- Simon Green, AKA Bonobo, seems like an obvious choice for LateNightTales. His music is often stuck in that space between waking and sleeping, while LateNighTales, which has released mixes from the likes of Lindstrøm, Air and Nightmares On Wax, is famous for its woozy, early-hours aesthetic. This in mind, it's no surprise Bonobo's contribution to the series is a success.
Much of the music here has its roots in folk. Dustin O'Halloran's "An Ending A Beginning," which opens the set, is a delicate miniature full of deep strings and close-mic piano pedals, which soon gives way to the oddly South East Asian-sounding alt-country of Houston's Khruangbin. The incense vibe is rounded off by Bonobo's cover of Donovan's "Get Thy Bearings," a version that manages to remove almost all of the original's listless hippiness, instead approaching it in a way that calls to mind recent 4hero.
One of the mix's key qualities is the open-mindedness with which Green approaches his selections. Blog-folk artist Eddi Front seems just as comfortable here as often-forgotten soul singer Darondo, the pair sharing that bittersweet delivery that sits somewhere between deep depression and pure wonder at life. Just as important is Green's unassuming mixing style, which typically involves little more than a slow crossfade. It's precisely the sort of unembellished performance the material calls for.
The set stumbles, though, when it's at its most raucous—for instance, when Airhead's phenomenally uninteresting "South Congress" follows (and completely undermines) Matthew Bourne's quietly lilting "Juliette." This is doubly frustrating because Green is perfectly capable of neatly slotting in more effusive records, as he does with Romare's "Down The Line (It Takes A Number)."
When Green trusts his own downbeat instincts, though, LateNightTales feels comforting in a way few mixes do. It reinforces Green's credentials as a DJ, and perfectly encapsulates the too-late-to-go-to-bed-too-early-for-coffee state of mind for which the series is made.
Tracklist01. Dustin O'Halloran - An Ending, A Beginning
02. Khruang Bin – A Calf Is Born In Winter
03. Bonobo - Get Thy Bearings (Exclusive Donovan cover version)
04. Dorando – Didn’t I
05. Nina Simone - Baltimore
06. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Flipside
07. Menahan Street Band - The Traitor
08. Andrew Ashong - Flowers
09. Romare -Down The Line
10. Shlohmo - Places
11. Lapalux - Gutter Glitter
12. The Invisible - Wing (Floating Points Mix)
13. Badbadnotgood - Hedron
14. Matthew Bourne - IIV. Juliet
15. Airhead - South Congress
16. Matthew Halsall - Sailing Out To Sea
17. Dorothy Ashby - Essence Of Sapphire
18. Peter And Kerry - One Thing
19. Eddi Front - Gigantic
20. Bill Evans - Peace Piece
21. Benedict Cumberbatch - Flat Of Angles Part 3 (Exclusive Spoken Word Piece)