Bonobo may have come and gone, but the memories, photos, videos and nostalgia shall always remain. On 13th December, Mumbai witnessed something ethereal. Simon Green, one of the greatest musicians alive, decided to stop by Mumbai for a show that would fulfill most of Mumbai’s wildest dreams. After a spectacular release of his latest project- The North Borders, the fact that we were lucky enough to listen to those melodious tracks live, was simply what made our December, no two ways about it. Finding a magical start with the opening track, ‘Cirrus‘, Simon went on to juggle and hop between his charming productions and we were soon in a state of harmony by the time the opening notes of ‘Kong‘ found its way into his set.
Time stood at a standstill when Simon was on set, we doubt anyone would’ve checked the time, wondering what time it’d all end. Simon may have played most tracks we’ve known/heard of, but the sheer authenticity of hearing it in an entirely different environment, particularly watching him conjure sounds out of nowhere, was the icing and cherry on top. To put it simply, you had to be there to experience it. No amount of words can ever describe the emotions the few thousand attendees went through, because for the first time in our lives, the magnitude of how deeply connected music and emotion is, made perfect sense thus leaving us speechless. We will never forget 13th December, but for the two of us, 12th December was just as special. Read on below to find out!
12th December shall always remain etched in our minds as the day we nearly died and went to heaven. Okay, this might be a bit melodramatic, but we really did encounter a near fatal accident that day. How? Simply because we were rushing to personally interview the greatest artist to have walked this green earth, Simon Green a.k.a Bonobo!
Scheduled for a 3.30 P.M window at one of the luxurious 5 star hotels of Mumbai, the two of us being perennially late ended up at the hotel a little past 4, frantically dashing through traffic at breakneck speeds, praying that we reached in one piece and Simon wouldn’t be too ticked off at a couple of music journalists wasting his precious time. Luckily, the Gods were on our side that day. We dashed inside to search for the ballroom in which Simon was conducting his interviews. Our window of face time with Simon may have shortened, but we were just as anxious to pick his brain about what made him tick.
Finally it was our turn, and we walked up to the man, just chilling in a corner in a loose tee and shorts. With a pleasant smile he greeted us both, and at that moment we knew our dreams had finally come true. Exclusive face time with the artist that was a part of our high and low times of life, we’re not sure if Simon realized the way he’s revered by fans like us thanks to his music becoming a part of our multiple journeys through life. Following are the few questions we could get answered. Disclaimer: We were super tongue tied. Blame it on an extreme OD of being starstruck? Go figure.
TBB: It’s great to finally meet you Simon, we’ve been fans of yours since we were quite young, really.
Simon: Ahh cool!
TBB: Alright, we’re just gonna ask you a few questions. Let’s start off with – how’ve you found India so far?
Simon: Umm, I haven’t left the hotel so far! I’d like to take out some time to go and see it, once I’ve got time to explore as much as I can.
TBB: What do you plan to explore?
Simon: Well, I haven’t seen Mumbai yet so I wanna spend the rest of the weekend exploring the city, then I wanna get out and see villages and get to the beach, maybe.
TBB: In our earlier email interview, you’d mentioned that you wanted to visit India when you were back in college. What was the reason behind that?
Simon: I think, it’s the same as the rest of the world, to go and explore different cultures, since they’re not my own.
TBB: Speaking of India, we’ve noticed there are a lot of Indian influences in your songs. Flutter, for example, has a beautiful sitar vibe in the background.
Simon: Yeah! I mean, I play sitar, I have one at home, since I was kinda a little teenager.
TBB: Are you self-taught?
Simon: Yeah yeah, I listen to a lot of sitar music as well. I mean, I don’t play very well, but I like to play it cause it’s fun.
TBB: Funny fact about Flutter really, it seems a friend had heard it play a couple of weeks back at the lounge in Mumbai airport! Do you feel that your music garnering waves all over has increased your fan base?
Simon: Oh, no way! That’s pretty cool. Yeah, I mean a lot times, people have told me they’ve heard me in places way out, like Indonesia, y’know all over the place. I love it, it’s great. It’s something you put out there and it goes and just plants a seed on itself, it’s weird but all so great.
TBB: So, Kong’s always been one of our all time favourite tracks, it’s one of the most serene tracks we’ve ever heard. What was the inspiration behind you coming up with it?
Simon: Cool! I don’t really set out with an idea, I just start making noises and things start to come in focus. Basically, the thing about Kong is, I was writing a beat for someone else, I think it was a rapper, a guy from the UK. When it started to take shape a day in, I didn’t wanna give this away and I wanted to use it for myself. So when I wrote the initial guitar bit, it sounded a bit slow, so I sped it up, like a 100%. So I kinda flipped the speed of it and then it sounded good. That’s when I started to put the beats on it.
TBB: So, do you think audiences react differently to your music, or do you find a collective reaction?
Simon: No, it’s actually one of the good things about traveling the world. You find that, its one of the constant universal things that, sort of, crowds around the world react the same way. The vibe is either good or bad, that’s all there is really.
TBB: Are your sets based on the vibes you receive?
Simon: Umm, yeah certainly. If the crowd are into it, then I’m gonna be more adventurous, I’d go deeper and it’s gonna be more rewarding for everyone. If the crowd’s just standing there and the vibe’s kinda tough, then I’m just gonna play it safe.
TBB: You’re gonna love Mumbai then, cause we know people from all over India who are coming down to specifically catch your performance.
Simon: I’m excited to see them all tomorrow!
TBB: Do you have any advice for kids aspiring to be like you?
Simon: Don’t try and think about what anyone else is gonna think about your music. Trust your instincts, I think. Don’t try and sound like anything or please anyone. Just do what feels good! Make it personal though, if it’s personal to you, it’s personal to everyone.
TBB: If there’s one thing you could change about the music industry, what would you do?
Simon: It’s changing so much already! I’d probably take out the top corporate end of it.
TBB: It’s been an absolute pleasure talking to you, thank you so much for your time.
Simon: Alright! Yeah, sure.
Leave a Reply