Simon Green’s been at this long enough that a new Bonobo album lands like a familiar season turning over. Distance in Static on Ninja Tune keeps the warmth he’s known for but lets more air into the room. The tempos sit around a slow pulse, drums don’t rush, and the textures shift between processed guzheng, old Iranian samples, and the kind of treated piano that sounds like it’s being played in a room half-full of water.
Guests rotate through in English, Urdu, and Japanese. Arooj Aftab’s voice floats over “Fire on the Water” like she’s singing from another building. Nilüfer Yanya and Ichiko Aoba both show up, and Joy Crookes brings a steadier presence than you might expect. Green recorded parts in LA, Tokyo, London, and even at Neil Young’s Broken Arrow Ranch, which probably explains why some of these tracks feel like they’ve got dust and open sky in them. The whole thing moves like a long set where nobody’s in a hurry to get anywhere.
