Occasionally the members of Dutch band New Cool Collective take to the Electric Monkey studio in Amsterdam. In 2014 that already resulted in 'Electric Monkey Sessions', for which the band, among other things, drew inspiration from Orchestra Baobab (opener 'Rantanplan', 'Thierno', 'Sa Jikko Jii', 'Casa Di Mansa'), psychedelic cumbia ('Cumbia Yaya'), Italian cinema ('Cinecittà') and some personal jazz favorites ('Mono Eléctrico', 'Thierno'), and for the successor New Cool Collective wanted to aim for an even rawer and more analog sound; one room, a couple of microphones, just a few takes, directly on tape: "The eight of us once again sharing the same room exchanging ideas while Kasper captured the moment and added some extra ingredients; it were exciting, inspiring and creative sessions, and eventually we left the studio with 10 new tracks.". The result is a kaleidoscope of genres that seem to fit wonderfully well together. There's 'Villechaize', a melancholic jazzy tribute to dwarf actor Hervé Villechaize (known for his roles in the James Bond film 'The Man With The Golden Gun' and television series 'Fantasy Island'), and in the same vein 'Max' (up-tempo latin-jazz) and 'Kaspa', dedicated respectively to American jazz drummer Max Roach and Electric Monkey studio recording engineer Kasper Frenkel. 'Limakwa' was inspired by the Afro-Peruvian music of Oscar Aviles, and 'Ar Ping Talk' arose from their shared passion for the sound of Talking Heads. One of the absolute party starters on 'Electric Monkey Sessions 2' is 'Skalypso', as the title indicates a ska-calypso hybrid. The members of New Cool Collective remain Dutchmen at heart, so it may come as no surprise that 'Acapulco Gold' refers to their favorite hemp strain. Highly recommended double bill!