Twenty-strong indie and folk supergroup show us why Glasgow-born eccentric was far ahead of his time
![Return to YHup: The World of Ivor Cutler review – tribute to surreal poets fantasy island](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/dada42905ec02ce9a0d6400b8c1c61f318554c1f/0_6_2864_1719/master/2864.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctcmV2aWV3LTQucG5n&enable=upscale&s=3105b7d705f2f666392e01acadc56bf2)
A self-described “oblique musical philosopher”, Ivor Cutler was the Glasgow-born surrealist who wielded whimsy like a dagger. He bewitched everyone from the Beatles to John Peel with his absurdist eye and deadpan delivery, usually over the Bagpuss wheeze of a vintage harmonium.
Cutler was born in 1923 and died in 2006. Despite the lack of a round-number anniversary, his legacy was recently reaffirmed by a new double album, spearheaded by the drummer and academic Matt Brennan and saxophonist Raymond MacDonald. The Return to Y’Hup project brought together a murderer’s row of indie and folk talent to revisit Cutler’s earliest work set on his fantasy island – pronounced “ya-hoop” – where triple-horned creatures roam and green rain falls upwards.