Bonobo - Fragments (Clear Vinyl, Deluxe Edition, 140g) ( VINYL )

Fragments is the most emotionally intense record that Simon Green has ever had to make. It's no surprise that it's also his masterpiece. The album features Jamila Woods, Joji, Kadhja Bonet, Jordan Rakei, O'Flynn and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. Born first out of fragments of ideas and experimentation, the album ultimately was fused together in a burst of creativity fueled by both collaboration and Green's escape into the wild. ​​The artwork for Fragments is by Neil Krug who returns after creating the art for 2017's Migration. Fragments is a series of 12 sonic affirmations, featuring some of the hardest and most hip-shaking grooves that Green has ever created. The ballads are perfectly placed throughout; they capture a world in flux and glow with hope. "Tides," featuring Chicagoan singer and poet Jamila Woods, acted as a catalyst, and the album began to click into place around it. "I knew I had a centrepiece, I knew how it was all going to sound," he says. Working with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, musical themes began to emerge. Recording orchestral musicians in actual studios helped bring the songs "out of the box" even more.