13 – Kowton – Utility (Livity Sound)
When Joe ‘Kowton’ Cowton shook off the grimier elements of his sound, he was probably going against the grain. Instead of kowtowing (see what I did there) to the bass-crushing street sound scene, he produced Utility: put simply, an album no-frills techno.
This ain’t clever: no Snares McSnareface tomfoolery here. Get a basic loop, throw in some percussion, let the machines do the work. The sound is not varied: indeed album highlight Loops 1 could be a remix of album highlight Some Cats.
But that’s the charm. It’s simple and it positively zings out of the speakers, I remember listening to Drum Club back in the day. They weren’t afraid to let a mechanical bass drum sit on its own, thwum thwum, pacing in isolation. A drum pad for the sake of a drum pad. I’m shivering just thinking about it. This, exactly this, is what draws me to Utility.
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