DJ Chart: thatmanmonkz's slept-on Sheffield tracks

Feature by Scott 'Monkz' Moncrieff | 01 Mar 2016

Long-time Sheffield resident Scott Moncrieff – aka thatmanmonkz – dishes up ten of the finest records to come out of the Steel City, without an Arctic Monkey in sight

"Now, this is in no way exhaustive, and I've missed a whole host of artists and records from down the years, so first of all apologies for that. The one thing I have tried to do though, is give a small flavour of the other side of Sheffield's music scene, a side that often gets a little bit overlooked in my opinion. There has always been a lot more going on here than just indie and bassline house!"

Forgemasters – Track with No Name

[Warp, 1989]
"It's almost impossible not to mention this piece of seminal bleep/techno from Rob Gordon and Winston Hazel. Responsible for so much that came after it, and still rocks to this day."

On – Southern Freeez (Remix)

[Discolated Hip, 1992]
"You can't not mention DJ Parrot when it comes to the Sheffield underground! Again, I could have picked one from so many, including a slew of great recent works, but I'm going for this classic house jam that is distinctly Sheffield... and a whole lot more besides."

Supafix – Jomsong

[Earth, 2001]
"Ross Orton is a world-renowned music producer, most notably for his work with Arctic Monkeys and M.I.A., but he's just as adept at making unique dancefloor bombs as he did here with Winston Hazel. An underground classic and floorfiller."

Swag – Groove Seekers Allowance EP

[Jus'Trax, 1996]
"I could have easily done a whole list of just productions, remixes or edits that underground champion Chris Duckenfield has had a hand in! I'll go with this one for today, as it's a road-tested roller for the dancefloors."

Dnaë and The Indigo Sound Project – Kingdom EP

[Soundcloud, 2014]
"This group are now separated, but this is a lost modern soul gem right here. The great thing is, they're all so young that you'll certainly be hearing more from all involved in the future. Vocalist Dnaë truly is one to watch!"


 thatmanmonkz on new LP Columbusing


Bare Knuckle Soul – Just Right

[Good Times/Resist, 2007]
"This turned up on a Norman Jay compilation in the mid-noughties and features some of the stalwarts of the Sheffield soul scene, notably Pete Simpson's sublime vocals. Darren Campbell is also a world-class bass player."

DJ Mink – Hey! Hey! Can U Relate?

[Warp, 1990]
"With the possible exception of the Human League, this is the first Sheffield record I bought. It's a brilliant piece of early UK hip-hop from the criminally underrated Steel City vet DJ Mink and a Nottingham emcee named K.I.D Carruthers."

Groove Assassin ft. Pete Simpson – Gotta Make It Right

[MN2S, 2011]
"The soulful house scene in Sheffield is very strong, if a little overlooked by the city itself. Here Nick Moss teams up with Pete Simpson, and I'm guessing it's Bennett Holland on the keys, as he so often is for most of us Sheffield beatsmiths!"

Hoodz Underground – How Do You Feel?

[Trackshicker, 2006]
"Hoodz were like Sheffield's Wu-Tang Clan! They dominated the local hip-hop scene in the 90s and 00s, and this is a great piece of social commentary from them. Again, on a different day I could have picked one from any number of tracks!"

Mutsumi – Chair Girl

[BubbleTease, 2010]
"Honorary Sheffielders and husband and wife team Mu and Maurice Fulton come through with a bit of leftfield future broken boogie from a few years ago that sounds great on a big system."

"So, there you go. A little introduction, by no means comprehensive at all, to my take on some of the other side of what's going on musically in Sheffield."


thatmanmonkz's new album, Columbusing, is out now via Delusions of Grandeur