Chris Watson is one of the world’s leading recorders of wildlife and natural phenomena, and for Touch he edits his field recordings into a filmic narrative. For example. the unearthly groaning of ice in an Icelandic glacier is a classic example of, in Watson’s words, putting a microphone where you can’t put your ears. He was born in Sheffield where he attended Rowlinson School and Stannington College (now part of Sheffield College). In 1971 he was a founding member of the influential Sheffield-based experimental music group Cabaret Voltaire. His sound recording career began in 1981 when he joined Tyne Tees Television. Since then he has developed a particular and passionate interest in recording the wildlife sounds of animals, habitats and atmospheres from around the world. As a freelance recordist for film, tv & radio, Chris Watson specialises in natural history and documentary location sound together with track assembly and sound design in post production.
Information
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Twitter: @chrisrwatson
A Life in Sound
Here you can find a very helpful selection of radio progammes and soundscapes for BBC Radio 4 featuring sound recordist Chris Watson.
Purchases & Downloads
Bandcamp (available digital):
Various releases and other archives are available on Chris's bandcamp site
You can hear Chris on TouchRadio here:
08.02.10 – A Journey South – 50:21
and also:
12.06.07 – The Sound of Islay: a report from The Hebrides – 24:20
Touch Releases
- Tone 73 Chris Watson – 'Glastonbury Ocean Soundscape'
- TO:27D - Chris Watson "Stepping into the Dark"
- TO:89 - Chris Watson "In St Cuthbert's Time"
- TO:42 - Chris Watson "El Tren Fantasma"
- TO:42V - Chris Watson "El Tren Fantasma - The Signal Man's Mix"
- Tone 43 - Chris Watson & Marcus Davidson "Cross-Pollination"
- TS02 - Chris Watson "Oceanus Pacificus"
Publishing & Licensing
Chris Watson is a member of PRS and is published by Touch Music