diff --git a/disent/util/config.py b/disent/util/config.py
deleted file mode 100644
index d6962ef4..00000000
--- a/disent/util/config.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,73 +0,0 @@
-#  ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
-#  MIT License
-#
-#  Copyright (c) 2021 Nathan Juraj Michlo
-#
-#  Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
-#  of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
-#  in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
-#  to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
-#  copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
-#  furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
-#
-#  The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
-#  all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
-#
-#  THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
-#  IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
-#  FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
-#  AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
-#  LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
-#  OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
-#  SOFTWARE.
-#  ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
-
-
-from deprecated import deprecated
-
-
-# ========================================================================= #
-# Recursive Hydra Instantiation                                             #
-# TODO: use https://github.com/facebookresearch/hydra/pull/989              #
-#       I think this is quicker? Just doesn't perform checks...             #
-# ========================================================================= #
-
-
-@deprecated('replace with hydra 1.1')
-def call_recursive(config):
-    # import hydra
-    try:
-        import hydra
-        from omegaconf import DictConfig
-        from omegaconf import ListConfig
-    except ImportError:
-        raise ImportError('please install hydra-core for call_recursive/instantiate_recursive support')
-    # recurse
-    def _call_recursive(config):
-        if isinstance(config, (dict, DictConfig)):
-            c = {k: _call_recursive(v) for k, v in config.items() if k != '_target_'}
-            if '_target_' in config:
-                config = hydra.utils.instantiate({'_target_': config['_target_']}, **c)
-        elif isinstance(config, (tuple, list, ListConfig)):
-            config = [_call_recursive(v) for v in config]
-        return config
-    return _call_recursive(config)
-
-
-# alias
-@deprecated('replace with hydra 1.1')
-def instantiate_recursive(config):
-    return call_recursive(config)
-
-
-@deprecated('replace with hydra 1.1')
-def instantiate_object_if_needed(config_or_object):
-    if isinstance(config_or_object, dict):
-        return instantiate_recursive(config_or_object)
-    else:
-        return config_or_object
-
-
-# ========================================================================= #
-# END                                                                       #
-# ========================================================================= #
diff --git a/experiment/run.py b/experiment/run.py
index 15ff09d9..537a73c2 100644
--- a/experiment/run.py
+++ b/experiment/run.py
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@
 import pytorch_lightning as pl
 import torch
 import torch.utils.data
-from disent.util.config import instantiate_recursive
 from omegaconf import DictConfig
 from omegaconf import OmegaConf
 from pytorch_lightning.loggers import CometLogger
@@ -49,6 +48,7 @@
 from experiment.util.hydra_data import HydraDataModule
 from experiment.util.hydra_utils import make_non_strict
 from experiment.util.hydra_utils import merge_specializations
+from experiment.util.hydra_utils import instantiate_recursive
 from experiment.util.run_utils import log_error_and_exit
 from experiment.util.run_utils import set_debug_logger
 from experiment.util.run_utils import set_debug_trainer
diff --git a/experiment/util/hydra_data.py b/experiment/util/hydra_data.py
index 634a8b0d..cf1d54b1 100644
--- a/experiment/util/hydra_data.py
+++ b/experiment/util/hydra_data.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 
 from disent.dataset import DisentDataset
 from disent.nn.transform import DisentDatasetTransform
-from disent.util.config import instantiate_recursive
+from experiment.util.hydra_utils import instantiate_recursive
 
 
 # ========================================================================= #
diff --git a/experiment/util/hydra_utils.py b/experiment/util/hydra_utils.py
index 02c0ec9f..8dfa3f33 100644
--- a/experiment/util/hydra_utils.py
+++ b/experiment/util/hydra_utils.py
@@ -24,14 +24,43 @@
 
 import logging
 
+import hydra
 from deprecated import deprecated
 from omegaconf import DictConfig
+from omegaconf import ListConfig
 from omegaconf import OmegaConf
 
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+# ========================================================================= #
+# Recursive Hydra Instantiation                                             #
+# TODO: use https://github.com/facebookresearch/hydra/pull/989              #
+#       I think this is quicker? Just doesn't perform checks...             #
+# ========================================================================= #
+
+
+@deprecated('replace with hydra 1.1')
+def call_recursive(config):
+    # recurse
+    def _call_recursive(config):
+        if isinstance(config, (dict, DictConfig)):
+            c = {k: _call_recursive(v) for k, v in config.items() if k != '_target_'}
+            if '_target_' in config:
+                config = hydra.utils.instantiate({'_target_': config['_target_']}, **c)
+        elif isinstance(config, (tuple, list, ListConfig)):
+            config = [_call_recursive(v) for v in config]
+        return config
+    return _call_recursive(config)
+
+
+# alias
+@deprecated('replace with hydra 1.1')
+def instantiate_recursive(config):
+    return call_recursive(config)
+
+
 # ========================================================================= #
 # Better Specializations                                                    #
 # TODO: this might be replaced by recursive instantiation                   #