Hopetoun Brown Photo: Supplied
Nick Bollinger checks the unique and familiar sounds of local duo Hopetoun Brown.
Hopetoun Brown might be the only band on the planet comprised of just trumpet, vocals and bass clarinet. Yet for all that, there is something about them that feels instantly warm and familiar.
With a percussion loop simulating an early-Motown groove, Nick Atkinson’s clarinet parping out the bass line and trumpeter-vocalist Tim Stewart giving it his blue-eyed soulful best, the title track is a refreshing update of an idea that’s as old as R&B. And in spite of what might seem like the limitations of their line-up, they find a whole lot more things they can do over the album’s 33 lively minutes.
There’s a similarly compelling rhythm running through ‘Own It’, which in combination with the unison horns creates an almost-Afrobeat feel. And again Stewart weighs in with one of his honeyed, heartfelt vocals. Though Hopetoun Brown is a duo and, barring the odd extra percussionist, they create these grooves entirely themselves, some of the variety is due to the occasional well-deployed guest – like Tami Neilson who pairs her mighty pipes with those of Tim Stewart for the un-love song ‘Hate That I Don’t Love You’.
Though the bulk of the tunes are Stewart and Atkinson originals, the album’s one cover makes excellent use of a few more guests. And with Finn Scholes vibraphone rattling ominously and some funereal tuba from Kingsley Melhuish and Tami again joining the fray, Hopetoun Brown take a side-trip to New Orleans, turning the early blues standard ‘St James Infirmary’ into a solemn second-line parade.
But for most of the album, the feeling is much closer to home. Stewart and Atkinson were (in fact, still are) the horn section of local funksters Supergroove, and at times they still sound like that band – funky and energetic, with just a little less electricity. At other times there’s a reggae element that fuses with the jazz and soul and I’m reminded of another New Zealand band: Fat Freddy’s Drop. And it occurs to me that there are particular kinds of music, all initially imported, that have bedded down here and infused each other so deeply that they have become our own. Hopetoun Brown have a unique line-up, a soulful and sometimes exotic sound. Yet somehow they couldn’t have come from anywhere else.
Songs featured: Own It, Look So Good, Not Enough Love, Hate That I Don’t Love You, St James Infirmary.
Look So Good is available on Southbound Records.
