“Thank y’all for this opportunity to do needlessly complicated shit.”
If like Clipping. band member William Hutson you’ve felt there was never enough desk in the NPR Tiny Desk Concerts, you won’t be disappointed. In October of 2025, this group of musical mad scientists added more office supplies and whatnot to the typically cluttered tiny desk ‘stage’ and wired up an army of tiny, MIDI-triggered robots to strike and vibrate a grab bag of miscellany. A small chain hitting a slab of foil. A cardboard box. Even NPR’s webby award. Bottles, mugs, and more all creating an underlying track of Frankenstein wizardry. A ‘table of nonsense’ as they call it.
It’s accompanied by very talented acoustic instrumentalists and two distinct vocal styles. One soulful melodies, the other rapid fire poetry. And if that wasn’t enough, they are joined by the turntable mastery of Kid Koala. There’s so much going on here it’s mesmerizing. The clanking and banging of things is the foundation. The tones of the instruments, voice and turntables glide on top like a cloud. Poetic and rhythmic, soothing and rattling. It’s controlled sensory overload at its best.
Kid Koala
As a side note, although this is my first time hearing Clipping. (thank you algorithms), I’ve been a fan of Kid Koala ever since seeing him open for Radiohead in 2001 at Liberty State Park in Jersey City on a three turntable setup. His feel for harmony on top of rhythm and his sense of control really opened my mind up to the turntable being a musical instrument.
I have to talk for a moment about the technology used. It’s deliciously simple and ingenious. A sequencer from a company called Polyend sends MIDI signals down a web of wires triggering various little hammers and things that strike, vibrate, or otherwise affect a multitude of objects. The frequency and tempo can be altered, so when these objects are struck, it creates a musical sound. Here is a short video of the group explaining how it all works.
I don’t know what more I can say other than sit back, prepare yourself, and check out the video below.
Clipping.
Daveed Diggs: vocals
Jonathan Snipes: electronics, harmonium, melodica, table of nonsense
William Hutson: percussion, loon call, table of nonsense
Sharon Udoh: vocals, piano
David Rothbaum: bass
Kid Koala: turntables
Website → clppng.com
Bandcamp → clppng.bandcamp.com
Instagram → instagram.com/clppng
NPR Tiny Desk → npr.org/series/tiny-desk-concerts
Kid Koala → kidkoala.com
Polyend → polyend.com
Cheers!
Stephen
