Austin Benjamin, (known by his stage name Utility) is a Sydney-based music producer, artist & founder of local label Trackwork. He’s released projects through Room 40, Sumac, HellosQuare, and produced music for releases on labels including Universal NZ, AVTV, Warner & 66 Records.
He’s produced music for artists including HK x Rick, MA Rated, Clariyah, Gino October, Sky’High, and Lil Jaye & Eco$ystem’s ‘Block Hotter’ which featured on Apple Music Hip Hop playlist The New Australia and was performed on the Juice World Tour in 2019. In 2019 Utility and close collaborator T. Moritmoto released Nexus Destiny featuring a collection of 60 arpeggios made entirely with software synthesisers, released on Melbourne-based label Sumac.
Releases on Trackwork produced by Utility include T Breezy’s 2360, Sevy and Bayang’s notfromhere (with Sevy’s Ting nominated for an FBi SMAC Award), and Snoee Badman’s #3badman which received international airplay and a recent feature article in the Saturday Paper written by Mahmood Fazal. In collaboration with AVTV & animator Kyan Woodpower Trackwork produced and released a 3 part animated mini-series to celebrate the release of #3badman in 2020. Earlier this year Utility performed alongside T Breezy, Walkerboy, Sevy & Bayang at Sydney Opera House’s Barrbuwari event.
As an educator he’s taught and guest lectured production/composition/sonic art at the Australian Institute of Music, UNSW, and other music & creative arts faculties and has given talks at WAAPA, Elder Conservatorium at University of Adelaide, Wesleyan University (Connecticut), Columbia University Sound department, and Bard College (NY).
He’s composed and performed new works for the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, and University of Queensland Art Museum with T. Morimoto, and MONA FOMA Tasmania with turntablist Martin Ng and has exhibited audio-visual gallery works including ‘Strategic Innovation’ with Coen Young at Kronenberg Wright, Sydney which included a 3D Rendering of their shared studio space, and starting a fake corporation to publish a book of process images in the format of a Biannual business review.
Future projects include a sample pack of drum sounds with drummer and long time collaborator Evan Dorrian (Tangents, Shoeb Ahmad), projects with Jesswar, Kobi Spice, VV, local legend Doe Ramada, and international collaborations with Bekah CC (US), and 27Pabs (UK), alongside new visual projects through Trackwork TV including an upcoming rap / cooking show, an animated series and recent Trackwork curated mix series Mixwork.
