Glasgow has recently been tagged by the UN as being the most dangerous city in the world. One man not buying into the hype however is long time resident Vince Watson who has been a fixture of the Glasgow music scene since he was a wee lad. Not many DJs would confess to manning the decks at school discos but with releases on Laurent Garnier's Fcom and giants of New York House Ibadan there isn't much that can harm Vince's reputation now.
Quite a few years on, slightly taller, a lot of Detroit Techno influences and no longer hanging out at blue light parties, Vince Watson has just released his 4th artist album, "Echoes from the Future : View to the Past" which is a collection of his works from the back catalogue of his very own label, Bio. We were able to steal a little bit of Vince's time to discuss Glasgow, acid-house and of course, his new album.
> Interview by Kei Tajima (HigherFrequency) _ Introduction by Nick Lawrence (HigherFrequency)
HigherFrequency (HRFQ) : Hi! First of all, thanks for doing this for us.
Vince Watson: Hi there, the pleasure is all mine...glad to be here again.
HRFQ : You've been here pretty recently, October last year. What made you come back to Japan so soon?
Vince : Well I had a great gig @ Womb last year, and they asked me back right away so it was good to see the crowd and the promoters were into what I do.....added to this, is the fact that Fenomeno have also asked me to record a Live CD for them, which was recorded on Friday night, and will be released in July.
HRFQ : You started DJing when Acid House was taking over the UK. What type of music were you playing then? Were you playing something more Acid-House Like?
Vince : I think most people around that time were doing the Chicago/Detroit thing, but even then, I was always looking for stuff that was a little different. I still do that now really....I stay well clear of the popular tracks and play music that people don't really get to hear too much. Most of the music i was playing in 88/89/90 was Detroit and UK based though.
HRFQ : You've produced a lot of songs from which we can sense quite a big Detroit Techno influence. Was it the biggest thing you've been influenced by musically? How did you first encounter Detroit Techno?
Vince : Not at all, Detroit music was always going to influence me, but i had lots of ideas before that. Herbie Hancock and Jean Michel Jarre were both in my head long before Mike Banks, Larry Heard, Derrick May and Carl Craig were...All of whom are my greatest Influences.
HRFQ : You've released a new album "Echoes From The Future: View To The Past" not so long after "Sublimina". But these two albums contrast quite differently with each other. "Sublimina" is more for listening to, and "Echoes From The Future: View To The Past" has a more dance floor feel to it. Is that something you intended? Or it simply came out in the natural process?
Vince : They were meant to give people a more balanced listening experience, as I am not focused on one single type of music...I am quite versatile in my listening and my producing. I have more music to come that will surprise people even more. I always produce music naturally and never push myself to do something that is not what i feel is right.
The difference in these 2 albums is that 'Sublimina' was all based round a theme, and 'Echoes' was based round the idea of creating a label compilation, using a different format to present it rather than a boring CD of tracks that have already been released. The title of 'Echoes' was aiming towards, old tracks and new tracks.
HRFQ : Do you get a lot of feedback on the latest album?
Vince : Sublimina has done very very well, especially in today's marketplace and the type of album it is, so I'm very happy about that. Echoes has not been out for very long but I have really good feedback so far and everyone seems to enjoy it.
HRFQ : Do you still live in Glasgow? Why do you choose Glasgow for your base?
Vince : I still live in Glasgow and I am from Glasgow and have never lived anywhere else...but I have enquired about and am considering relocating to either Sao Paulo or Tokyo. I have a lot of love for both of these places and I hope to do that at some stage in the near future...I do love Glasgow, we are lucky to have such talented musicians in the city and there is a great scene there which is very vibrant with many new nights all the time, so I would miss it.
HRFQ : Do you think if you weren't from Glasgow, your music style would be something different?
Vince : I think all musicians' upbringing and environments affect the music they make as music is a very emotive and thoughtful process. I'm sure my complete sound would be different, but my influences and ideas are strong so I'm not sure how much. I would like to see how my music would change if I did move city in the future for instance.
HRFQ : I've read it is a very dangerous city as well. According to the UN's report, Scotland is the most violent country in the Western world. Do you see that in your everyday life?
Vince : Yes, we all read that report, but it's flawed. We have just as much trouble on the streets as any other city. I feel more threatened in a lot of other supposedly 'safe' cities than I do in Glasgow. Scotland is a very welcoming nation of people, similar to Japan and Brazil, which is probably why I like these 2 countries a lot. Not sure if the UN really knows what they are doing with anything to be honest, so I wouldn't pay too much attention to that one.
HRFQ : Any new releases coming up from your label, Bio Records?
Vince : I have lots of really good stuff in the works, but I also have releases from Joel Mull and Sebastian Kramer coming out in 2006, but I am also launching 'Bio Elements' a new sub division, and I have a joint release with Estroe from Amsterdam, and also releases from Elton D, Taho and Jerome.
I also plan to do City to City EPs, where each record will be focused on one city at a time and only featuring artists from that city, with all the text from that country on there as well. The 5 cities involved are Glasgow, Tokyo, Berlin, Amsterdam and Sao Paulo. The 2nd and 3rd vinyl only samplers from the 'Echoes from the Future' album are also being released over the next month or so...watch out!!!
End of the interview
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