Chris Watson

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Chris Watson
Background information
Genres	Electronic
Instruments	Multi-instrumentalist
Labels	Rough Trade
Associated acts	Cabaret Voltaire

Christopher Richard "Chris" Watson is a Sheffield-born musician and sound recordist specialising in natural history. His work as a sound wildlife sound recordist includes both work for television documentaries and experimental musical collaborations.

He attended Rowlinson School and Stannington College (now part of Sheffield College), both in Sheffield.

Music

Watson was a founding member of two influential experimental music groups, Cabaret Voltaire and The Hafler Trio.

He has released three solo albums of field recordings: Outside the Circle of Fire, Stepping into the Dark (which won an Award of Distinction at the 2000 Prix ARS Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria), and Weather Report. He has also released a variety of works in collaboration with other artists, including Star Switch On, a collaboration with Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic, Philip Jeck, Hazard, Fennesz, AER, and Biosphere. In 2007 he released Storm with BJNilsen. All of these recordings were released on Touch.

Sound recording

His sound recording career began in 1981 when he joined Tyne Tees Television. His television work includes Bill Oddie Back in the USA and Springwatch.

In 2006 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Technology degree by the University of the West of England "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to sound recording technology, especially in the field of natural history and documentary location sound".

Radio programmes

• The Reed Bed
  • Series of five, fifteen-minute radio programmes, broadcast on Radio Four from 19-23 March 2007.
• A Guide to Garden Birds
  • Series of five, fifteen-minute radio programmes, broadcast weekly on Radio Four from 22 May 2007

Album discography

Solo

• Stepping into the Dark (1996, Touch Music)
• Outside the Circle of Fire (1998, Touch Music)
• Weather Report (Chris Watson album) (2003, Touch Music)
• Cima Verde (2008, Fondazione Edmund Mach and LoL Productions)

Collaborations

• Star Switch On with Mika Vainio, Philip Jeck, Hazard, Fennesz, AER, and Biosphere (2002, Touch Music)
• Number One with KK Null and Z'EV (2005, Touch Music)
• Storm with B. J. Nilsen (2006, Touch Music)
• Siren with Alec Finlay Platform Projects # ISBN 0-9546831-7-X [CD EP]

External links

• Chris Watson's homepage
• Touch - discography and archived reviews
• Chris Watson at Allmusic
• Chris Watson on SilenceRadio.org