SKOODA CHOSE feat. Mikey Rocks & Twista: Loungin - Free download

SKOODA CHOSE feat. Mikey Rocks & Twista: Loungin - Free download
For all those jonesing the long-awaited Cool Kids LP When Fish Ride Bicycles (the status of which is still 'soon come') - try this mellow slide-guitar backed roller from Chi-Town's Skooda Chose where he invites Cool Kid Mikey Rocks and old hand Twista to help him kick back with some rhymes...…DOWNLOAD TRACK AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

SHAOLIN TEMPLE DEFENDERS: Let Yourself Go – 2009 – Single review

SHAOLIN TEMPLE DEFENDERS: Let Yourself Go – 2009 – Single review
Man, if my band was called Shaolin Temple Defenders and I had a single out entitled Let Yourself Go that’s exactly what I’d do. I’d have superfast percussion, put the wah-wah pedal in overdrive and knock out a lo-fi video featuring loads of rapid-fire editing of battling monks and fast shaky zoom shots of a manically cackling kung-fu master, who would arrogantly flick his long wispy beard and then screech something like, “Your monkey style is no match for my southern crane technique!” But then>…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

DUFFS: The Louie

DUFFS: The Louie
Louie Barletta’s new signature shoe – clean lines, no fuss and an old-school look. The blue and the black come in suede, the white runs with the full grain leather. Plus Duffs have wisely gone for the cup sole and avoided the vulcanised alternative so beloved of skate shoe companies of late. Honestly. A vulcanised sole. You might as well…SEE MORE PICS/ READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

NICE UP & J STAR: Cut Ups, Bruck Ups and Muck Ups Vol. 1 – 2009 – Album review

NICE UP & J STAR: Cut Ups, Bruck Ups and Muck Ups Vol. 1 – 2009 – Album review
HIGHLIGHTS: Pretty much all of it
SOUNDBITE: “”
RATING: 5/5
Ah the mashup – refuge of the lazy DJ/ Producer or inspirational genius? It all depends on whose doing it and what the outcome is like. In the case of J Star and Nice Up DJs Shepdog and (on one track) Moodie, it’s the latter. Those who keep their eyes glued to the relevant new release pages of their favourite online record stores may well recognise the greater portion of the cuts on offer here from successive 7 and 12” releases over the last few years and will probably have a lot of them. They’ll also be familiar with the recipe. Take one classic vocal stem (usually off a hip-hop track but possibly off a dancehall or decent pop track) and graft onto the instrumental of another (usually a rocksteady or reggae track but sometimes a hip-hop track) always obeying the rule that the one does not come from the same genre as the other.

Thus we have Skankin’ In The Way of Control with >…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

ADIDAS SKATE: Spring 2009 Collection

ADIDAS SKATE: Spring 2009 Collection
Here is a timely reminder (as if it were needed) that Adidas drop some of the dopest footwear in existence. It is also a reminder that the fact that you produce dope footwear is not a guarantee that you will produce dope clothing. I first saw pics of the kicks below last summer, so…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

THE KINKY COO-COOS: Mean Machine EP – 2009 – review

THE KINKY COO-COOS: Mean Machine EP – 2009 – review
RATING: 5/5
Guitar and horns on the off-beat? Vocals with real soul? Yup it’s the authentic sound of Jamaican ska - and we all know where that comes from don’t we? That’s right. Barcelona. Well – it does now anyway. Crazy Catalonians The Kinky-Coo-Coos have been dropping tunes for over five years with enough authentic skank
Out now.…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

BASEMENT FREAKS: Ya Need A Funky Band EP – 2009 – review

BASEMENT FREAKS: Ya Need A Funky Band EP – 2009 – review
RATING: 5/5
Less a question than a statement, Ya Need A Funky Band is some supercharged latin-funk based breaks from Leipzig- label Frequento Sunsetsoul. In reality more a single with three remixes than a true EP - Basement Freaks’ original version steals the crown…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

DAN AUERBACH: Keep It Hid – 2009 – Album review

DAN AUERBACH: Keep It Hid – 2009 – Album review
HIGHLIGHTS: Heartbroken, In Disrepair – The Prowl - Street Walkin’ – Goin’ Home
SOUNDBITE: “The rain was hard and the ghosts was talking/ My mind was gone and I was street-walkin”
RATING: 4/5
It must be admitted - Keep It Hid - the debut solo venture by Black Keys' guitarist and singer Dan Auerbach - isn’t a million miles away from the sound of The Black Keys. Mind you, if you grant that there are four key (groan) elements to the ‘Keys sound – Auerbach’s tortured blues howl and blistering guitar playing being two and the others being Patrick Carney’s syncopated beats and lo-fi production - and then we accept that the first two weren’t likely to be absent on an Auerbach solo effort and acknowledge that Keep It Hid features lo-fi production and some not-un-Carney-like beats – the similarity shouldn’t come as a revelation. Apparently you can take the man out of The Black Keys but not…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

MONGREL: Hits From The Morning Sun (Styalz Fuego Remix) - 2009 – Single review/ Download

MONGREL: Hits From The Morning Sun (Styalz Fuego Remix) - 2009 – Single review/ Download
RATING: 0/5
The remixer of this track by ‘supergroup’ Mongrel (consisting of members of Arctic Monkeys, Babyshambles, Reverend & The Makers and rapper Lowkey – album Better Than Heavy out soon) might be called Styalz Fuego but there’s no fire in his style in this hideous…READ THE REST/ DOWNLOAD AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

ARTIST PROFILE FEB. 09 - BAMBOO

ARTIST PROFILE FEB. 09 - BAMBOO
Bamboo produces art under the alias Bambookidd and has been sketching and doodling since he could hold a pen. Influenced by the likes of D*Face, The London Police, Jamie Hewlett, Minilogue, Blu, comics, cartoons and growing up with skater/hip-hop culture, he eventually began to develop and work on a character of his own. The result is is Bamboo's alter ego - Boo-kidd - a blank canvas who…VIEW PICS/ READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

Underexposed…BREAKGLASS_EMERGENCY - Interview

Underexposed…BREAKGLASS_EMERGENCY - Interview
It’s 2009, nearly twenty years since dirty fuzzed-out rock from the Pacific Northwest broke big and plaid shirts are back in. I have no idea whether they own anything with checks on and they’re not from Seattle either but Glasgow’s Breakglass_Emergency certainly bring the noise. The monkey’s always had a soft spot for a bit of loud guitar and was as likely to listen to Soundgarden or The Screaming Trees as A Tribe Called Quest or 3rd Bass back in the day. Consequently, if you’re looking for scuzzy garage rock and some filthy riffs they’ll be your boys. This is what the band had to say for themselves:…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

IPATH: Spring 2009 Footwear

IPATH: Spring 2009 Footwear
IPath got new kicks out! As you can see they’re hedging their bets when it comes to styles – you got low-tops, mid-tops, and some things that might tempt middle-aged dads that don’t even look like trainers/sneakers at all...In terms of colourways (incidentally - can anyone tell me why…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM