K DELIGHT - Audio Revolution - Album launch party

K DELIGHT - Audio Revolution - Album launch party
The Audio Revolution launch party is going to beheld in K-Dilla's home town of Darlington - the 'home of hip hop' (he reckons) on Fri, 12th DEC. Performing alongside KD will be Ill Inspired and Def Tex MC, Chrome, will be on hand to perform Wildstyle Dream.
K-Delight Audio Revolution - 2008 - Album review

UGLY DUCKLING – Audacity – 2008 – Album review

UGLY DUCKLING – Audacity – 2008 – Album review
HIGHLIGHTS: I Won’t Let It Die/ Einstein Do It (Night On Scratch Mountain)/ Right Now
SOUNDBITE: “I need to find a time machine/ To go back to ’89 and re-design the scene/ I’d start with the picture in my junior high yearbook/ When I had a bad haircut and a weird look”
RATING: 4.5/5
When Wile-E-Coyote inadvertently (and inevitably) runs off cliffs in his admirable but continually doomed pursuit of Roadrunner he still always manages to cover a few yards after the ground has run out. Ugly Duckling would be like Wile-E-Coyote but for the fact that they keep going…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

PARKER - The Butler Did It Mix - Promo Video

PARKER - The Butler Did It Mix - Promo Video
Parker on the cut y'all! The Bristol bass DJ's got a new promo out for his The Butler Did It Mix and…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

BLACKALICIOUS – First In Flight (The Re-edit)) – 2008 – Single review

BLACKALICIOUS – First In Flight (The Re-edit)) – 2008 – Single review
RATING: 2/5
The Blazing Arrow album was the first time I saw signs of the hitherto teflon-coated pairing of Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab start to fall off. Why this bland brace of tracks has been…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

RESENSE EP 008 – 2008 – Review

RESENSE EP 008 – 2008 – Review
RATING: 4.5/5
The Austrians have given the world many things – Hitler, Arnold Schwarznegger and Falco being three of them - but hey - they’re making up for it now. This EP was listed as ‘Broken Beat/ Nu Jazz’ on one of my sources so I nearly missed out on this massive collection of…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

THE NEW MASTERSOUNDS – Hole In The Bag – 2008 – 7” single review

THE NEW MASTERSOUNDS – Hole In The Bag – 2008 – 7” single review
RATING: 5/5
The New Mastersounds often get compared to The Meters – somewhat unfairly as their repertoire contains many features entirely un-reminiscent of the funky kings of New Orleans. Having said that, they…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

MOS DEF - Life In Marvellous Times - 2008 - Single review/ Limited free download

Read it/ get it here

THE BLACK KEYS – Live at Bristol Carling Academy – November 17 2008

THE BLACK KEYS – Live at Bristol Carling Academy – November 17 2008
READ COMPLETE ARTICLE AND SEE MORE PICS AT MONKEYBOXING.COM
I’ve never been asked to take my gum out on the way into a venue before, though I guess there’s a first time for everything - anyway – that is precisely what happened when I got to the doors of this one. I put another piece in on the inside of course – (remember that as it’ll be important later on) and hoped that it didn’t bode badly for the evening – though I had my doubts when the first support act came on. A trio, competent but dull, they were leavened only by the size of the drummer’s beard (about the size of a small raccoon) and guitarist who bore a passing resemblance to Thomas Chong and who looked like he’d just wandered in off the Haight Ashbury circa nineteen sixty eight. The second support (whose band name again eluded me) were a charismatic, skilled and obviously mental Kiwi/ Aussie combo who bonded well with the crowd but were generally strangers to the conventional song structure which the crowd so clearly wanted.

Still, 'giving them what they want' is both Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney’s middle name - arriving as they did with little fanfare and pummelling the crowd with a welter of mammoth blues riffs and feedback. After a couple of tracks Auerbach mumbled “I’m Dan and this is Patrick,” – a man of few words then – though in comparison to Carney (who, as I recall said nothing for the entire gig and is apparently a man of no words) he was a conversational titan. Here are two men, I thought, who...READ COMPLETE ARTICLE AND SEE MORE PICS AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

K DELIGHT – Audio Revolution – 2008 – Album review 2008

K DELIGHT – Audio Revolution – 2008 – Album review 2008
HIGHLIGHTS: Forever Hip Hop – The Real Thing – Wildstyle Dream – Return Of The Jedis - Teenagers From Outer Space – The Life And Times Of A Scratch Machine
SOUNDBITE: “So put your drinks down it’s time to stand up…/ You better man up because there’s more girls in this place than Russell Brand’s fucked”
RATING: 5/5
I never thought I’d have had to wait until nearly the end of the year to give a hip-hop LP full marks, nor that this year’s most convincing b-boy document so far would have come out of Darlington...(READ MORE @ MONKEYBOXING.COM)

Underexposed…D.J.H + Hip-Hopper From Birth EP - free download exclusive!

Underexposed…D.J.H + Hip-Hopper From Birth EP - free download exclusive!
As Darren Joseph Horgan points out – having the initials D.J.H. meant it was more a case of when rather than if he would wind up as a DJ and, as it turns out, he’s been one since the early 80s – indeed since the early days of hip-hop...(READ MORE @ MONKEYBOXING.COM)

THE BAMBOOS - Amen Brother/ Tears Cried (feat. Kylie Auldist) - 2008 - Single review 5 NOVEMBER 2008

THE BAMBOOS - Amen Brother/ Tears Cried (feat. Kylie Auldist) - 2008 - Single review
RATING: 5/5
The onset of winter is depressing as shit isn't it? Long nights, bitter mornings, ice on your toilet seat...what you need is an upbeat, uptempo slice of summery organ-based funk. Amen Brother is precisely what you'll cry, then, when you hear the A side of this new Bamboos bomb. Nobody likes someone who's too happy though! Christ what a pain in the ass! Thus...(READ MORE @ MONKEYBOXING.COM)

Q-TIP – The Renaissance – 2008 – Album review

Q-TIP – The Renaissance – 2008 – Album review
HIGHLIGHTS: Won’t Trade – Official - Man/Woman Boogie – Move
SOUNDBITE: “What good is an ear/ If a Q Tip isn’t in it?”
RATING: 3.5/5
Finally, former A Tribe Called Quest main man and nasal-voiced legend Q Tip has organised a second solo coming and this time around he’s largely incarnated himself as a neo-soul-hip-hoperator soon to be sound-tracking any wine bars near you that have survived the credit crunch...(READ MORE @ MONKEYBOXING.COM)

Underexposed! Andy Taylor

Underexposed! Andy Taylor
If you haven’t heard Pray (Andy’s ridiculously euphoric funk anthem with vocals from Louisa Rox), do me a favour - click on this link and have a listen to it on Andy's Myspace player - you might have to scroll down a bit. When you get back to this feature - let me know if you can think of a reason why this man is still unsigned.

Now based in Glasgow, DJ and musician Andy Taylor’s soulful breakbeat collaborations with singer Louisa Rox (like the recent Pray and spanking new tracks Society and Purple) are pure fire. Some of his stuff has appeared on Refo Recordings releases and his track Jah Mambo was featured on BBC Radio 6’s Craig Charles Soul & Funk Show. Andy’s also been Djing for around 10 years and regularly plays sets that feature classic funk, hip-hop, breaks and …ahem…house. Monkeyboxing caught up with Andy to have a few words:...(READ MORE @ MONKEYBOXING.COM)