Intense Records

Black Sands: World Environment Day Edition [Coloured vinyl]

New

£21.66 (£25.99 incl. VAT)

A repress of the critically-acclaimed Black Sands - Bonobo aka SimonGreens celebrated breakthrough record - on Eco Mix double vinyl.

Influenced by the divergent, bass-driven strands of the UK electronic musicscene at that time, Green artfully fitted those evolving sounds into his ownwider vision. The records lasting importance stems from the depth that hefound in those combinations, rattling two-step rhythms and heavy pressuresub-bass twinned with carefully crafted songwriting and lush, brightlyrealised instrumentation.

Its a record thats both timeless and wonderfully of its time. From Kiara,which weds cinematic, string-laden composition with chopped up vocals andluminous synth arpeggios, to Eyesdown, where subterranean swells of bassmeet Andreya Trianas warm, peerless vocals, the album is effortlessly multifaceted. Listening back a decade later, it still sounds just as beguiling,emotive and transportive as it did the first time around.

Using repurposed material offers sound parity with virgin vinyl, and yet it iscurrently habitually underutilised despite the efforts of sustainability focussedpressing plants. Ninja Tune is committed to utilising the surplus PVC frompressed vinyl records across its back catalogue - often referred to as ecomix - in pursuit of more sustainable vinyl production.

The marbled, randommulti-coloured effect vinyl can easily support the demand for new andrecycled black vinyl. With artists such as Bonobo, Ninja Tune is committed tomaking eco vinyl the industry standard, says Sean Preston, Head ofProduction, Ninja Tune. In an effort to set a new and more sustainable precedent for catalogues to berepressed on reclaimed vinyl rather than the standard black or other colouredvariants, all records in the recycled vinyl campaign have also beenmanufactured at pressing plants that have shown commitments tosustainability, by participating in the Music Climate Pact and the VinylAlliance Sustainable Supplier Programme.

Launched in 2021, the Music Climate Pact united record labels to harnessthe power of the music industry towards inspiring transformational change onthe climate crisis. Signatories to the pact commit to take individual andcollective action to measure and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Oneof the priority workstreams has focussed upon quantifying opportunities toreduce the impact of vinyl records- launching a sustainable supplierprogramme with the Vinyl Alliance in 2025. For fans of Jon Hopkins, Four Tet, Caribou, DJ Koze, Burial, Little Dragon.