Ssg Special - Kowton
Funny thing is, both you and I probably have boomkat to thank for Kowton. From this end, it was boomkat�s glee-filled, glowing description* of last April�s Basic Music Knowledge EP that pricked my ears in the first place � I mean, how could I resist a release described as �a narco-nautical groove where subbass blackens the waters like squid ink and snares cut the flesh like coral'?! But wait, there's more: 'severely deep stuff that'll give lesser divers the bends�. recommended to fans of the Szare 12"s, Kassem Mosse and listening to Marcel Dettmann records on 33�? Well, that is pretty much a description of the content and soundtrack of my ideal lost weekend�
From Joe Cowton�s end, it was shopping in Boomkat's old physical store, Pelican Neck Records, that he says was the decisive (and no doubt wallet-lightening) habit in the formation of his basic tonal vocabulary. Shopping at Pelican Neck also introduced Joe to Liam from Mindset, who put out the first Narcossist record, back in 2008; but, as I see it, it was the move to Bristol in the same year that really clinched it. Joe started haunting Rooted records, where, while developing his current sound signature � deliberately trying to fuse earlier, darker garage sounds with 'all houses narcotic and nautical' � he was introduced to Chris Farrell, who runs Idle Hands.
Kowton�s EPs are the best possible fit for �the devil�s workshop� � they�re not only deep, dark and warm, but also seductive and, at a pinch, sexy � just like the Dark Prince, or so I've been told. Perhaps I�ve come under Satan�s sway, but for me, both EPs released so far on Idle Hands sound like someone who�s been at it for much, much longer: this is a music knowledge which is anything but basic.
Joe can also mix: his RA cast from September last year was one of the three or so that I played off the hook all through the last part of 2010. It even survived a January Pod purge so merciless that Ming would fain dip his lid in a flash**. What my feelings kept forcing me to repeat to Chris � and anyone else who would listen � is that Kowton�s RA podcast was genuinely and sincerely contemporary, in a year where so much music was all naked bathing neck deep in tape hiss and its pastiche-y analogues. It's a fine line between nostalgia and neuralgia. For me what that means is that Joe�s music is focused on the now � by which I mean his now, not some colourlouss, odourless zeitgeist � developing new and subtle directions from the recombination of influences he�s accumulated and assimilated over years of careful listening and creating. And this is a creative mix that bears and rewards careful listening. Over to Joe:
�The mix is some of my favorite records of the moment, a few classics, and some of my more recent tracks. Most of the early drafts of the mix I recorded were late at night, just on headphones, and I think the way it came out reflects that, both in the tunes and the way it was mixed. I've tried to keep things simple � and hopefully it works.
Kowton - Ssg Special
Future Releases:
Kowton - Keep Walking / Show me (Nakedlunch)
Kowton - Looking At You / Dusk - Fraction (Kowton remix) / Dusk Fraction (Keysound)
Kowton - Metronome / Clak Clak Clak (Commune)
Kowton - Untitled 29-6 / Never Liked Dancing / ? / ? (Idle Hands)
Gigs:
5th Feb @ The Blast, Bristol w/ Funkineven
11th Feb @ Dubstudio Sessions, Bristol
1st March @ Acetate, Leeds w/ Pinch & Peverelist
5th March @ Disconnected, Nottingham w / Andrew Weatherall
26th March @ Club Cosmique, Bristol w/ Space Dimension Controller
Links:
