AVIDIGI

Clutchy Hopkins, the clandestine persona backed by any number of unnamed hip-hop DJs and/or producers, returns with his latest effort, The Storyteller. So while we can’t say for sure who is responsible for the music, we can declare with certainty that whoever it is makes damn good music.

Using live instrumentation, Clutchy delivers 11 tracks of goodness for our listening pleasure. Scratchy snares roll throughout “Laughing Jockey” as the sparse production trudges along. There is a liberal use of keyboards and grooving bass lines from the start of the album to the closing track. Wispy vocals appear as a few singers creep in from time to time to lend haunting melodies - but only in tiny bursts. While there is a wide array of instruments on display, Clutchy is careful to avoid over-thinking the tracks. Everything is kept simple, with no extra gloss or flare.

At times, Clutchy’s music has been dubbed “jazz-hop” due to its freewheeling nature and obvious jazz influences. Although that term may get thrown around a bit too much in the hip-hop world, it is actually a rather fitting way to describe the music at hand. Certain tracks err more on the side of jazz, while others demonstrate a strong hip-hop agenda. The result is a beautifully constructed album that melds the two genres such that they almost become classifiable as one. The highlight of the album comes towards the end in “Light as a Feather,” a playful yet melancholy track that urges simplicity above all else.

What is most interesting about The Storyteller is that nothing is permanent - much like the way a real storyteller may add or drop elements, allowing the story to evolve and morph over time). Instruments jump in and out in an instant; even the drum tracks suddenly shift or drop out entirely at times. This allows Clutchy Hopkins - whoever he may truly be - to exhibit his affinity for making music on his own terms, all while acknowledging and dismissing conventional rules at the same time. And so the mystery continues.