Ninja Tune · 14 August 2024
Bonobo debuts Expander at Glastonbury before its Ninja Tune release
The title track had already been tested on a festival crowd months before this three-track EP reached the label.
A festival crowd can make up its mind about a song long before the record ever comes out.
That’s roughly what happened for Bonobo: his new three-track EP, ‘Expander,’ lands on Ninja Tune, a label he’s called home since 2001, and it’s led by its title cut.
The title track had already had its live debut months earlier, at Bonobo’s Glastonbury set that same year, well before anyone outside the festival could hear it. Anticipation for the record was already high before any of those details went public, and the crowd that afternoon got there first.
It follows Dial ‘M’ For Monkey. Bonobo’s Outlier imprint hasn’t been shy about keeping Ninja Tune stocked with club-facing singles since Fragments in 2023, either, and ‘Expander’ doesn’t break that streak.
The record leans into the organic, cinematic side of his sound, pairing warm vocals with a synth-driven pulse built for the floor. ‘Rosewood’ and ‘Shadows’ round out the EP, the latter featuring Jordan Rakei.
All three tracks are streaming now.
