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‘Shine’ is an innovative case-in-point of machine funk turned soulful. Across six tracks, D’Monk (pronounced ‘duhmunk’) — the London-based multi-instrumentalist, producer and selector — makes a strong claim for debut EP of the year, falling somewhere between warm-n-fuzzy electro, LDN broken beat, beatdown and the drunken, undefinable soul-dance of Detroit.

It’s the type of signature touch that has been honed over years; stealthily crafting hard drive-worths of beats in his former-Berlin home studio and working behind-the-scenes with/for Rosie Lowe, Puma Blue and Magoya.

But as Errol and Alex Rita found out, his music truly comes to life in the dance.

With Ken Okuda, Orlando Rosé, Amirah Aziz and Annalisa La Mela, D’Monk runs the Berlin-based party and soon-to-be label, Shush. Alongside their community, the crew are developing an essential foothold within a brimming scene of Berlinites who favour groove over the robotic ‘oontz-oontz’ so traditionally linked with the German capital.

Having been invited to play at Shush back in October 2022, Errol and Alex were blessed to catch D’Monk’s first ever live set. Perched behind a Roland Juno-60, MPC3000 and mixing desk, they saw the dancefloor frenzy that tracks like “U Just Don't Know What U Do 2 Me” and “Don't State The Obvious” cause first-hand.

Those two gems make their way on to the B side live-n-direct, straight from the mixing desk on that night. They’re joined by the downbeat title track, which features Berlin-based keys phenom, Yoofee, 30/70 drummer, Ziggy Zeitgeist, and London’s JAB on percussion. The flip side oozes electro grittiness from A1-3; peaktime badness with subblow weight.

The second entry within Touching Bass’ ongoing 12” vinyl riddim package series. Intentionally made to bottle the eclectic sounds of their much-loved South London-based dance on wax; custom built for dancefloor damage and beautifully presented in the customary, crimson red house sleeve.

_bookings&inq
dmonk@shush.dance
ben@clubloukaves.fr

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D’Monk (pronounced duh’munk) is an instrumentalist, producer and selector from London with
heavy ties to Berlin.

His music emanates the raw and the soulful — representing an eclectic collage of his influences — whether in the form of recorded songs, DJ sets or his body-stirring live performances.

1. Instagram
2. ra.co