KOVEN
Type of group: Duo
Members: Max Rowat, Katie Boyle.
It wasn't super easy to get info on Koven other than what can be learned via their music, so I had to go off of some of what they wrote on their Facebook and YouTube. Starting in 2011 and going from there, Koven's work has appeared on such channels/labels as UKF, Ministry of Sound, and Viper Recordings. Kate Ashton was the original vocalist for the duo, but she has since been replaced with Katie Boyle. Ashton can be heard/seen in the "More Than You" [DC Breaks Remix] video, although she's better featured in the original, found
here. I don't know why Ashton left. Also, as far as I have been able to tell, Koven has yet to release a hard-copy album of their material. In other words, if a hard copy isn't available via Amazon, it doesn't exist to me
.
All of the following songs are with Katie Boyle on vocals.
Koven - "Another Home"
[Dubstep]
Ethereal song with a depressing undertone without being morose. The video is in slow motion with Boyle simply walking and singing, which Rowat noted he did in order to introduce the new singer, although it was probably to adhere to a shoe-string budget
.
Koven - "Eternal And You"
[Dubstep]
Really nice, melodic choon. I've tried hard to understand the music video, and I just don't get it. An old man can be seen watching three girls in street clothes wandering around abandoned ruins. Is he the groundskeeper? It looks like he has a call radio, so I think he might be a security guard? The girls all look very somber, as if something important at the site had happened, or as if they're there to remember a dead friend or something. Other parts of the video feature Boyle singing, but she's not a fixture in the scenes; it's really more like she's there to narrate what's going on (via her singing). Later, the girls light a flare and burn some [I'm guessing] trash as some sort of ritual? To move on from something painful? Is this symbolic? I just don't get it. If it was one person, that kind of symbolism might make more sense, but because there are three of them, it signifies to me that they all would've had a shared experience. What kind of experience that is, we don't know, as this is never explained. When looking at the lyrics, I still have no idea, but man I'd really like to know.
Koven - "Let Go" (Live)
Album: Hereinafter EP
Positive vibes. Normally, my cut-off on a lead-in is one minute and 30 seconds. If I'm not interested at that point, I will skim the rest of the song, and if I don't hear anything, the song won't make the cut. This one is worth it, even if the first 2:20 takes its sweet time. Then the bass drops and you're good to go. The video is a bit of slight of hand: it features live video from EXIT Festival 2014, but the song appears to be the studio version.
Some of Koven's earlier work left Boyle's vocals somewhat untreated, which had the effect of making the vocals sound like they were on a different plain in comparison to the instrumental. Rowat has since improved on his mixing techniques, and as a result, his work is more balanced. And, while I think Kate Ashton's voice had more power, even if enhanced, I can still appreciate that Koven has that underdog nature about them. I really like these guys and think they can continue to grow in a positive direction. A new EP is expected in June of 2015.