Monkey Funk has been having it going on lately, a string of very tight, club
moving releases. This new one is okay... a few of the cuts kinda fall in a
generic definition of "trip hop" (rising 303s, fast hip hop beats, dubby
basslines, you know the score) but the absolute standout that makes the record
necessary is the remix of Love Lee's "Respect". Remember the original that was
out on Peace Fest Records a year back or so? It had the Aretha "R-E-S-P-E-C-T"
sample and a great snare sound. It was a club favorite, very funky and jazzy,
and clocking at about 107 BPM. Well, this new version completely cuts up the
original, doing away with Aretha, keeping the funky guitar line, and adding some
sci fi-ish singing vocals and some damn spooky strings pads. The drums are sort
of choppy and cut up, sort of like a 'jungle' tune, but this is not 'jungle'.
Actually, this remix definitely takes inspiration from 'ambient jungle' with
stuttering drums and string chords. A winner, and possibly showing some new
broken boundaries in the 'acid jazz' genre.
PEACE n LATERS
Michael Donaldson
SOUL POWER MAGAZINE / BAD MOOD RECORDS