Press

“This music is F-U-N-K-Y…The rawest, grittiest, skin-slapping this side of The Meters…”
- Okayplayer

“Clutchy makes about the sickest jazzy funk, live hip-hop fusion this side of Galactic’s ‘From the Corner to the Block’.”
- Popmatters

“A marvelously concocted and amazingly fresh & contemporary mesh of funk, hip-hop, jazz, and straight-out weird orchestral psychedelia…”
- AllMusicGuide

“The beats are so sticky-icky the record should come complete with rolling papers. ‘Love Of A Woman’ wins ‘Best Song To Make Babies To’ in 2008.”
- Slug Magazine

• BBC Radio 1: “Verbal Headlock” (2010)
“Gilles Peterson’s ‘All Winners 2010′ list of top tracks” (read more)

• OkayPlayer: “The Storyteller” (2010)
“Fictitious musical persona Clutchy Hopkins returns with a collection of cinematic instrumentals befitting the title “The Storyteller”, subtle loop-based compositions for which atmosphere and mood are the primary function…Wordless vocals and acoustic guitars haunt “No Contact…Contact,” sounding forlorn until the breakbeat kicks in, making this one of the tracks most conducive to participatory neck-bends and head-nods.” (read more)

• URB Magazine: “The Storyteller” (2010)
“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.” (read more)

• Wax Poetics: “Mystery Music From the California Desert (2009)
“Southern California’s inland desert residents regard their local coffee shop, the Beatnik, as a haven for outsiders.  It is a place where conspiracy is conversation and otherness simply is. That must be why my contact from the Clutchy Hopkins project chose it as the location for our meeting…” (read more)

• OkayPlayer: “Music Is My Medicine” (2009)
“The question still remains: who is Clutchy Hopkins? The answer may not be revealed on this, an alleged “lost” recording of him recorded in Barbados in the late 70′s and early 80′s…The vibe on this album is a mixture of Afro-funk, reggae, dub, soul, and funk, so imagine Fela Kuti if he felt a need to play songs that were less than four minutes.” (read more)

• OkayPlayer: “Fascinating Fingers” w/Shawn Lee (2009)
“The mystery behind Clutchy Hopkins’s true identity remains. But it has become very clear what he is all about musically. Armed with a host of instruments, this talented producer has made his style known like his partner-in-crime, Shawn Lee. The two jump from continent to continent, from one album, hell, one song to the next, and they do it all while crafting sometimes catchy, almost-always interesting music.” (read more)

• OC Weekly: “Who the Hell Is Clutchy Hopkins?” (2008)
“No one, not even his own label, really knows who Clutchy Hopkins is…Walking Backwards features luscious orchestrations, real strings, guitar, piano, organ, electric piano, synths, flutes and melodica. Dope beats evoke the work of the RZA or Madlib’s Yesterdays New Quintet project, and the raw drums crackle with immediacy. The moody album conjures dark, smokey rooms humming with vintage grooves inspired by old records found in Inland Empire swap-meet dollar bins. Initially underwhelming, Hopkins’ style gradually infects the brain…”(read more)

• Orlando Weekly: “Walking Backwards” (2008)
“Forged of modern soul, downtempo, hip-hop, blues and electronica, this is one pimp-ass record of atmospheric beat music that throbs with mood, mystery and humor. Add in a clever, hilariously crafted persona that makes truth and fiction impossible to separate as a mascot and you’ve got a winner.” (read more)

• Dustygroove: “Walking Backwards” (2008)
“There’s a spare, spacious approach here that almost reminds us of the energy that we first felt in DJ Shadow’s groundbreaking work of a decade before — a similar love of gritty, organic source material — and an ear for putting it together with lots of dark twists and turns that balance nicely between classic funk and current hip hop production sensibilities. The flavor of each tune changes nicely — making the album way more than just a clichéd collection of beats…” (read more)

• Idolator: “Bearded Man Emerges From Cave, Releases Album” (2007)
“The track-name-less disc mixes MF Doom-like hip hop instrumentals with India-influenced guitar tracks and some smoother downtempo work that might fool Portishead fans. Pick it up before someone reveals that it was DJ Shadow all along, and copies are selling for $250 on eBay.” (read more)