In Review: Mitchmatic's "It's Probably Raining"

I first came across the hip-hop/jazz musician Mitchmatic in the summer of 2010 at the then annual Bank summer tent event. That July evening he opened for the likes of Big Boi of Outkast fame. Irrespective of any comparison talk, having the ability to say you opened for Big Boi is something that any musician could hang their hat on. Since that time, Mitch Holtby has honed in on his craft. And it hasn't just been his lyricism as an MC. The thing that one notices from this artist is how mutli-faceted he is. At the event I attended he brought along his MPC (an electronic drum machine) on stage. For me, back then this might have been my most memorable memory of the young MC that night. It seemed trivial that he'd be able to impress a crowd with a small machine that is better suited for the production studio than a stage. Instead he rocked his set with the MPC and lyrics to boot. Very early on in the set, the crowd was treated with  what can't be considered contemporary or traditional hip-hop. Mitchmatic's approach to hip-hop is enhanced with his rich music knowledge  which he uses to break down the traditional borders of what one expects to hear when they hear hip-hop.


That was 2 years ago and since then I've been able to appreciate Mitchmatic's rise from a distance. It's Probably Raining, is an 8 track sampling of what Mitch has to offer. It is about 2 years removed from his previous release of  Two Weeks Off. The one striking factor that can be drawn from most of his releases is just how short they are. Combined that with the time in between releases I can infer a few conclusions. For one, he clearly takes his time in production. Aside from the impressive live performance usage of the  MPC, he is also a distinguished piano player. Prior to making a go of things in rap, Mitchmatic used his government name, Mitch Holtby, as a self-trained pianist and performed for a fair share of events throughout Edmonton. His multi-instrument knowledge is combined with a lyrical flow that has an unorthodox balance to it in terms of it's delivery and speed, that it's true to suggest that with just his flow alone, is drawn upon on jazz roots aside from the instrumental production. The beats themselves use an odd blend of retro samples musically and in one instance from a 1940s socializing video.

Some of the tracks are just straight instrumentals and are quick to entertain the ear with Mitch's musical prowess on the production end. The couple of tracks which feature vocals, truly display all of Mitchmatic's skills are truly spectacles and maybe it's because of the scarcity of full length songs that these songs pop out but nonetheless, they still capture the attention of the listener.

The one track with a guest is titled "Work in the Method", featuring the original Edmonton alternative hip-hop musician Cadence Weapon. While the comparison maybe easy to be drawn, but on closer inspection these are two artists who come from varied backgrounds and are very much so carving their own imprints musically and it's something shown in their work together.




"Why Don't You Know?", is a real cute cut that I hope has found it's way to local listeners as a great introduction to what Mitch has to offer and will not be disappointed with the rest of the album, unless they were expecting more than 8 tracks.