bonobos -- Ano Kotoba, Ano Hikari（あの言葉、あの光）

 

Well, it's been about eight years since I last posted anything about the band bonobos, and I only found out today that they had called it a day more than a year ago. When it comes to the group, my memories will always focus on their supremely catchy pop tune "Thank You For The Music" which premiered in 2005.

Earlier than that though, there was their 3rd single from August 2004, "Ano Kotoba, Ano Hikari" (Those Words, That Light). bonobos had been categorized on J-Wiki as a band specializing in rock, reggae and chamber pop (!), so I gather that "Ano Kotoba, Ano Hikari" was more into their stock in trade. But not only does it have that recognizable reggae beat, I can also pick up on some bossa nova and good ol' pop. Written and composed by vocalist Chunho Sai (蔡忠浩), it's a nice and relaxing song about falling heads over heels. I figure that Hump Day needs something like that to take the edge off the midweek. As for the music video, the band members certainly make it all enticing to get those air tickets for the tropics...and perhaps try out that old-fashioned Google Image function.

Anyways, it's belated but to bonobos, thank you for the music.

bonobos -- Cruisin' Cruisin'

Well, continuing along with my theme of "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" today on New Year's Eve, here is the "something new" segment.

Bonobos is a band that I've known for one song and one song only thus far. That would be one of my biggest earworms titled "Thank You For The Music" which came out over a decade ago. Whenever I hear the boom-boom-thwack beat ring out in my memories, I just feel like searching for the song again.

In recent years, though, the band has also been helping out on an NHK kids' program that comes on just before the news, "Nyanchu World Hoso Kyoku"（ニャンちゅうワールド放送局...Nyanchu's World Broadcasting Corporation）. Of course, the music provided by the band there is a lot more geared towards the little ones.

However, I did find this song that had come out as part of bonobos' latest album from September 2016, "23-ku" (２３区...23 Wards). Titled "Cruisin' Cruisin'", it's actually a nice slice of slow-groovin' soul written and composed by vocalist Chunho Sai（蔡忠浩）. The riffs and Sai's crooning of the title have created a new bonobos earworm for my head, and the song actually takes me more into the territory of Tomita Lab and Sing Like Talking.

But that official music video is perfect for the song. Listening to this while admiring the view on a rooftop looking out at Tokyo Sky Tree is just the tonic. I've been hearing about the flood of Air BnBs that have shown up in the metropolis over the last year or so. Wouldn't it be wonderful to track a place down with that sort of view?

Judging from the title of bonobos' album which refers to the 23 wards of Tokyo, I wonder if the release is going for a more urban contemporary beat. If so, I wouldn't mind perusing the tracks further.

Bonobos -- Thank You For The Music

Thank you for the music indeed. This song hit me in my consciousness when it was used as one of the ending themes for "Countdown TV" on TBS. When a show ends at about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, I don't usually pay too much attention to any song that would be playing, but this infectious little earworm by the Bonobos got it with that thumping drumbeat and the happy chirping melody. That boom-boom-thwack reminded me of my lunch periods at my old junior high school when the kids would suddenly and periodically do a mass hand percussion on the cafeteria tables.

The Bonobos (probably named after that monkey indigenous to the Congo) are, according to Wikipedia, an Osaka dub band with roots in reggae and rock. Formed in 2001, the current members are Chunho Sai (蔡忠浩...vocal and guitar), Bondo Tsuji (辻凡人...drums), and Natsuko Morimoto (森本夏子...bass). Two former members are guitarist Yasuyuki Sasaki（佐々木康之） and percussionist Izumi Matsui（松井泉）. It was Sasaki who wrote and composed "Thank You For The Music" for release in May 2005 as the band's 5th single. The song is also a track on their 3rd album "electlyric" released in June.

The original music video for the song is nowhere to be seen on the Net, at least currently (uh, look up?). But it did involve the band enjoying their time in a park while throbbing geometric shapes were pulsing around....I guess you have to be there. But the above video of the Bonobos performing at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture in 2007 will do. Despite the genres that have been listed for them, I consider "Thank You For The Music" as just a gleeful pop song. The lyrics has Sai describing what must have been a very happy day in his life as he observes the lovely scenery around him while waiting for that girl. Pretty happy-go-lucky and pretty infectious. I can only wish for a lot of those days.

http://www.nicozon.net/watch/sm87259

Well, managed to find a fuzzy version of the original music video at the above link.