Fragments (Bonobo album)

Last updated

Fragments
Bonobofragments.png
Studio album by
Bonobo
Released14 January 2022
Genre
Length51:16
Label Ninja Tune
Producer Simon Green
Bonobo chronology
Migration
(2017)		Fragments
(2022)
Singles from Fragments
  1. "Rosewood"
    Released: 6 October 2021
  2. "Tides"
    Released: 20 October 2021
  3. "Otomo"
    Released: 10 November 2021
  4. "Shadows"
    Released: 1 December 2021
  5. "From You"
    Released: 3 January 2022

Fragments is the seventh studio album by British musician Bonobo. It was released on 14 January 2022 under Ninja Tune [3] and was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album for the 65th Grammy Awards. [4]

Contents

Background and singles

Bonobo recorded Fragments in a self-built studio in Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. [1] [5] Fragments features numerous collaborations with other artists, among them Jordan Rakei, Jamila Woods, Joji, Kadhja Bonet, O'Flynn, and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. [5] Instead of having his collaborators perform pre-written music, Bonobo collected "a wide range of material in the studio with collaborators” and edited their recordings later. [6] Due to the pandemic, collaborations on the album were done remotely, which Bonobo felt made the music more intimate. [7] One collaborator, the harpist Lara Somogyi, was featured on multiple songs. Bonobo recorded her playing the harp over one session, and incorporated samples of her playing throughout the album. [6] The album contains both elements of downtempo and dance. [1] [5]

Bonobo released the first single for Fragments, "Rosewood", on 6 October 2021. [8] He released "Tides", featuring Jamila Woods, on 20 October, [6] and "Otomo", featuring O'Flynn, on 10 November. [9] [10] "Shadows", featuring Jordan Rakei, was released on 1 December [11] and "From You", featuring Joji, was released on 3 January 2022. [12]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 76/100 [13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Clash 8/10 [2]
Exclaim! 9/10 [5]
The Line of Best Fit 8/10 [14]
Mojo 8/10 [15]
musicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Pitchfork 5.4/10 [18]
Uncut 7/10 [19]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic , Fragments received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 from sixteen critic scores. [13] Dylan Barnabe wrote in Exclaim! : “It is an album to find love again; to reignite creativity; to regain hope; to find connection.” Robin Damien Morris stated in the Observer that Fragments is "brilliant, wondrous work". [17] Murray wrote in Clash that Fragments "rewards repeated listens, with patience allowing these fresh elements to rise to the surface". [2] Thomas Smith of NME considered it to be "most engaging record [Bonobo] has released since 2010's Black Sands – it is light, airy and remarkably well pieced together". [16] Dave Beech wrote in the Line of Best Fit that "both personally and otherwise, Fragments is Bonobo's strongest record yet". [14] Paul Simpson wrote in AllMusic that Bonobo's "productions [on Fragments] are just the right balance of lush and gritty". [1]

In a mixed review, Sam Goldner wrote in Pitchfork that "the album amounts to little more than a modern-day take on easy listening". [18] Ben Devlin wrote in musicOMH that "Fragments does not outstay its welcome, but only because it isn’t distinctive enough to be consciously welcomed in the first place". [17]

Track listing

Fragments track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Polyghost" (featuring Miguel Atwood-Ferguson)
1:48
2."Shadows" (featuring Jordan Rakei)
  • Green
  • Jordan Rakei
4:45
3."Rosewood"Green4:02
4."Otomo" (featuring O'Flynn)
  • Green
  • Ben Norris
6:11
5."Tides" (featuring Jamila Woods)
  • Green
  • Atwell-Ferguson
  • Jamila Woods
3:46
6."Elysian"
  • Green
  • Thomas Lea
3:02
7."Closer"Green5:11
8."Age of Phase"Green5:42
9."From You" (featuring Joji)
3:30
10."Counterpart"Green5:32
11."Sapien"Green4:03
12."Day by Day" (featuring Kadhja Bonet)
  • Green
  • Atwood-Ferguson
  • Kadhja Bonet
3:44
Total length:51:16
Japanese edition (bonus track) [20]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Landforms"Green3:37
Total length:55:07

Personnel

According to Allmusic: [1]

Charts

Chart performance for Fragments
Chart (2022)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [21] 6
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [22] 15
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [23] 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [24] 10
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [25] 9
French Albums (SNEP) [26] 59
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [27] 3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [28] 34
Scottish Albums (OCC) [29] 3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [30] 8
UK Albums (OCC) [31] 5
UK Dance Albums (OCC) [32] 1
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [33] 2

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Simpson, Paul. "Fragments - Bonobo". Allmusic . Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Murray, Robin (11 January 2022). "Bonobo - Fragments". Clash . Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 Devlin, Ben (14 January 2022). "Bonobo - Fragments | Album Reviews". musicOMH . Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  4. ↑ Lainez, Shervin (16 November 2022). "Bonobo Earns Two GRAMMY Nominations For Fragments (Ninja Tune)". Shore Fire Media . Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Barnabe, Dylan. "Bonobo's 'Fragments' Is an Inspiring Meld of Organic and Electronic | Exclaim!". Exclaim . Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 Leight, Elias (21 October 2021). "Bonobo's Club Hits Are Never the Ones He Expects". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  7. ↑ Murphy, Ben (7 December 2021). "Bonobo: the spaces between". DJ Mag . Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  8. ↑ Hussey, Allison (6 October 2021). "Bonobo Announces New Album Fragments, Shares New Song "Rosewood"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  9. ↑ Bonobo (20 October 2021). Bonobo - Tides (feat. Jamila Woods) (Official Audio) . Retrieved 14 July 2025– via YouTube.
  10. ↑ "Bonobo Unveils New Single "Otomo" Featuring O'Flynn From Fragments Out January 14, 2022 (Ninja Tune)". Shore Fire Media. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  11. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (1 December 2021). "Bonobo shares new Jordan Rakei collaboration "Shadows"". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Bonobo teams up with Joji for 'From You'". DIY. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Fragments by Bonobo". Metacritic .
  14. 1 2 Beech, David. "Fragments is the musical culmination Bonobo has been building up to for 20+ years". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "Bonobo - Fragments". Mojo : 82. February 2022.
  16. 1 2 Smith, Thomas (6 January 2022). "Bonobo – 'Fragments' review: veteran dance don offers a richly rewarding start to the year". New Musical Express . Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 Morris, Damien (16 January 2022). "Bonobo: Fragments review – a wondrous nirvana". The Observer . Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  18. 1 2 Goldner, Sam. "Bonobo: Fragments". Pitchfork . Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  19. ↑ "Bonobo - Fragments". Uncut : 26. February 2022.
  20. ↑ "BEATINK.COM Fragments". Beatink.com. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  21. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  22. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Bonobo – Fragments" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bonobo – Fragments" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  24. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bonobo – Fragments" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  25. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bonobo – Fragments" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  26. ↑ "Top Albums (Week 3, 2022)". SNEP . Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  27. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bonobo – Fragments" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  28. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bonobo – Fragments". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  31. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  32. ↑ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  33. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
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