If you’re a long time MB reader, you’ll have seen many posts about dope music Andy Taylor has edited, remixed or created in the last decade or more so it was incredibly sad to hear that he passed away this week. Though the monkey never met Andy in person, we had many chats via email and social media beginning all the way back in the days of Myspace in the mid-2000s. Not only was
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DJ ANDY TAYLOR (1977-2020 R.I.P.): Isolation Pop LP
LACK OF AFRO feat. KENNZO: Bad Ass Self
Here we go then – no more L.O.A. being M.I.A as Lack Of Afro breaks a roughly two year silence since his last release with new single Bad Ass Self which features Big Apple rapper Kennzo. And it’s a bit of funk-rock extravaganza too with a simple drum break, bass, fuzz guitar and horns formula allowing Kennzo plenty of space to hold forth on every M.C.’s favourite topic – themselves. He’s so
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DUSTY DONUTS 18: Espírito Do Rio (JIM DUNLOOP Brazil Wave Mix)/ Different Sweetnuts (JIM DUNLOOP & GRZLY ADAMS Walk In The Shade edit)(Vinyl 7″)
Rating: 
Good times – Dusty Donuts 18 is on the way! As is their wont, the DD crew have been busy tracking down classic hip-hop sampled sources and then re-imagining the original tracks with the way they were sampled in mind and – hey presto – you have neither a re-build of the rap tracks nor an edit of the originals but something in between. Jim Dunloop’s Espíritu Do Rio (Brazil Wave Mix) gets it on boom-bap style with the
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WILLIE WEST: Fairchild (ZEMERALD DJ edit) – Free download
It seems like a long minute since there was a free download on the ground at MB – and an equally long minute since we saw anything from Zemerald – a man with a good ear for a funk edit if ever there was one. In fact the last time was four years ago (!) and even then he was saying he didn’t have the time for music that he once did. Tell the monkey about it. Happily our man’s found the time to
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INNEREYEFULL: Night Of The Living Bassbins (album)
Inneryefull’s latest long player, Night Of The Living Bassbins, has finally emerged then and is anything but a rotting corpse. Twelve tracks deep it supplies, (as previous singles Shake That Thing, the title track and Music Is Alive suggested) a heady mix of breakbeats and reggae, the former of which range from club-ready bangers to the positively ambient while the
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SHNIECE MCMENAMIN: Disco Deception EP
Rating: The debut solo EP from singer/ songwriter Shniece Mcmenamin, Disco Deception, actually finds McMenamin deliver five reggae soul covers of classic soul cuts and a gorgeous affair it is too. The opener sets the bar high with the EP’s first single as our heroine capably takes on Lyn Collins number Take Me As I Am in the company
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HAYNESY feat. DJ JABBATHAKUT: The Reworks EP
Rating: Let’s admit it, some old school hip-hop cuts do benefit from a remix so you can see why Haynesy might take on Jungle Brothers’ I’ll House You, and the sparse 808-powered Big Mouth from Whodini. On the other hand it’s hard to see how some could be equalled, let alone bettered, so spare a thought for the size of our man’s cojones in taking on Eric B & Rakim’s Let
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THE BAMBOOS: Hard Up + video
Going forward into the past in their twentieth year as a band, The Bamboos return with new single Hard Up that rediscovers the rawer sound of their early material. The mood is arguably more downbeat though with singer Kylie Auldist (who nevertheless sounds in fine fettle) delivering blues-themed lyrics such as “I don’t want a ride for free/ Ain’t no job security no more…Prices
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TRACKS HAVEN: Dangervibez
Lockdown too tame for you? Unphazed at the prospect of being sucked into a terrifying black hole located somewhere in the Cummings nebula along with morality and the truth? Don’t sweat it! Tracks Haven provide sonic shelter from boredom with new single Dangervibez. Unlike a Scummings press conference, the boys begin with no delay whatsoever blasting straight into clattery drum
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DJ FORMAT & DJAR ONE feat. TOPAZE CHANTILLY: Blue Topaze b/w Ballade Sybarite
DJ Format and Djar One producing either side of une disque vinyl 45 featuring Topaze Chantilly? Fabergé! If your knowledge of French emceeing extends no further than MC Solaar or peut-être NTM, it’s l’heure to se lever. Format supplies grands boom-bap beats comme d’habitude while Topaz occupé the mic – I’m guessing it’s a brag rap but your Français needs to be better than the
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