The Uncluded is a duo that consists of Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson. In 2007, while on tour supporting his album None Shall Pass, indie rapper/producer Aesop Rock wrote a fan email to folk singer/songwriter Kimya Dawson. A few years later, in 2010, they reconnected during the creation of arts-and-oddities blog 900Bats, which in turn sparked the pair's collaborative musical efforts. After appearing on each other's respective recent solo records, Aesop Rock's Skelethon and Kimya Dawson's Thunder Thighs, both found more worth pursuing within the group dynamic, and The Uncluded were hatched. The group name, The Uncluded, was chosen based on an excerpt from the book Imaginationally by artist/writer Michael Bernard Loggins. Imaginationally is an illustrated dictionary of words Loggins created to describe his daily experiences and thoughts. Their debut album, Hokey Fright, was recorded over the course of a year using a variety of locations and devices, from voice memo recorders to fleshed out studios. Aesop and Kimya wrote, performed, and recorded the whole album, with the exception of the drums on "Delicate Cycle", which were played by James McNew of Yo La Tengo. Having both experienced some loss in recent years, conversations about mortality served as a starting point for what would eventually become an album as much about finding therapy through writing/sharing as it is about being ok with admitting fear in the face of adversity. There is a sense of self-exploration and discovery that happens during the songs, as if the two are doing the problem-solving in front of you. While much of the album maintains a serious tone, Dawson and Rock's oddball humor plays an integral part in humanizing the obstacles that can initially seem too massive to process.