In 1993 saxophonist Benjamin Herman began experimenting with DJ Graham B at nightclub Soul Kitchen in Amsterdam. The combination of playing live to spinning records was still unusual then. But the results worked and ended up evolving into the eight-piece New Cool Collective. The band is now impossible to think away from the nightclubs and festivals of the Netherlands and beyond.

The line-up of New Cool Collective is made up of saxophonist Benjamin Herman, drummer Joost Kroon, percussionists Frank van Dok and Jos de Haas, pianist Willem Friede, bassist Leslie Lopez, guitarist Rory Ronde and trumpet-player David Rockefeller.

New Cool Collective's fifteenth album Electric Monkey Sessions 1 refers to the sound studio in Amsterdam where the recordings were made. A new studio for the band, and a new style of recording, which means a whole new vibe compared to previous albums. New Cool Collective has drawn inspiration from Senegalese Orchestra Baobab, as well as psychedelic cumbia, Cape Town, Italian cinema and many major jazz heroes. Electric Monkey Sessions 1 also features two unique tracks recorded at a beach-side studio in Dakar with local musicians the band met on one of their many international adventures.