Just want the records? Browse the album reviews on their own. Asphaltmotherflame’s “Breathing Over Kiss” finally joins the rotation, six Flying Lotus bootlegs step out of live play, and only one known track remains missing from the archive. For a long while, “Asphaltmotherflame - Breathing Over Kiss” was unobtainium. That has changed. A review of Blow Your Headphones, The Herbaliser’s 1997 sophomore effort on Ninja Tune, and a pillar of the Monkey Radio rotation with 13 tracks on the station. Artist: The Herbaliser · Year: 1997 · Rating: ★★★★★ Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba might be the duo that comprise the London Trip-Hop band The Herbaliser, but for my money it’s vocalist What? What? (aka Jean Grae) that is the face of Blow Your Headphones, the 1997 sophomore effort that was a solid followup to The Herbaliser’s 1995 debut Remedies (also excellent). This album would be worth it for The Blend alone, but she delivers on every track she fronts, including “Hardcore,” the easy winner of “weirdest track on the album” delivering a dose of Beatnik-style spoken word stream of consciousness. A review of Simple Things, Zero 7’s 2001 debut: strong bass lines, stellar vocal work, and a thin paper trail back to the Monkey Radio rotation. Artist: Zero 7 · Year: 2001 · Rating: ★★★★ Simple Things sits in an interesting place on the Monkey Radio playlist: the album was released in 2001, but wasn’t present on either the 2002 playlist or the 2005-snapshotted m3u. All recovered tracks are up. With 1,645 songs in rotation, the archive now holds every acquirable, known Monkey Radio track, including two station exclusives recovered from the artists themselves. I have uploaded the remaining tracks, and removed a handful of duplicates that had sneaked into the mix (e.g. tracks that were added from multiple compilations). A review of Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi, Thievery Corporation’s 1996 debut… and a pillar of the Monkey Radio rotation, with 17 tracks on the station. Artist: Thievery Corporation · Year: 1996 · Rating: ★★★★★ This is a mandatory album for a Monkey Radio collector, featuring 16 tracks from the 2006 digital reissue, AND Mañha, a track exclusive to the original pressing of the album; this album represents a huge part of the station’s grooving, sexy beats (especially early on). A review of 深層 “The Message at the Depth”, DJ Krush’s 2002 descent into industrial found-sound and home of the track Monkey Radio knew only as “Kanji.” Artist: DJ Krush · Year: 2002 · Rating: ★★★½ The Message at the Depth is a good album, but it’s not what I think of when I think of DJ Krush, particularly in the first half. 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, including 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! Groove: Tracklist Updates!
The Herbaliser - Blow Your Headphones
Zero 7 - Simple Things
Groove: Monkey Radio Archive - 1.0 Release!
Thievery Corporation - Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi
DJ Krush - 深層 "The Message at the Depth"
Massive Attack - Protection
Tricky - Maxinquaye
Groove: 33 Rarities and B-Sides Join the Archive
Groove: More Tracks Added to the Archive