Biography
Operating under the Scott Hardware alias, Toronto experimental songwriter Scott Harwood crafts dreamy, melancholic compositions that draw from both exuberant dance traditions and filmic pop sensibilities. His releases frequently explore deep cultural preoccupations, as with Engel in 2020, which took its cue from Wim Wenders’ 1987 film Wings of Desire. Ballad of a Tryhard, issued in 2022, signaled a pronounced shift from loose songcraft toward fully developed arrangements.
Before establishing the Scott Hardware project, Harwood created ambient pop as Ken Park and performed with bands such as Hooded Fang and Ostrich Tuning. His first Scott Hardware outing appeared in 2016 with the album Mutate Repeat Infinity. That record reflected time spent in Berlin, where he absorbed the local techno sounds and nightlife, while its lyrics addressed personal themes tied to the HIV/AIDS crisis and individuals he knew who were affected. After returning to Toronto, he again looked to Berlin on Engel. The moody, drifting album drew heavily from Wings of Desire, set in West Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and its floating production captured the film’s dark, romantic atmospheres. It surfaced in April 2020 through Telephone Explosion.
On Ballad of a Tryhard, Hardware moved from glitchy electronics to denser rock and pop forms without abandoning his cinematic sensibility or mysterious tone. The songs featured ornate string arrangements and marching rock drums that added weight to the layered electronics heard earlier. Written during a stay in Spain and co-produced by Toronto producer and multi-instrumentalist Matt Smith, aka Prince Nifty, the album arrived in March 2022, again via Telephone Explosion.
Before establishing the Scott Hardware project, Harwood created ambient pop as Ken Park and performed with bands such as Hooded Fang and Ostrich Tuning. His first Scott Hardware outing appeared in 2016 with the album Mutate Repeat Infinity. That record reflected time spent in Berlin, where he absorbed the local techno sounds and nightlife, while its lyrics addressed personal themes tied to the HIV/AIDS crisis and individuals he knew who were affected. After returning to Toronto, he again looked to Berlin on Engel. The moody, drifting album drew heavily from Wings of Desire, set in West Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and its floating production captured the film’s dark, romantic atmospheres. It surfaced in April 2020 through Telephone Explosion.
On Ballad of a Tryhard, Hardware moved from glitchy electronics to denser rock and pop forms without abandoning his cinematic sensibility or mysterious tone. The songs featured ornate string arrangements and marching rock drums that added weight to the layered electronics heard earlier. Written during a stay in Spain and co-produced by Toronto producer and multi-instrumentalist Matt Smith, aka Prince Nifty, the album arrived in March 2022, again via Telephone Explosion.
Albums
Singles
