After many years enjoying Bonobo’s music, I finally got the privilege to see him live. My favorite album from Bonobo by far is Black Sands, though he does have a newer album out now: The Northern Borders. I was worried that he wouldn’t play much from his older albums since he was touring for the new album. I was pleasantly surprised to hear all my favorites from Black Sands, and even older albums as well. The most impressive part, though, was the live band he played with. Bonobo’s music is digitally produced and heavily sample-based. It’s very odd to see a live string section play a repetitive riff, that was originally a sample Bonobo looped in his mix. However, having a string section, live brass and wind, live guitar and bass, live drums (in addition to synthesized drum beats) made it quite an amazing experience. I would HIGHLY recommend grabbing tickets to a Bonobo tour show (not a DJset) if you’re a fan.

Here’s a quick video – take note of the live instruments being played.

And here’s a few screen-shots of real life for you:

February 24, 2014 at 8:00 pm | Music Articles