3 out of 5

Label: Planet Mu

Produced by: Nondi_ (?)

Released alongside Nondi_’s followup to Flood City Trax, and described only as being hand-selected by Planet Mu-er Mike Paradinas, Bonus Nondi_ is a bit harder to parse versus Tatiana Triplin’s (a.k.a. Nondi_’s) full-length releases. It’s probably best viewed as a compilation, albeit sequenced to spread out tracks that are more loop-based, or Triplin’s take on footwork – kind of dreamy, hazy d&b – or some occasional hyped up ravers, but it’d be interesting to know the era from which these tracks are / were taken, or their intentions. Are they cutting-room jobs to Nondi_’s sophomore album? Or, as Triplin has been recording under this name and others for years, do the recordings come from an earlier point? I appreciate that it’s not wholly important, but it’s tempting to brush off some of ‘Bonus’ as noise or background, and having some context – or commentary from Paradinas on his reasons for selecting these tunes – would maybe encourage a closer listen.

Flood City had a narrative; a scope of emotions. Tatiana’s self-titled followup is a different scope, but operates with that same framework. You’ll find traces of Bonus’ styles across both of those albums, though the work is looser; more sprawling. To the extent that some of these feel like sketches: seeing how long a repeated sample can be looped before it loses resonance, or how long it takes to turn to drone; checking if Triplin still had / has what it takes to do a proper club track, or hit on some IDM drills. These are not uninteresting experiments, I just still land on that term: experiments. Or at least they stand alone as singles, unlinked from the material around them. Elsewhere, the hazy flow of static-ed beats and woozy splashes of samples and ambience that form the backbone of Nondi_’s full-lengths find release: excellent, emotive and immersive work like About Me 140 or Juke Sunset.

All of this is interesting, and certainly pushes past the barrier into notable – you will want this if you are a fan of the artist’s work – but the compilation nature of the set, and a kind of odds & sods vibe for about half of the tracks, renders it exactly as its title suggests: something supplementary; a bonus.