectively on top of one another. I own 4 albums and 6 vinyls in total by Bonobo, the first one I bought was his second album Dial M for Monkey which has my all time favourite tune by him on it Flutter, this album for me feels a little more polished and hangs altogether better as a single piece. Since then Simon has gone from strength to strength, with a string of successful album and single releases (mostly through Ninja Tune), the introduction of the band and instrumental elements for his live sets (which I highly recommend seeing if you get the chance) to founding his own label OUTLIER in 2020. His most recent project sees him collaborating with Kamasi Washington and Floating points for the music score to accompany Adult Swims's Anime TV series Lazarus, which first aired earlier this month (April, 2025). There are 6 episodes in total with 3 already available and 3 more to be released in the coming weeks, it has a intriguing story, an appealing visual quality and you can clearly hear each musician's style and contribution towards the music which is excellent.

There seems to be a different order for the tracks on the vinyl release to the one available on Spotify, I am not sure why there is this inconstancy here and I am not sure which one I prefer in all honesty, they are pretty similar overall, however I will do the order that is consistent with Spotify as that will be the most accesible for first time listeners.

The first track on the album is Polyghost, a tranquil and soothing opener that features various strings alongside the harp, it is this calm and delicate start that lends itself to being so well suited for early morning plays. Shadows picks up the mood a little with a chugging bass and a lovely arpeggiated electronic melody, it sits at 114 BPM and features some gorgeous vocals from Jordan Rakei, easily a highlight of the record for me. Next up is Rosewood, pushing the BPM up to 121 but keeping a similar vibe and style, featuring a great vocal sample that is cleverly repeated almost creating its own melody intertwining with the other sounds seamlessly. Otomo is a collaboration with O'Flynn that sees us climb up to 126 BPM and really start to dig a little deeper with tribal-esque build up featuring chant like vocals with a thumping bass for the drop that I can now appreciate all the more after seeing it live at Glastonbury Festival one year. We see a welcome return to the strings and harp that were heard in the opening but with the addition of some vocals for Tides, my stand out song which I delve a little further into below. This is where there is a slight change in track order, on the vinyl it is From You next but on Spotify it is Elysian, they seem to have just been swapped like for like on wax, Elysian a beautiful instrumental track with the inclusion of a violin and viola. It is peaceful and calm song that resets the mood at the midway point and is definitely another one of the highlights on this record. Closer picks us up again with a slow start and another great use of a vocal sample, before Age of Phase gets the tempo up to 124 BPM for a House inspired track with a driving beat and chopped up vocal that makes this another highlight for me. On the vinyl version we have Elysian but for us now we have From You, a deep and sombre track that features a resonant bass with broody lyrics and vocals from Joji. Counterpart softens the ambience further as we start to near the conclusion of the record, with a slight deviation into some Acid for the final third with the signature squelching sounds of the synthesiser. The penultimate track Sapien has a real Garage feel to it with its 128 BPM and that classic kick and drum pattern, it has an uncluttered approach with a smart use of echo and reverb that maintains your interest with some nice bass and robotic sounds towards the end. Finally we have Day by Day, that brings things full circle as we return to the strings by Miguel Atwood-Fergusson that we heard in the opening tune as well as my stand out song.

It is an ingenious idea to include recurring sounds that we unconsciously recognise and which tie the whole album together creating that feeling of cohesion and unity. From start to finish this album is sensational, it manages to explore different genres effectively while producing one singular, connected volume of work; all of the tracks can also be enjoyed just as easily in their individual forms.

Stand out song:  Tides

Again I feel I could have picked any one of the tunes on here for my stand out song, they each have a time and place where they thrive as the album is quite diverse in its different sounds, tempos and moods. However I chose to go with Tides, I remember when this album was being promoted and a few tracks got released each few weeks before the album dropped and this was one of them, I was hungover and nearly listened to this song on repeat all day and didn't get bored of it once. Since then I have heard it plenty more times and it still always sounds great, I think its a perfect representation for the balance between electronic music and real and recognisable acoustic sounds from instruments, something that has been a recurring theme throughout most of Bonobo's work. The vocals from Jamilia Woods add that extra element and keep the track from becoming too automated or lost in an electronic soundscape, I also love the outro that focuses on the long notes of the strings and allows ample time for reflection.

When to listen: 

Firstly I want to say that there is never, ever a bad time for listening to Bonobo, all of his music, while mostly Downtempo and Ambient, possesses a certain quality that lifts it above becoming simple background music. I like to listen to this particular album in the mornings as I am waking up as I feel it eases you gently into the day, gradually building as the record progresses. I also listen to Bonobo a lot while travelling on public transport, it is a perfect soundtrack for staring out of the window and drifting off into your thoughts, a fantastic companion for long bus journeys while I am exploring new countries and landscapes.

Spotify: Listen here

Vinyl:

I have the red marbled edition, although I feel it has more of a pink tone, whatever colour it is the marbled effect is beautiful. Not only does it look great but more importantly it plays great too, fantastic dynamic range and heavy bass. I have noticed a few people complaining about this pressing on the Discogs page, however I have had no issues with mine at all, I purchased through the official Bonobo site (link below) and it is still currently available on there. The inserts all come double sided with incredible photos following on the same theme of nature from both this and his last album, I always enjoy getting this vinyl out, a feast for eyes and the ears - Discogs link

Other useful links:

You can check out his official website for merch, tour dates and music new and old on a mix of CD and Vinyl releases - https://bonobomusic.com/

If you would like to check out the Lazarus anime TV series, you can watch all episodes on all4 for UK residents https://www.channel4.com/programmes/lazarus

My all time favourite song by Bonobo is Flutter, listen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsQhTxckK8E&ab_channel=Bonobo-Topic

If you like this try these:

Caribou - Honey

Nightmares On Wax - In A Space Outta Sound

Folamour - Unami