Not enough monkey business

>> Bonobo makes beats for communal preening

by CHRIS HATHERILL

There must be something about the word Bonobo that makes people skip over it without noticing. If you're a downtempo producer from Brighton, England, that means your brilliant first album is released to minimal press coverage, bypassing the usual "next big thing" hype. If you're a monkey in Zaire, it means your species--a peaceful bunch who lie around all day having orgies--becomes practically extinct without anyone taking the least bit of notice. Indeed, the Bonobo is often referred to as "the Forgotten Ape," and Bonobo's debut album, Animal Magic, is sometimes called Why Haven't I Heard of This?! This Is Really Very Good.

"I'm actually kind of happy with the way the album stayed off the radar," says the homo sapien Bonobo, aka Simon Green. "It slowly caught on through word of mouth, which is not so overwhelming."

Of course, once the alarm cry went out, the entire troop caught on quickly. Animal Magic was voted into the top five downtempo albums of the year by Musik and other discerning tastemakers, including Mr. Scruff. After he expressed interested in collaborating with Bonobo, other labels rushed in to sign him away from Tru Thoughts, the tiny Brighton label that released his early tracks. Like a loyal mate, he'll stay with them until his next album comes out on Ninja Tune, which explains why you haven't heard of him yet. What remains unexplained is why nobody knows about the Bonobo chimpanzee, a species who are 98.6 per cent genetically identical to humans, making them our closest primate relative.

"They're lovely creatures," explains Green. "Mellow little monkeys who just spend the whole day chilling out. I thought, Right, that's perfect."

And it is. Named after a British kids' show from the '80s, Animal Magic is a quietly flawless album ideal for any social activity which doesn't involve dramatic movement, yelling, or beating each other with sticks. An ex guitar-band type guy, Green uses his old four-track to make basic loops, then adds instrumental bits over top. Nobody is quite sure why exactly they love it, but everyone does. It would be an interesting and potentially historic experiment to play the album for a troop of Bonobos, who are known for their non-violent, female-run societies.

The minimal sitar loops of "Terrapin" provide an ideal background for in-tree lazing and grazing, while other tracks like "Everything You Do" are better suited for food foraging and getting it on, something the primate Bonobos are notorious for. According to experts like Frans De Waal, Bonobos engage in casual sex on a daily basis, often repeatedly, either with the opposite sex or their own. In addition, orgies and partner swapping are common, giving the cute little guys a kind of sinful edge.

And what of the human called Bonobo? What dark secrets does he hide? "Well, I don't know," he lies, obviously covering something up. "Um, the new album's going to be a bit darker, a bit angrier." Angry as in second-album-cocaine-binge angry? Unlikely--he is a Bonobo after all.

With Notorious W.I.G. and Laborious Luv at Blizzarts on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 10pm, $3 following the Ninja Tune garage sale (8-10pm), featuring the flea-market beats of J. Robot