“If I were an emcee, I would want Clutchy on my squad. Much like MF Doom he has the unique ability to make the inanimate articulate, as if his instruments could speak. Not only is Clutchy ‘next up’, but he’s also on some next shit.”

MF Doom & Clutchy Hopkins – Melody

MF Doom & Clutchy Hopkins – Change the Beat 1.31

Clutchy Hopkins is a multi-instrumentalist who recorded under various pseudonyms throughout his entire musical career; his recorded output consists of everything from field recordings of his travels to avant compositions, to jazz to funk. These recordings were up to this point unknown to the public. His father had been a recording engineer for Motown bands and had taught him intricate recording techniques when he was just a young boy. This knowledge Clutchy used to his advantage during his travels, working in recording studios from Bombay to Cairo. The information Ubiquity gathered of him was from a small biographical manuscript that was found with his recordings under the care of a Mohave shaman who was a descendant of the Cahuilla Indian tribe who Clutchy had studied under.

In this autobiography they find the writings of a musical gypsy who traveled the world investigating consciousness and its relation to music.When Clutchy was just 20 years old he traveled to the Far East and was under the tutelage of Rinzai Zen monks in Japan for many years investigating silence and the rhythms of silence in music. Later, he studied Raja Yoga in India to master and articulate the movements of the body and its relation to sound. In his autobiography Clutchy relates his fascination with drums and their effect on consciousness so he decided to travel to Lagos, Nigeria to study with a master percussionist by the name Oba-lu-Funke. During his stay there he became a political revolutionary and gun-runner, and staged rebel missions to fight the oppressive government and its policies of Apartheid. During his intensive studies and travels, Clutchy was constantly recording music.When he returned to the US Clutchy used his recording techniques to produce his own music and create instruments of his own. He has played with many groups primarily in the jazz, funk, avant setting. During his recording with other musicians Clutchy refused to contribute his name to the recordings, preferring to use a pseudonym or no name at all. He was purportedly good friends with Moondog and did some recordings with him; these recordings are yet to be found.

His recordings span from the early 70s to the late 90s covering a whole spectrum of musical styles. After these recordings came to the surface, we have tried to contact the original source where these recordings were found unfortunately that source has since died. It is said by locals who knew him that Clutchy Hopkins returned to the Mojave Desert to finish his life out living in an underground cave; no one has heard from him since.

Clutchy’s album “walking backwards” is coming out 02/05/08 on Ubiquity Records. Make sure you get that, and put it next to your Yesterday’s New Quintet albums.

Clutchy Hopkins – Percy on the One

FLYLO
Los Angeles resident Flying Lotus brings beats with a cinematic flare: “I see these tracks as little short films that play in my head.” Flying Lotus is a free spirit: “I have this beautiful lemon tree in my backyard, and on a sunny day the light shines through. Little things like that inspire me.” Flying Lotus is a Coltrane: “My greatest influences are my family, I’m lucky to have been around so many accomplished musicians.” And most importantly, Flying Lotus is a visionary; get ready to meet your favorite new producer.
From note one, there is a feeling of something new and exciting at play here. Keyboards wobble and wiggle with mutated funk, skewed rhythms grind underneath, warped samples play hide-and-seek with the beat- in other words, that “next level shit” artists are always talking about? This is it.
And yeah, Lotus is a part of the Coltrane lineage, but don’t write this off as nepotism, cause he ain’t riding on anyone’s coattails. But, if you really MUST make the correlation between A Love Supreme and A Lotus Supreme, dig: If Alice and John had lived in the era of SP-303s and laptops, they’d be flirting with the same muse as Lotus is.
Flying Lotus IS a visionary. He is tapping that well of creative juice that seems to float in the ether for certain artists every generation, carving his own path through the wilds of the beat. By the time you read this, Lotus will already be making the music everyone and their robot will be biting through 2030. Like most natural talents, though, Lotus’ aspirations are simple: “I just want to keep having fun.”

Flying Lotus – Fall in Love (Remix)

Flying Lotus – It’s a Secret

Prod. Kev Browm and lyrics by LMNO, album special guests: LD, OHNO, DUDLEY PERKINS, GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW, FRANCESCA, ARIANO…

Cooming soon…

myspace.com/lmnokevbrown
upabove.com

Johnny “Hammond” Smith (born John Robert Smith), also known since 1971 as Johnny Hammond, was an American soul jazz and hard bop organist born in Louisville, Kentucky on December 16, 1933 and who died in Chicago on June 4, 1997.

This Track is produced by the genious Mizell Brothers. The Mizell Brothers were a highly influential production team in the 1970s, consisting of Larry and Alphonzo Mizell.

The brothers started out as members of Motown’s production team The Corporation™ and were responsible for the Jackson Five’s early hits, including ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘ABC’. In the early seventies Larry and Fonce Mizell moved to California to start their own company Sky High Productions. They went on to produce albums for Blue Note with Donald Byrd (Black Byrd, 1972), Bobbi Humphrey (Blacks & Blues, 1973) and Johnny “Hammond” Smith (Gears, 1975) that set the tone for fusion and the era. They also recorded with the group L.T.D releasing and writing the best seller ‘Love Ballad’.

The Mizell Brother are one of the best producers ever, if you didn’t already know.

Johnny Hammond – Tell me what to do
Album: Gears (1975)
Produced by: The Mizell Brothers

Produced by: Kev Brown

Directed by Wes Felton/W. Ellington Felton

Ge-Ology feat Yukimi Nagano – Blues Alley
G-Young A.K.A Ge-Ology produced tracks for Mos Def & Sadat X, Talib Kweli, Jill Scott, De La Soul, Jem, Bahamadia and many others, touring abroad w/ the art collective “The Barnstormers”, and designing Rawkus 12 inches. Ge-Ology (signed by Bling47) has proven that music and art, lineage and forward thinking are all mutually exclusive. Try to get a hold on Ge-ology plays Ge-Ology, this was his first released album. Ge-Ology’ s next album is coming out spring 2008. The first single is featuring Yukimu Nagano called Blues Alley. And that is Brand New And Good For You….

Ge-Ology feat Yukimi Nagano – Blues Alley

9th & Buckshot