Magazine Sixty Interview with Vince Watson by Ellie May. Vince Watson Talks Piano Soul, Uplifting Chords, and Rebirth of Two Essential Tracks. His musical history, influences and more.
Thanks for taking the time to talk. How are you doing, are you good?
You are welcome… yes, I’m good. Excited like a little child every day I walk into my studio. Zero complaints… well, not enough time, but all good.
Was there a track around at the time when you began making music that marks your production beginnings / that inspired you to make the music that you do?
It all began with Rhythim Is Rhythim’s It Is What It Is. The utterly alien sounds and rhythm blew my mind as an under 18. My head exploded and I simply had to follow the path. First stop was Music Technology magazine, next stop Sound Control Glasgow, next step was a second hand 101 and 303 for less than £120 combined. When I was finally able to buy a guitar amp to plug the synths into, I was in heaven. The sounds that came after from Derrick May, Larry Heard, Mad Mike, UR and Carl Craig set my sound palette.
Who were the producers when you began who were making you sit up and listen?
There were some amazing producers kickstarting all this—we all know the obvious names, some mentioned above. So let me give you some less obvious ones who really sparked my inner desires: Claude Young was a genius, Casey Tucker carried that depth of musical soul that I still have today, the Plaid boys when they were The Black Dog, all the General Productions IDM stuff, and the B12 label releases. It was all so utterly inspiring and I just had to explore.
When you started out back in the day, did you have a vision of what sort of music you wanted to make?
I hadn’t really planned anything like that as I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it. Immediately after the first two Rotation EPs in ’96 and ’97 with Dave Angel, I knew I was going to go in a different path. I had recorded the first two Rotation EPs at the same time, and I knew right from the beginning that my music needed to be different from this. I knew those releases were me trying to be Dave Angel. Dave is Dave… I needed to be me. After that, it kickstarted a whole world of exploration into IDM, ambient, hardgroove… Jesus, I’ve been all over the place over the decades and I’ve enjoyed that trip.
Does that musical vision remain the same today?
Now, after 30 years, I have a much more focused vision of what I love, what I like to make, and what I want to leave as a legacy. VW releases are firmly in the Detroit/house vibe aside from the occasional ambient album at the start of each year. Amorphic is firmly in the sci fi and harder techno realm. Quart, which has been dormant for a while but will return, is for my jazzy broken beat output. And coming in September 2026 is my new IDM alias, which I believe is the best music I have ever made. These are my musical visions—there’s enough in all that to keep me satisfied as a creative. Perhaps DnB is next 🙂
If you knew then what you know now, what advice would you give to a 25 year old self about the music industry?
One of the best pieces of advice I got was that when you get onto the circuit, do not stop. Despite knowing this, I did it twice. When you get so busy touring you forget to make music, and before you know it you have nothing to say… and you have to fight your way back again. It’s a painful lesson, and something I try to instil in my students whenever appropriate.
The other piece of advice was to be me—never try to fit into someone else’s box. Just do what you love and find your happiness in your work there. It’s so true. I tried to squeeze myself into certain labels over the years to get attention with releases that I look back on and think, “That’s not really me.” You have to find the balance.
What was the first track you put out?
My first track was an old hardcore-ish record in 1993. The memories of me and my best mate going to collect the white label promo from the label will forever be etched in my mind—it was such a great moment. My first techno release was the above mentioned 1st Innovations on Rotation in 1996.
Which of the records you produced do you think made the biggest mark?
It’s very curious, because my two biggest-selling albums, DnA and Moments In Time, completely blew my expectations. Yet the two tracks that I guess the VW name is known for the most—Mystical Rhythm and Eminescence—actually weren’t that widespread as both had limited vinyl runs. There have been a few more I guess that people will know the most, but I’ve now got over 1,050 tracks registered so I won’t name them all here, haha.
There’s got to be a record that you felt was brilliant and went under the radar. Is there one you can earmark for us to check?
Haha, good question. I’ve a few tracks on some albums that I feel were overlooked a little—Lost In The Deep on the Another Moment In Time LP, for example. Likewise, Signals on Sublimina. Ah, there are quite a few… just dig, folks 🙂
As someone that has been around a long time, you will have seen a lot of changes over the years. What aspects of what you do have remained the same, and what aspects are just so fundamentally different?
