Just want the records? Browse the album reviews on their own. A review of Protection, Massive Attack’s 1994 sophomore album: an over-polished title track guarding a seedy, instrumental-rich trip-hop gem. Artist: Massive Attack · Year: 1994 · Rating: ★★★ This album is relatively strong, but I have to look past the first track to accept that. A review of Maxinquaye, the dark, seedy 1995 debut from Massive Attack founding member Tricky. Artist: Tricky · Year: 1995 · Rating: ★★★★½ Maxinquaye is a classic trip-hop staple; r/triphop rates it as #9 on its list of top 10 trip-hop albums. Tricky was a founding member of Massive Attack, but left during the creation of Mezzanine. Instead, we get his debut: a darker, seedier affair about sex, drugs, and Tricky’s mom (nope, not unpacking that one). 33 new tracks land in the Monkey Radio Archive — rarities and b-sides from DJ Krush, Lamb, Mez, and the Japanese release of Geogaddi. Also: a hard call on K&D’s “1995.” 33 new tracks have joined the Monkey Radio Archive station…and the hunt is nearly over. A fresh tranche of 102 tracks joins the Monkey Radio Archive — singles, rarities, and a long-awaited haul from the Bento Box compilation. Last night we added a fresh tranche of 102 tracks to the Monkey Radio Archive station! A review of The Endless Bummer, Visit Venus’ darker, technically sharper follow-up to Music For Space Tourism Vol. 1. Artist: Visit Venus · Year: 1998 · Rating: ★★★★ The Endless Bummer’s name immediately warns the listener that this is going to be a departure from the laid-back retro-lounge vibes of Music For Space Tourism Vol. 1. Buckle up for a less optimistic atmosphere that still leaves you enjoying the ride. A review of Sines and Singularities, a synthetic, reverb-drenched downtempo album from Bluetech (Evan Bartholomew). Artist: Bluetech · Year: 2005 · Rating: ★★★ Bluetech, a.k.a. Evan Bartholomew, brings a decidedly electronic downtempo vibe on Sines and Singularities, one of three Bluetech albums on the list, some in full. How one French B-side from 1982 became the most scratched record in history — and why you can hear “Ahhh, this stuff is really fresh” all over the Monkey Radio playlist. Question: What do DJ Krush, Coldcut, Yoko Kanno, and DJ Vadim have in common with Everlast, Céline Dion, Linkin Park, and Britney Spears? Answer: Ahhhhhh, that stuff is really fresh. A few Monkey Radio tracks only ever existed on wax. There’s now a deep dive on how they got digitized — the gear, the levels, and the judgment calls. A handful of tracks on the station never made the jump to digital — the only way to get them was to track down the vinyl and rip it myself. There’s now a deep dive on exactly how that happened. A review of “Count On You,” a downtempo single from Polaroid that appeared on Hed Kandi: Winter Chill 06.02. Artist: Polaroid · Year: 2002 · Rating: ★★★★ One of the harder tracks to pin down on the Monkey Radio playlist, “Count On You” has a bit of a history. It’s a stellar track with an infectious refrain. Danielle “Dan” Rowe delivers haunting vocals with a Boa-like vibe (a la “Duvet”). The trick is that the band doesn’t have an album. A review of 1995, a 2020 album of “lost” recordings from the legendary Vienna duo Kruder & Dorfmeister. Artist: Kruder & Dorfmeister · Year: 2020 · Rating: ★★★★½ 1995 is aptly named, if misleadingly so: released in 2020, it is supposedly the product of the duo finding old unreleased tapes in their studio and revamping them to modern standards. …But should this be in the playlist? Massive Attack - Protection
Tricky - Maxinquaye
Groove: 33 Rarities and B-Sides Join the Archive
Groove: More Tracks Added to the Archive
Visit Venus - The Endless Bummer
Bluetech - Sines and Singularities
Scratch and Sniff
Groove: A New Deep Dive on Ripping Vinyl
Polaroid - Count On You
Kruder & Dorfmeister - 1995
