& Can you dance to downtempo? Simon Green sure can. Bonobo, the moniker of the British electronic musician, played a packed show at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston last Thursday, proving that even the most whimsical electronic music can groove when the right artist is at the helm.

& While bands like Air, Portishead and Thievery Corporation have long been making rounds in lounges and jazz clubs, Bonobo's innovations furthered the genre's appeal enough for him to be deemed a downtempo innovator by his contemporaries. With his self−produced, and mostly self−instrumented, release of "Animal Magic" in 2000, Green shepherded in a new era of electronic music. Like his present work, the album featured a groundbreaking mix of jazz, electronica and trip hop. Bonobo's fan base is somewhat small but rapidly growing as he gains international exposure. He has been featured on countless compilations and has appeared on the soundtracks of shows including "Skins," "CSI," "Californication" and "House." He has gained further acclaim for performing on tour with a full band, accompanied by a singer, saxophonist, string section, drummer and keyboardist, in addition to supplemental electronics, while he plays bass.

& Unlike other big−name performers, Bonobo's music has always featured a sort of dreamy intellectualism. Songs typically build linearly and deliberately — not so that they can spiral into a massive, skull−pounding bass drop, but rather to evolve and explore. One of Bonobo's most popular tracks, "Ketto," from "Days to Come" (2006) is a particularly good example of this. Airy and nebulous at the start, "Ketto" develops into a complex array of chimes, vocals and animal noises, all underlain by a rich, throbbing bassline.

& Green has long been a DJ under his alter−ego Baraka, a side project that gives him the opportunity to explore DJ sets comprised of drum and bass, funk, break beat and jazz. Still, prior to the show, a full set by Bonobo seemed slightly dubious. As Moby, Steve Aoki, Skrillex and Deadmau5 are all too eager to demonstrate, a "performance" can consist of little more than pressing a play button and occasionally bantering with the audience.

& Bonobo's luscious, trippy soundscapes are amazing when you are listening through headphones or in a lounge, but do they really have the aggression and energy needed to drive a full−fledged DJ set? The answer is a resounding yes.

& To start, the only Bonobo tracks Green played were from his recently released "Black Sands Remix" (2012) album. These remixes barely share the same DNA as their predecessors on "Black Sands" (2010) — vocals, bass lines and loops have morphed them into entirely new beasts. While tracks on "Black Sands" like the ambling "Kong" and "El Toro" stand out for their charm, the grittier remixes generally feel more like bass−heavy dance music. The Paradise audience rose gorgeously to the occasion as throngs of fans swarmed the dance floor.

& Green livened up the show by never pigeonholing himself into a particular genre for his set. Though he used tracks from his remix as a starting point, his choice of songs rapidly evolved beyond this. Green played off of the energy of his crowd, traipsing through tracks ranging from "Crystalized" by the XX to Aphex Twin samples to acid jazz to "54−46 That's My Number" by Toots & the Maytals. Arguably the most engaging moment of the show was when Green unexpectedly segued into his operatic Banks remix of "The Keeper." Let it be known — Bonobo knows how to use wobble. The crowd went absolutely wild in a swaying, downtempo frenzy. There might have been a bit too much reggae towards the end of the show and in the overly generous encore, but it didn't detract from the show's strength overall. It was only a full three hours after beginning his set that Green stepped down.

& Finally, it probably helped that this wasn't your typical DJ set crowd. Despite being composed of the standard group of Boston students, the crowd was mellow and respectful. They smiled. They asked to dance with one another. Maybe it's just a downtempo thing.