A few weeks ago I got a zip of tunes that greatly excited me, with each tune I listened to outdoing the last. It was the day of our Hivemind radio show, a day that I usually spend trying to rigorously plan the course of a two hour session, and on the strength of the tracks in the zip I ended up completely switching the show’s ending at the eleventh hour, giving a big highlight strewn shout to the work of Cardiff based producer, Monky.

It’s the way he manages to fuse hip hop with 140bpm in a completely unique way that’s the exciting thing. Whereas someone like Illum Sphere (a man soon to be releasing some of Monky’s work on his Hoya Hoya label) industrially cloaks his beats in static shards and mechanic textures, Monky struts through samples and processed synthesizers creating music that bubbles and purs. Tracks like the aforementioned ‘Hipster’ epitomize that, it’s clipped and spacious garage drum pattern standing back from the melting synthesizers that interweave.

Having released an EP and single on Doshy’s Robox Neotech imprint, a label fast becoming one of the go to spots for adrenaline soaked 140 bpm music that doesn’t suck the galvanized teet of wobble bass, Monky has work forthcoming on a plethora of labels. Heavy Artillery, Davey Jones and Hoya Hoya will all be carrying Monky releases this summer, a fact that Brownswood’s A&R Alex Stevenson isn’t ignoring, giving his ‘Drunkerds’ tune an inclusion on the imminent Brownswood Electr*c Vol. 2 compilation, the second installment in the series that compiles the best of the breadth in bass music. With all this and more, in mind we caught up with Monky earlier this week, grabbing our 79th Sonic Router mix in the process.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/04/sr-mix-79-monky-robox-neotech/

John Barry – James Bond Theme
Debruit – Turkish ish (Forthcoming on Civil Music)
Instra:mental – When I Dip (Nonplus+)
Ramadanman – Glut (Hemlock)
Dorian Concept – Her Tears Taste Like Pears (Forthcoming on Ninja Tune)
Monky – Burn Summin’ (Forthcoming on Heavy Artillery)
SBTRKT ft Sampha – Living Like I Do (Young Turks)
Coki – Animal (DMZ)
Landslide – World Keeps Spinning (monky remix) (Dub)
Addison Groove – Sexual (Swamp 81)
Doshy – Suspiria (Rwina Records)
Monky – IOM2 (Forthcoming on Davey Jones)
CRST – Cat Fight (Dub)
Illy Santana – Transborder (Letherette remix) (Dub)
Debruit – Medze U (Forthcoming on Civil Music)
Salva – Wake Ups (Frite Night)
Stagga ft Skamma and Joe Blow – Genik Riddim (Slit Jockey)
Monky – Hipster (Forthcoming on Hoya Hoya)
Ilum Sphere – The Aftermath (Fat City)

http://www.sonicrouter.com/