The Album That Changed My Life
BLACK SANDS - BONOBO
​
My heart always sinks when someone asks that classic ice-breaker question “So, what’s your favourite kind of music?” or “Who’s your favourite artist?”. There is just too much music in the world, and too many artists to choose between, for me to ever possibly decide on one single answer. I normally try to skirt around the question by saying something like “Well, it really depends what mood I’m in…” and then reeling off a long list of artists and genres I’m into, which generally seems to suffice as an answer for most people and the conversation continues. However, when pressed to choose a single answer I find that my mind goes blank and I am left floundering in a blind panic about what to choose. Musical taste can speak volumes about your personality, meaning it is a hugely important and near impossible decision to make. Therefore, when asked to write about the album that changed my life I was immediately filled with similar feelings of dismay. But, after approximately 10 minutes of wracking my brains and staring hopelessly into space, it came to me: Black Sands by Bonobo.
​
This album is undoubtedly my go-to album on my iPod; regardless of what mood I’m in the music seems to accommodate a huge range of emotions. I first heard it at age 17 in the backseat of a friend’s car as the four of us hurtled around the back lanes of the Peak District, thrilled that one of us had managed to pass our driving test and feeling optimistic about this new-found freedom. We parked up in a lay-by with a view and watched the magenta sun slowly disappear, Bonobo’s poignant melodies weaving their way across the moorlands.
​
I discovered Black Sands at a time in my life when important decisions were looming: what to study at university. Having grown up in a musical family, my early years had been accompanied with a lot of blues, prog rock and world music. I had been begrudgingly but dutifully learning the clarinet and the piano (slightly less begrudgingly) from a young age, so it is fair to say that music was a strong contender for my degree choice. However, I was feeling somewhat lost or displaced within ‘music’; I was classically trained, but had little to no interest in pursuing classical music any further. Also, as a young teenager in the 21st century, I was getting increasingly into the electronic music scene, intrigued by this different, darker scene that was yet to be discovered. I felt that there was a huge void between traditional, instrumental, what is often described as ‘real’ music by older generations, and electronic music.
​
Black Sands bridged this gap for me, opening my eyes to the flexible nature of music. The album encompasses an eclectic selection of sounds that span across multiple genre boundaries including dance, electronic, jazz, folk and world music. The opening track, ‘Prelude’, sets a mysterious, mellow yet anticipative tone with oriental-sounding strings in thirds, underpinned by simple octaves and broken chords in the piano. It segues seamlessly into the second track ‘Kiara’ which develops the same instrumental motifs and then rapidly transforms into an electronic track as a bass drum muscles its way in to occupy the low-end space.
Simon Green (Bonobo) is a multi-instrumentalist, as well as a talented producer and DJ. Nine out of the twelve tracks are entirely instrumental and feature live instrumentation, much of which is played by Simon Green himself. The orchestration is masterfully arranged; the soft, calming timbres of the clarinet, bass clarinet and classical guitar blend with pulsating synth melodies, which are given a sense of direction through heavy electronic beats, some of which are rolling, whereas others are more choppy and cut-up.
​
The album is a slow burner which generally maintains a darkish, downbeat vibe, building and gathering energy both within each individual track and throughout the album, like a storm that’s gradually brewing. Three tracks feature vocals from Andreya Triana which add another layer of intrigue. Her soulful, lilting vocals in ‘Eyesdown’ sit nicely above a throbbing baseline and a double snare which resembles a heartbeat.
​
This stunning blend of classical and jazz instrumentation with electronic beats and loops was unlike anything I had ever heard before. Black Sands prompted my ‘lightbulb’ moment and made me feel like I finally knew what I wanted to do with my life. No matter how many times I listen to the album, whether it is as background music or whether I’m paying it the full attention that it deserves, Black Sands never fails to evoke a feeling of fulfilment and contentment.
​