.png%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Deb3a65b8-8b12-4d14-aa6d-19e9a706bde9&w=3840&q=75)
about
Cow Tools is a DJ based in NYC, shaped by the underground forest parties she helped organize while living in the UK. She gravitates toward hardgroove and hypnotic techno, blending resonant basslines with ethereal textures for a sound that’s both dreamlike and sharp. Also a writer, she finds particular delight in crafting a sense of narrative arc in her sets.
spotlight
What do you pay the most attention to while you’re mixing?
I think a lot about the arc of the set. I always want to build tension in the opening songs and put aside the songs that feel more like an exhale for after the set reaches its peak. I’m also always thinking about ways to make my sets more varied while keeping them cohesive.
How does your own approach to writing and poetry shape your sound, and vice versa?
When I’m writing, I often know where in a poem I want a line to go before I’ve written the rest. A line will come to me, and I’m like: that would be a great penultimate line. And then I’ll leave blanks to figure out how I might reach that line such that it fully resonates. Often, I’ll even have a cadence in mind for those other unwritten lines around it before I know their words.
It’s the same way with tracks. When I’m practicing, I’ll often start with a track or blend I want to use, imagine where it would work best in a set, and then think about what kind of track would have to come before or after. My process for both writing a poem and planning a set is about intuiting the kind of shape I want a thing to take, where it should build and breathe.
Having attended my first ever rave in a DIY space right outside London, I’m so curious about your roots in organizing underground forest parties in the UK! What’s something you learned, something that has inspired your DJ-ing since?
I was living in Oxford and helping out with some party crews there, while also going to London a lot. It was the first time I’d felt like part of a scene, rather than partying as a tourist, and it was nice to come into that through a small, close-knit crowd. It felt like a sprawling group of friends creating something special for one another—by DJing, by dancing, by organizing the parties.
That was what inspired me to learn to DJ, because I saw how really rewarding experiences behind the decks weren’t some distant dream but could come from preparing something to share with a community you resonate with. It felt like another way to participate, which is a feeling I try to keep central in my mind.
What tends to find its way into your sets lately - any specific memories, emotional states, or something else?
My sets are guided by a similar emotional logic to dreams. A dream sequence makes intuitive sense, even when it doesn’t operate how the real world does. I often imagine myself transported places the way one is in dreams—underwater, a cavern, a circus, the night sky. I’m often seeking a feeling that’s harsh, a little ominous, and classically dark, but has a brightness to it. There’s an alluring intrigue even in a tense dream, and a sense of warmth.
When you’re not playing, where do you go to get inspired? Who’s been exciting you lately?
Some of my favorite parties in NYC this year have been Earth Dog (now Loop), Hybrid Identity, and Heat Index. KXAH’s set at Hybrid Identity blew my mind. I love how Heat Index is incorporating other forms of performance and setting up the space. Recently, I’ve had tracks by Maeksll and Catartsis on repeat and been listening to a lot of releases from DONKER and Varia Records and a lot of VAs.