bonobos Sai Chunho Sasaki Yasuyuki Tsuji Bondo Morimoto Natsuko Matsui Izumi Vocal/Guitar Guitar Drums Bass Percussion Profile Standing out against the bleak landscape of carbon-copy Japanese Reggae bands, bonobos brings a whole new flavor to an old genre. While the band's influences clearly lie largely in reggae, there are also liberal doses of folk and electro-pop mixed in as well, creating an entirely unique sound. In August 2001, vocalist and band pivot Sai Chunho gathered up friends Morimoto, Sasaki, and Tsuji and began playing as bonobos. They played their first show as a foursome in the following December. In Spring 2002, Matsui, who was apprenticing at wansk studio in Osaka where the band practiced, was added to the band. Around the time when Matsui was added to the band, bonobos released their first demo tape. The tape was so popular that its lead single "Moujiki Fuyu ga Kuru" hit the College Radio Japan West charts, despite the fact that the tape was only sold at bonobos' live shows. The band's popularity grew, and throughout the course of late 2002 and early 2003 the played shows with the likes of EGO-WRAPPIN', COPA SALVO, and The Miceteeth. 2003 was marked with a number of releases from bonobos, including a self-released CD containing all of their works previously released on cassette, two releases on the indie label GALACTIC, and finally, their major label debut single version of Moujiki Fuyu ga Kuru. They followed into 2004 with another single water, and their first album Hover Hover. Hover Hover was essentially a culmination of bonobos' indie years, a reggae-dub album with folk influences, centered around the single "Moujiki Fuyu ga Kuru". Following the release of Hover Hover, the band played a 3-city tour in promotion of the album, as well as a number of the large summer rock festivals. Throughout late 2004 and early 2005, bonobos maintained their busy schedule, releasing 3 singles and playing shows in Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo. The beginning of 2005 also marked the official membership of Tsuji Bondo. While Tsuji had played with the group from the very beginning, he had not been considered an official member until this point. All of this led up to the release of the album electlyric in June of 2005. electlyric was a huge departure of style for bonobos, and a huge step forward musically for the band. Their reggae, dub, and folk influences remain strong, but as the title indicates, the album adds a whole new electronic element. Loops, samples, and drum machine are featured prominantly, but not overwhelmingly, throughout the album, creating an entirely new sound that stands out among the deluge of Japanese reggae-dub revival bands. Riding on the coattails of the lavish praise dolloped upon electlyric by fans and critics alike, bonobos decided to release a mini-album, Golden Days, just six months later. The complete opposite of the polished and electronic electlyric, Golden Days was nearly recorded in one take to capture the energy of bonobos' live performances. While the experimental electronic sound of electlyric carved new territory, Golden Days brought the band back to basics. Which direction the band goes in the future is still an open question, but whichever direction they choose, it will surely be up! - Graham (published 2006.03.07, updated 2006.04.17) Links Artist homepage Dreamusic Samples Keikaku Content Review - Electlyric Review - a, un Discography list Albums GLOR-0005 bonobos in dub MUCT-1007 HOVER HOVER MUCT-1013 electlyric Singles MUCT-5003 Moujiki Fuyu ga Kuru MUCT-5004 water MUCT-5009 Ano Kotoba, Ano Hikari Unknown water MUCT-9001 Konya ha Groove Me MUCT-5014 Thank You For The Music GLOR-7002 DISCO 33 Demos Unknown demo compact disc GLOR-0004 Headphone Magic EPs MUCT-1015 GOLDEN DAYS Compilations Dreamusic The Many Moods of Smiley Smile NGCS-1001 SWEET DREAMS For Fishmans		HOVER HOVER (Album) Released: 2004.03.03 (MUCT-1007) Label: Dreamusic Tracklist 1. Good Morning Groove 2. Moujiki Fuyu ga Kuru 3. Life 4. Oyoge ya Shinai ze 5. Music 6. I talk 7. Night Apes Walking 8. Hover Hover 9. tobo tobo tobo 10. water 11. Skirt Girl Blues water (Single) Released: 2004.01.21 (MUCT-5004) Label: Dreamusic Tracklist 1. water 2. Night Apes Walking (Live Version) 3. Mighty Shine, Mighty Rhythm (Live Version) 4. Moujiki Fuyu ga Kuru (Live Version) 5. water (Live Version) Moujiki Fuyu ga Kuru (Single) Released: 2003.10.01 (MUCT-5003) Label: Dreamusic Tracklist 1. Moujiki Fuyu ga Kuru 2. sunset:sunrise 3. Kasa ha Iranai yo (demo version) bonobos in dub (Album) Released: 2003.07.31 (GLOR-0005) Label: Galactic/Or Glory Tracklist Side A 1. Mighty Shine, Mighty Rhythm (remix) 2. Headphone Magic (dub) Side B 1. Oh! Smoke 2. Yogoreta Heya (dub) The Many Moods of Smiley Smile (Compilation) Released: 2003.07.30 (Dreamusic) Label: MUCT-1004 Tracklist 10. Mighty Shine, Mighty Rhythm (SPC Finest Remix) Headphone Magic (Demo) Released: 2003.05.28 (GLOR-0004) Label: Galactic/Or Glory Tracklist 1. Mighty Shine, Mighty Rhythm 2. Smoke 3. Headphone Magic 4. Yogoreta Heya demo compact disc (Demo) Released: 2003.04.04 Label: Galactic/Or Glory Tracklist « 1 2 Organise Select type All Album Single EP Compilation Demo DVD Order by release date title type back to profiles
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