Today for your listening pleasures is probably my very favorite producer, Bonobo. This guy is a real master at arrangement among many other things. His tracks are great for when you're working on something and need a reference to compare to.
The intro of this track is so effective, he hints at many parts to come without actually giving it away. Finally the flute convinces the bass to follow it into the chorus at 1:21. Tasty jazz flute always wins points.
This song has such a crazy pulse. The bass just fills up the room and makes things vibe along with it. The last couple of albums he's done have featured vocalists and this is a prime example from his most recent LP.
I always saw this track as having a double meaning, firstly the more apparent interpretation of romance, but also "If you stayed over" referring to the afterlife and the transient nature of life. At around the 4 minute mark the song morphs into something new and hopeful after the last embers of the vocals have faded. Nice introspective ballad.
I could go all day but we'll finish up with another from his latest album. This track is a shining example of his arrangement skills and truly embodies the meaning of "epic". The song progresses through a journey starting with wistful strings and clarinet in 3/4 time. Once the percussion develops a bit more, claps on every second note are brought in which changes the feel to 6/4. He manages to tune the anticipation very tightly near the end of the breakdown resulting in a nice release when the horn fanfare finally drops. The bass line (which is great) supports the 6/4 feel here by playing every 6 beats giving things a nice slow pulse while the drums maintain momentum.
He does occasionally get orchestras to record parts but a lot of the time he's just manipulating samples and slicing things up. This doesn't really sound like what your idea of "computer music" would be yet the large percentage of it is composed, arranged, processed all in the box. He did a masterclass showing how he made Kiara from Black Sands. If you're interested in seeing the secrets behind his magic, check it out here.
Didnt hear about him before. I liked him very much. The first song was my favorite, the jazzy flute got me, reminded me a bit to st germain. Nice post sir!
ReplyDeleteThe jazzy flute always gets you! Hahah
ReplyDeleteI tried to pick a decent variation of songs that I enjoyed. Pick Up is from one of his earlier albums so check em out for a similar sound. Another couple of awesome early ones are Silver and Sleepy Seven.
The more you listen the more they grow on you. You start to notice little details you never heard before.
That woodwind mixes so well.
ReplyDeleteGreat tracks, really enjoying "Pick Up."
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