The Story Teller

by Clutchy Hopkins

When you put on a new Clutchy Hopkins album, you know exactly what you're going to get: atmospheric, meditative tracks that are constructed using a variety of unusual instruments and electronic equipment.

There is the usual Hopkins nonsense in the liner notes - this time around it's a story about Clutchy being in jail in the desert, as the people at Ubiquity keep up with the game of fictionalizing Clutchy's identity in a way that reminds me of Madlib's Yesterday's New Quintet.

The music itself is very good.  This is a slightly prettier album than some of Clutchy's other work, and it seems like more care has been put into creating whimsical track titles ('Giraffe Crack', 'Drunk Socks').  At some point, one will not need any new Clutchy Hopkins, as it kind of all sounds the same, but I do love playing his stuff as background on a quiet day when I'm just lying on the couch reading.

Fascinating Fingers

by Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins

This second collaboration by Ubiquity Records mainstays Shawn Lee and Clutchy Hopkins is quite different from their first outing together. There is still the same backdrop of spaced-out rhythms and futuristic instruments, but this time around, the two have focused more on creating different sounds and a more lush, textured album.

Also, for the first time in my Clutchy Hopkins memory, there is singing, provided by The Superimposers on one track. This is a very chilled album, although its variety makes it less monotonous than Clutchy's other albums (which are monotonous in a good way - it's not a criticism).

As with last time, the album artwork is provided by the incredible Jim Mahfood, which is very cool.

Music is My Medicine

by Clutchy Hopkins and Lord Kenjamin

If you've heard one Clutchy Hopkins project, you've pretty much heard them all. This is another example of his trademark sound - it's difficult to describe, except to say that it's like Ambient House, played on real instruments of his own creation.

Clutchy is joined on this project by Lord Kenjamin, about whom I know nothing at all, except I assume he is the person responsible for the slight reggae inflection that many tracks on this album contain.

I wonder how long it will be before Ubiquity reveals who Clutchy Hopkins really is....

The Misled Children Meet Odean Pope

This album represents a fruitful partnership between Clutchy Hopkin's proteges, the Misled Children, and Odean Pope, a Porter Records jazz musician, who contributes his excellent horn playing over the Children's instrumentation.

The album is beautiful. The earlier tracks display the hip-hop roots of the group, especially on 'Four Track', but as the album progresses, it becomes increasingly haunting and atmospheric. By working with Pope, the Misled Children are able to add to the sound they created on 'Peoples Market', making it deeper and richer.

This album credits Clutchy Hopkins simply for 'musical input', but his sound is all over this album. Interestingly, a Lucinda Hopkins is also thanked - perhaps adding more to the mystique that is Clutchy (or at least, the invented mystique, because I don't know how many people really care).

This is a very strong album, and I would like to see more work of this type coming from Porter Records.

Clutch of the Tiger

by Shawn Lee and Clutchy Hopkins

So, according to the liner notes, Shawn Lee met up with the then-unidentified Clutchy Hopkins outside of a thrift store somewhere in the Mojave Desert, where he was given a tiger mask. This somehow started a lengthy collaboration between the two artists, which resulted in this album.

The album is the standard Clutchy Hopkins goodness. It's funky and chilled, and generally very enjoyable. It pretty much sounds a lot like his other work, which makes it an automatic purchase for me.

One difference is that on this album, there are song titles, which is a nice change of pace from his other work. As well, the album cover and liner notes are by the talented Jim Mahfood, which was a surprise.

Peoples Market

by Misled Children

I don't know the slightest thing about the Misled Children. A careful reading of the cd packaging provides no idea of who the Children are, or how many of them there are. All that it tells us is that the album was made 'Under the supervision of Clutchy Hopkins,' which of course clears everything up. Except for the fact that no one knows who Clutchy Hopkins is either.

The myth of Clutchy is that he is a vagabond musician, roaming deserts and deserted places, and occassionally gifting people with some incredible music, that somehow always finds it way to the good people at Ubiquity, and now, I suppose, Porter Records. The rumour is that Clutchy is a well-known hip-hop producer trying something new under a pseudonym.

In the absence of personality, ego, and even track names, all that is left to do is focus on the music. This cd is very nice. The tracks on this album sound very much like the last two Clutchy Hopkins releases - a melding of instrumental jazz and hip-hop, with repetitive structures. The different tracks tend to bleed into each other in my mind, even though they have finite endings. This is a funky little album, and I enjoy it more each time I play it. The Clutchy Hopkins/Misled Children music machine is a prolific one - I made five purchases this year (although I think that one is a year or two old), and I think I have the complete oeuvre, but I wouldn't be surprised if I'd missed something along the way.