One thing will never change—authentic music made from the heart will always be timeless. The influencer TikTok music being shoved down everyone’s IG feed as “techno” will not age well. I really feel sorry for those putting themselves out there the way some of them are… It’s not going to look good, and it’s coming faster than they think. Enjoy the money while you can—it’s going to stop coming.
What inspires you to make music do you think?
I’ve researched this to death… I’m pretty convinced now it’s some kind of download. I would have laughed at that five years ago. I’ve never understood where the ideas come from. I am inspired by nature, family, and other music of course… but I sit in the studio and make tracks like a machine. Releasing 18 albums so far—this is not normal. So yeah, it’s being given to me somehow. After seeing various UAP whistleblowers discussing what’s going on with the mind, ESP, and our actual existence… yeah, it’s a download. Happy to listen to alternative hypotheses.
Where do you find the new music that you are into today?
My Apple Music algorithm has gotten pretty good now, but quite honestly, my promo inbox is now pretty well refined. I managed to dump 80% of the stuff that gets sent to me, and smart inboxes now make my life easier.
Are there ever personal events in your lives that influence the music and its direction?
Ouch… indeed. I had a bit of a breakdown around 2011/2012. Minimal happened—labels started rejecting my demos for the first time, and I was so far removed from the idea of going minimal at the time that I simply thought I was at the end of the road. For 18 months I didn’t make any music and partied too hard. My minimal was Robert Hood and Basic Channel… not wearing Egyptian masks on K and listening to an 808 kick all night.
Then 2014 came. There were signs that minimal was evolving a little, so I decided to give it one last shot. I made this really sentimental, simple track from the heart—nothing like I had made before, but really emotional. And I thought, “Fuck it, I’m going to send it to Carl Craig.” To my delight he wanted to take it right away, and it became the second single on Planet E, which I aptly called It’s Not Over. That’s another one that was overlooked, but one of my personal favourites.
Tell us a little about Everysoul the label?
Everysoul started as the evolution of my labels. Bio Music was the precursor and was more focused on hardgroove, faster techno. But I wanted a label more like F Com where I had the ability to release different genres with an absolute focus on quality over quantity—hence the fact we’re just about to release number 26. It’s my little home for my own music with a sprinkling of remixes here and there. It does really well for me in sales on Bandcamp and streaming, despite me not making a big deal out of the label’s profile. Although we are making some stronger profile changes in 2026 across the board, so you will see more presence from Everysoul.
Tell us about this current release and the reissue of this monumental track?
Osunlade very kindly agreed to grant me the track back so I could repress it, because I never got a vinyl copy of the Yoruba release—just one of those things, and an oversight before they sold out. I tried to buy one on Discogs but was outbid… lol. So now I’m doing the next best thing—repressing. But this gave me the opportunity to tweak it a bit, since the original was made when I didn’t have a studio and sounds a bit off. Now it sounds epic and exactly the way I wanted it.
The flip side, Reach For The Sun, was originally a broken beat track on the first Everysoul album, and I always wanted to do something with it. This was the perfect moment.
What can we hope to see next from you Vince and when?
After this, I have a big summer tune coming called The Awakening. It’s not something I usually do, to be honest, but it seemed like it was made at the perfect time and it’s the perfect kind of track—think a combination of Italo piano and E Dancer. That’s coming in late May.
After the summer, I’m going to be launching the new IDM project, which I firmly believe is the best music I have ever made. I’m so excited and nervous for this… let’s see!
What upcoming artists do you think are making great music right now?
Jon Dixon is just incredible—one of the best musicians we are lucky to have making electronic music. Cee ElAssaad is also killing it right now with his musicianship. There are too many to mention, to be honest.
What is the most recent record you purchased?
I’ve been buying a shitload of halftime techno DnB / techstep from the likes of Daruff, Quartz and T_erminology. It’s one of the freshest styles, so I’ve been playing and making mixes with it for quite a while now 🙂
If the world was a massive Monopoly board, who would you send straight to jail and who would you give a get out of jail free card?
Anyone using a rave stab with a hardgroove drum loop goes directly and immediately to solitary confinement in a high security prison with no parole. It’s 2026… it stopped being cool after the first revival.
The Get Out of Jail card I keep for myself because I firmly reserve the right to make a hardgroove rave stab track in the future.
Is there anything else you would like to talk about?
For those who have not checked out my Amorphic project and are into darker, more sci-fi techno, you can find it there. And look out for Vince Watson – The Awakening in the second half of May. Thank you!
Lovely to talk to you Vince.
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