Owned and run by Hull-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Kev La Kat, the label had built an impressively eclectic roster of more than 30 artists from around the world. It was the kind of label that seemed to constantly have something interesting bubbling beneath the surface.
We were big fans.
That year, we invited Kev to become a guest editor for Right Chord Music, giving him the opportunity to showcase some of the artists and music coming out of the label. When we launched our Lost On Radio Podcast, Kev was there too, appearing on the very first episode, we went on the back almost 300 episodes.
Kev La Kat’s remix of Yannick’s No Lust was later added to RCM Gold, the vault showcasing our favourite ever blog discoveries.
And it wasn’t just us who had noticed what Love Our Records was doing. The label had found fans at BBC Radio 1, with the likes of Huw Stephens and Zane Lowe taking notice, alongside a host of influential independent music blogs.
So, imagine our excitement when a message landed in our inbox announcing that Kev La Kat was back with a brand-new project.
Cutty is a dynamic duo from Hull, bringing together singer and artist Amy Precious with the aforementioned Kev La Kat.
Their story began at Dive HU5, a local Hull bar where Amy worked and Kev DJed. What started as a conversation soon developed into something much more creative when Amy asked Kev to help produce music for an upcoming art exhibition.
It didn’t take long for the pair to realise they shared a musical vocabulary.
Their mutual love of 90s trip-hop, Björk, Beck, Funkadelic and electronic music provided the foundations for something that would eventually become Cutty.
The duo wasted little time turning those ideas into music. Raw sketches became fully formed tracks, while writing and performing together helped shape a sound that was both experimental and infectious.
It wasn’t long before people started paying attention, with BBC Introducing and DIY Magazine among those taking notice.
But then, somewhere along the way, the plan changed.
Originally, Cutty had been working towards a Pump Funk EP.
Then one track started causing problems.Or perhaps, more accurately, it started causing an obsession.
Kev became increasingly determined to get the mix exactly right. What was supposed to be another track for the EP turned into a rabbit hole of experimentation, different combinations, textures, sounds and arrangements were tried and discarded.
The hours became days. And the more Kev worked on it, the more the track seemed to reveal itself. Eventually, everything clicked.
But by then, this was no longer simply another track destined for the Pump Funk EP. It had become something else entirely. Something that demanded attention. Something that suggested Cutty might be heading in a completely different direction.
That track became “Shadows In The Street.” And suddenly, the original plan was no longer the plan.
There’s something fitting about Kev returning with a project that seems to have arrived through exactly the kind of musical experimentation that defined Love Our Records all those years ago.
Back in 2012, Love Our Records was a label built around discovery finding artists doing something a little different and giving them space to develop it. More than a decade later, Cutty feels like another chapter in that same creative story.
Only this time, Kev isn’t introducing us to someone else. He’s inviting us into something of his own. And judging by the journey behind “Shadows In The Street,” this may be the beginning of a very different chapter for Cutty.
There is an old-school feel to Shadows in the Street that makes it feel immediately epic. Amy Precious’ hazy, dreamlike vocals float effortlessly over Kev’s head-filling swells of synths, atmospheric textures and trip-pop beats, creating something that feels both nostalgic and completely otherworldly.
It’s great to have Kev La Kat back on Right Chord Music.
Words Mark Knight
The post From Love Our Records To Cutty & ‘Shadows In The Street’ appeared first on Right Chord Music Blog.
