Bonobo ‎– Black Sands

Great Artist of our Time!
Timeless Beats and very playful Sound, best for waking up at Morning

there is something very special about this album the layers are amazing only negative i can think of its a little flat sounding in places , one of my fave albums of the genre

I tried selling this a few years back when I was out of work and needed the money and Ninja Tune threatened to sue me if I didn't withdraw it, seems they have changed their tune now it is selling for a lot less than I paid for it. Before that I had bought pretty much every release they put out, after that I didn't buy much of their stuff and I don't think I missed much, I was able to discover a lot of newer and fresher music and artists in their place.

Has anyone else found that side D is pressed slightly off centre making it "wow" quite badly?

Nice laid back listen.
Great sound quality.
A good one for the collection.

From the Chinese strings that kick off "Prelude," you know you're in for something special with Bonobo's BLACK SANDS. Even as that track segues into the electro thump of "Kiara," it never loses its sense of surprise and wonder. "Kong" slides into a sweet spot between jazz, hip-hop and electronic music, dense with instrumentation and ideas. But the real magic starts when Andreya Triana appears with the slow-burning "Eyesdown." Her trio of songs, including the heart-breaking "The Keeper" and the melancholy "Stay the Same," gives the album a breath-taking soul. That's to say that the instrumentals pale; far from it. The Spanish flair of "El Toro" or the fuzz-guitar groove and altered vocals of "All In Forms." The clarinet of "Animals" shows his adaptability with many instruments, in a Cinematic Orchestra-like jam, as the title track brings things down to a simple, string-driven waltz. Simply amazing.

Just got this album on CD, listened through on some speakers. Now listening again on headphones. Truly wonderful, the amount of detail and production value is just incredible.

The finest album of 2010. Fact. Bonobo's finest album? Definitely.

Every single track is outstanding, they all work and come together in one amazing album. It is so hard to pick the best tracks but the title track 'Black Sands' with it's almost mafia-esque sound (and indeed wouldn't sound out of place in some Mafia-based film somewhere) is my favourite Bonobo track ever. Eyesdown, 1009 and We Could Forever are also top notch.

A truly exceptional album, and one that I will be listening to for a long, long time. Buy it. Now.