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“It never fails to amaze me how swiftly a moment of fortune can so easily become a noose round the neck. Especially in the oh so fickle world of the music biz.”

In the case of Bonobo the moment, or perhaps the year, of fortune came when he released his debut album ‘Animal Magic’, at the precise time that ‘chill’ was the buzz word on everyone’s lips. Never mind the fact that, even on the evidence of those first efforts, he was a truly gifted producer, you can’t beat the power of the buzz. As is the way of these things, the buzz became the murmur, and soon became the background hum, as endless chillout comps, ads, and media campaigns swamped the shore of our consciousness.

A young Simon Green (for it is he who is the monkey king) refused to be dragged down by the lazy journalistic prose that labeled him ‘chillout’ and ‘downtempo’. Far from it. He upped the stakes, and indeed, even stuck his neck out, moving from his original label Tru Thoughts to Ninja Tune, and set about taking things to the next level.

Cos it’s all about the levels with Bonobo. Not in a techy, studio kinda way, but in the levels of involvement with his music. On the surface there are the organic, pastoral atmospheres, the catchy melodies, the elements that caught people from his first album. You can engage with a Bonobo tune in that way if you wish, and will be well rewarded for it. But it’s the deeper, slightly hidden levels that you should investigate, for they bring the greatest prize. It’s these elements that he explored on ‘Dial M For Monkey’, as a greater focus on live instruments, the intricacies of rhythm, the darker shades of the soul, and almost a sleight of hand, that meant that you could be in one mood one minute, and the next you would somewhere different.

‘Dial M For Monkey’ showed the set of brass balls that Bonobo (like his namesake) had, and these would be tested again as he set about building his live band. He duly found the right musicians, self financing rehearsals, and fine tuning a live show that brought out the elements of his music that had hitherto gone largely unnoticed, as the band swung and rocked their way through shows at Glastonbury, The Big Chill, Jazz Cafe, and internationally exotic settings from Italy to Russia.

He set about building his DJ style in the same way, refusing to conform to the preconceived ideas of a laid back style, and aiming headlong for the dancefloor, with a heavy mixture of hip hop, weighty jazz, broken beats, Latin, funk, and soul, with the occasional cheeky bit of psyche rock and drum and bass thrown in. Just to keep you on yer toes right? Now a DJ of international repute, Bonobo has played all over the world, including playing to huge audiences in the USA and Canada with Amon Tobin, a progress culminating in Ninja Tune asking him to put together a Solid Steel mix album. Bugger the lounge, lets dance.

Now, with the expectations duly dispatched with the good hiding they deserve, the field is wide open for Bonobo to push himself even further, and we await the next album, due late 2005 / early 2006, with our minds well and truly opened to the possibilities.

“Lots of live shit”, says Bonobo.”Strings, horns, drums and vocals. More energy and a bigger, heavier sound”.

Come on then son.

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Bonobo – Flutter

Bonobo – The Plug

Bonobo – Kota

Born in Nigeria, Nneka relocated some 10,000 miles to Hamburg, Germany, at the age of nineteen to pursue a career in singing along side a degree in Anthropology. Having landed in the German port, the singer hooked up with DJ and Hip-Hop beatmaker DJ Farhot and ever since, their strong musical relationship has been the backbone of Nneka’s success. Her influences reflect her younger days in Nigeria as well as her time in the Western world. The distance she has travels shines through in her voice as does her diverse musical influences. She cites famous compatriot Fela Kuti and legend Bob Marley as well as contemporary rappers Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Mobb Deep and Lauryn Hill as key influences in her pursuit of musical recognition.

After finishing her debut EP “The Uncomfortable Truth” she toured Europe, commencing a long live schedule, performing to up to 6000 people at her later gigs, this young talent supported the likes of Femi Kuti, Seeed, Sean Paul and Gnarls Barkley. Performing all over Europe, from her adopted hometown of Hamburg to Holloway Prison in London.

Nneka’s album “Victim Of Truth” was released in September 2006 to rave reviews from the music press. The songs on the album provide a range of sounds from deep soulful ballads like ‘Confession’ to funky Hip-Hop tracks like ‘Stand Strong’ to ‘Changes’, which is a modern reinvention of the 90s UK soul sound.

Despite her Nigerian background, Nneka’s sound is strongly connected with her European journey.

“The way they dress, the way they carry themselves, their religion. So many things that are important to me are not important to them. For two years I was overwhelmed.”

This difference in ethical outlook comes to the fore in her music, with her social responsibility to her homeland of Nigeria laying heavy on her mind.

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“I get inspired when I take a severe look at the things going on in our world today; especially in my country. How people live, suffer and endure pain, politics and religion, when I see all that man has evoked and created out of self-centeredness and devotion to material things”.

Nneka’s voice strikes an eerie balance between rage and pain which mirror’s the abrasion of two continents, Europe and Africa, within Nneka’s life so far. Nneka reiterates her humility in the face of her musical talents.

“I do not see myself as a performer but as somebody who shares her heartfelt feelings with others. I have fortunately, by the grace of God, the opportunity to sing my message to you on stage.”

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Nneka Videos:

NNEKA – Africans

Nneka – Heartbeat

Nneka live bei NEUE HELDEN im “Studio Eins”

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