Killawatt

A purveyor of dark, bass-rumbling, atmospheric electronic music, British-born Matthew Watt first cut his teeth on classic jungle before being introduced to the world of dubstep by his university roommate Jack Gibbons (better known as Ipman). Although the first official Killawatt release was a drum’n’bass roller on the 2010 various-artists Saata Sounds, Vol. 1, Watt soon found his niche with a string of dubstep-related singles on labels such as N-Type’s Wheel & Deal, FatKidOnFire, and Black Box in 2011. His blend of murky, atmospheric sounds and half-step beats quickly earned him a following and in 2012, the prolific producer delivered a raft of singles across an array of labels. Recording for Osiris Music and Inverted Audio found Watt pushing his sound into further abstract territories, with the producer adding a four-to-the-floor approach to his work, inspired by the moody Berlin techno sound pioneered by the likes of Sandwell District. 2013 saw Watt delve further into this sound with releases such as the Opposing Rhetoric, EPs featuring techno-led tracks, and the seven-track EP Bring Down the Walls, which contained a mix of half-step bass tracks, abstract, industrial ambience, and full-on club tunes. After two years of being incredibly prolific, Watt delivered just one release in 2014, the Convoy EP on Run Out Run, and spent more of his time concentrating on DJ’ing commitments and working on his debut album. Osiris released Watt’s debut album, Émigré, at the beginning of 2015. Taking in everything that had gone before it, the album harked back to his dubstep roots while simultaneously looking forward into the darker, more abstract techno side of electronic music. A remix EP followed, with tracks from the album reworked by Eomac, Mønic, and Tommy Four Seven; in turn, Killawatt repaid the favor by delivering a track on the first release from Tommy’s newly launched label, 47. The subsequent year, the Fazed EP was released by Derelicht; it was followed in 2017 by Watt’s debut EP for 47, 47010. ~ Rich Wilson