Patrick Cowley

𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝘾𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙮’𝙨 “𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙚” 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚, 𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚-𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 — 𝙧𝙖𝙬, 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨, 𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙗 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮.

Originally conceived as a soundtrack-style project, the album reveals Cowley operating at full voltage: extended sequencer workouts, pounding basslines, and relentless arpeggios that blur the line between Hi-NRG, proto-techno and industrial electronics. Tracks unfold with a cinematic sense of movement, locking mechanical precision to ecstatic release.

Unlike his more song-oriented work, “Hard Ware” is focused on momentum and physicality. The machines lead, melodies surface briefly before dissolving back into rhythm, and repetition becomes a tool for hypnosis rather than restraint. It’s club music imagined as architecture — rigid, luminous, and unapologetically forward.

Now rightly regarded as a crucial document of Cowley’s experimental edge, “Hard Ware” stands as a bridge between underground disco, electronic body music and the harder futures that followed. A bold, enduring statement from one of electronic music’s most visionary figures.