If you’re a fan of ethereal, sample-based electronic music, chances are you’ve stumbled across Simon Green’s music. His Bonobo project has grown immensely since its humble beginning via a release on Brighton label, Tru Thoughts. Seventeen years on, Green has topped the US and UK electronic music charts and released 6 albums featuring talent the likes of Erykah Badu, Nick Murphy (formerly Chet Faker), and Grey Reverend (Cinematic Orchestra). As a part of his North American tour, Bonobo touched down in Boston for a special boat cruise performance. Experience it below:
The evening begins with deep, mid-tempo house beats on the main deck of the Provincetown II. It’s cold and rainy but still approaching dusk as we edge into the Boston harbor and the crowd is just beginning to congregate – presumably after grabbing a few drinks at the bars below. About an hour in, we get word that Bonobo has decided to play his set on the bar-deck underneath us instead, due to the weather. Nightfall and liquid courage have set us at ease and we’re starting to get down to the techy beats on the main floor but let’s face it, we’re really here for one reason. We rush downstairs to catch the performance.
In contrast to the large stage and expansive dance floor on the main deck, this set-up is much smaller and meant for local talent. We meander through the relentless sea of bodies to finally squirm into the front. I look over to some newly made friends and they comment on the serious boiler-room vibes – Bonobo is DJing on some CDJs atop an unassuming table, surrounded by people on all sides. Suddenly, we hear a rush of “woohs” and “yeahs!” – ‘Cirrus’ blares out from the loudspeakers and the crowd is clearly loving it.
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As the night progresses, Bonobo drops other classics like ‘We Could Forever’ and his remix of ‘Blurred’, eventually mixing into newer tracks like ‘Glue’, off of Bicep’s freshly released album. Before we know it, it’s 10pm and Bonobo is ushered off the decks by a grim-faced and burly security crew. The boat has already docked and Bonobo is rushing to make it to his next set downtown. Clearly, the night is young for some but unfortunately our Bonobo adventure ends here for the time-being.
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