The Uncluded

Fans of singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson may remember her as one half of The Moldy Peaches, one of the most charming, goofy and irreverent indie bands ever. She’s well-known for her soundtrack work on Juno (starring the heart-squishingly fab Ellen Page and is highly prolific, having released 6 solo albums including a children’s album called “Alphabutt”. And now she presents us with The Uncluded.

We first discovered the Uncluded through a Scroobius Pip recommendation on the radio – just one reason why it still pays to listen to radio stations to get musical inspiration. “The Uncluded” is an alternative hip hop band founded by Kimya Dawson together with rapper Aesop Rock in the not-so-long-ago days of 2013, with their debut album “Hokey Fright” released in May of that year. The sound is more delicate than you might expect from mainstream hip hop; it’s an indie sound that’s closer to anti-folk, perhaps. Maybe because Kimya has finally had the chance to get her hands on a guitar as part of the collaboration process.

Pitchfork says that the band name The Uncluded was inspired by Michael Bernard Loggins’ book Imaginationally, meaning “to keep the things you don’t appreciate out of your life,” according to a press release. “This record helps to tell the story of two people who are finding therapy through making art together.”

Expect, then, savoury-sweet songs about joy, washing machines and vulnerability. If you like that kind of song (and we do) then “Delicate Cycle” may be the song your ears would like to hear first:

(My Whole Life Is A) Delicate Cycle

And she tends to bring out the ukelele on live shows…

We love Kimya Dawson not only because of her musical influence but also because she’s always focused on being her own authentic self, nothing else, in spite of the spurious demands of the music industry and society at large. No-one puts Kimya in a corner. Only Kimya puts Kimya in a corner. And that’s only when she’s got a guitar/ukelele/kazoo in hand and there’s a song that needs writing.

All I Could Do

We’ll leave you with a live video of Kimya Dawson singing “All I Could Do” to her chickens Marmon, Camilla and Dakota:

If you feel you need to know more, just check out Dawson’s @mrskimyadawson Twitter bio: “Good kid. Goofy Knievel. Deadbeat friend. 1/2 past a monkey’s ass.” Well, quite. Doesn’t that somehow say it all?

Buy The Uncluded’s debut album “Hokey Fright” on Audio CD or MP3

Buy The Uncluded’s debut album “Hokey Fright” on Audio CD or MP3