When Bonobo released Black Sands in 2010, he made a new generation of electronic music followers feel the way I felt when Days To Come, his last full length project, dropped in 2006. That’s not to say Black Sands retreads old ground though, adventurous production and, for many, the first introduction to Andreya Triana’s floating timbre gives this album its upfront aesthetic.
Following its far-reaching success, Ninja Tune have invited a crew of cutting edge beat makers to transform the work in its entirely, offering up a triple-LP of remixes, also available as a CD plus limited edition 5″ vinyl, and digital download.
Cosmic TRG morphs ‘Kiara’ into an off-kilter house groove, resembling Fly Lo’s recent LP track, ‘Do The Astral Plane’, and Falty DL turns out an extended version of ‘All In Forms’, re-imagining the heartfelt melancholy of the original over his meticulously programmed, evolving beats.
There are three reworks of ‘Eyes Down’ featured: Floating Points brings a muted two-step feel and Arp 101 introduces crisp, rising electronics, but it’s Machine Drum (otherwise known as Sepalcure) who turns out the definitive remix, Andreya’s vocal giving welcomed serenity over his frantic beats.
Some of the the versions collected here were included in Ninja Tune’s 20th Anniversary XX campaign, but the bulk of the content has never been heard before, making this a tempting scoop for all monkey-loving fans.
