MONSTA DUBS

m o n s t a b i o .



By khal .



These days, you hear a lot about multi-tasking individuals; everyone is doing graphic design, producing for a bunch of labels, DJing and a host of other titles to add to their social networking sites. You don't know if these cornballs are doing it for the love, for the accolades, or some twisted mixture of both… but the real question is, how many of these guys are doing more than one thing WELL, though?



Enter Monsta.



Many heads first heard of Cambridge's Monsta from his musical endeavors. He started the LIFE4LAND crew with Ed Cox back in 2000, which started out as a sound system as well as a free party. This led into Monsta dabbling with production, getting tunes released on Cyclone and LIFE4LAND's own label, but these releases (primarily Drum & Bass) led Monsta to start experimenting with multiple genres: Gabba, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Ragga, Grime and eventually Dubstep, which has brought him the most musical accolades as of yet. He released a free album on MySpace that was very well received, and lead to his first vinyl Dubstep release ("Eat Your Fuckin Dinner" for Subdivision, which was followed by "Selassi"). His cut "Space Invaders" (ft. Mr. Key) is the latest release on Subtrakt, and features remixes by Dean Rodell & Raiden; this EP features Monsta artwork, as well as a cartoon video! Dubstep heads should also be on the lookout for "Gangsta", which has found a home on LaDubstepNostra… but that is not all.



Monsta is an illustrator who has been receiving serious amounts of praise for his dead-on cartooning. Many first saw his twisted artwork on the Dogs On Acid site, where his topical comics and illustrations focused on DnB DJs and producers, leading him to become the official cartoonist for DOA. After causing quite a stir with the material involved in the cartoons, Monsta's cartooning lead to a feature on Knowledge, along with a meeting with Metalheadz' Goldie. This chance conversation lead to Monsta creating all of the artwork for Goldie's latest Rufige Kru project, Malice In Wonderland: Monsta ended up creating pieces inspired by each track, which ended up being released in a special gatefold sleeve showcasing each of his illustrations (not to mention full artwork for singles "Special Request" and "Malice In Wonderland"). Monsta's artwork for this project has been featured in magazines like Knowledge, ATM, DJ Mag and as a regular comic strip in Austria-based Resident magazine. Those who purchased the CD version were treated to even MORE artwork, as the project grew to Monsta providing artwork for tour posters, advertisements and even a few short video pieces.



All of this is not to mention the artwork Monsta's done for various project entities, including the artwork for "Victorian Rude Boy presents Straight Out The Workhouse" DnB sample, three separate sleeves for singles for the Breakfastaz, Kill the Noise's "Kill Kill Kill" album, Stivs' "Busy Cuts" album, mixtape covers for DJ/producers like claw and a host of flyers for events thrown by the likes of Hospital, Metalheadz, BPM, Dissident and Subculture, not to mention t-shirt designs for Dogs On Acid, Izotope and Clothing Pimps, a custom piece for Cypress Hill and Roor Bongs, as well as profiles pictures for artists including Pendulum, Heist, Paradox, Caspa, Joker, DJ Chef, Jakes, DJ Zen, Jenna G, N-Type, Stenchman and a host of others. There's even a Monsta-helmed cartoon animation of Beezy's "A Day In The Life" that is coming soon from Rinse.



Alongside these ventures, Monsta has been producing original paintings. These pieces of art have been purchased by the likes of DJ Fresh, DJ Q-Bert, Eddy Temple Morris and many others. While he first started out selling his original canvas work via eBay, he (along with Duncan McRobbie) launched "monstapress" ( www.monstapress.com ) in early 2007, a sort of one-stop-shop for worldwide fans to purchase his work from the comfort of their homes. His pieces have also been featured in galleries, and with the way his work has been picked up over the last few years, there's no telling where this will lead!



At the end of the day, there's two kinds of people: there are the ones who piss and moan online, filling up chatrooms and forums about how much they love the scene, whilst tearing it down from within, and there are those like Monsta, who find a lane to not only express themselves artistically, but touch on something that relates to a wide arrange of people, creating his own lane to become recognized, as well as provide himself an avenue to help promote the work of others. With the wide arrange of talent out there in need of bold statements, it's hard to overlook someone like Monsta, who can give you quality work while still having fun, and doing something he loves.



www.rockthedub.com



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