Overview
Migration is the sixth studio album by British DJ and record producer Simon Green, performing under the name Bonobo. It was released on 13 January 2017 through Ninja Tune. The album was recorded primarily on laptops rather than in a studio. It was supported by the release of several singles, including "Kerala". The album received generally positive reviews from critics and charted internationally, reaching the top five of the UK Albums Chart.
Background
Migration was primarily written and recorded while Green was still on tour for his previous album, The North Borders. After the completion of the tour, Green completed a move from New York City to the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The move, as well as the travelling for the tour and the deaths of some family members, led Green to contemplate on themes of identity, migration, and the environment. Because the tour for The North Borders consisted of approximately 175 shows across three continents for about eighteen months, the music for Migration was mainly created on a laptop as opposed to the studio environments of Green's previous albums.
Artwork
Neil Krug served as the art director for the album. Green had tasked Krug to create artwork that was "beautifully sinister". Krug and Green decided that the artwork should be ambiguous and tease a thematically darker narrative. As a result, the artwork, which was captured in four hours, depicts the "Martian" landscapes of the Mojave Desert. The images were then digitally manipulated to add as much color as possible "without being ridiculous".
Release
The lead single, "Kerala", was released on 3 November 2016. The music video features Gemma Arterton attempting to run away from a meteor in a London suburb. "Break Apart" was released next on 6 December 2016. The third single, "No Reason", was released on 10 January 2017. The album was released by Ninja Tune on 13 January 2017.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).