Bonobo Traces a Quarter Century Across ‘Distance in Static’

Simon Green has spent more than two decades building a version of electronic music that treats atmosphere and rhythm as equal partners. His new record as Bonobo, Distance in Static, makes that balance the center of attention rather than a background trait.

The album opens with “Dawn,” a track built from strings that intensify before giving way to the mid-tempo house of “Cycles.” That shift sets up the record’s core tension: Green the composer adding precise layers while Green the producer works toward the dancefloor. It is a known dynamic in his catalog, from Animal Magic to Fragments, but here it