VINCE WATSON Schallplatten & CDs

Review: A certain Dutch progressive techno label likens their output to a kind of zoo or menagerie, in which clockwork creatures flit and scurry about a musical enclosure. This image of mechanistic fauna - the shuffling of metal feathers, the shaking down of synthetic fur coats - works well to complement welcomee producer Vince Watson's 'Spirals' EP. The Scottish artist has been churning out the progressive stuff for at least two decades, and his achievements so far sound to culminate on 'Gliding' and 'Spirals', two softly incandescent wick-depleters, both of whose amphitheatrical chords and spacious layerings help each track reach a peak animalistic sublimity.

Review: It sure has been a long time coming but finally Vince Watson is back with a new album that follows up his well regarded debut from some 20 odd years ago, Biologique, and sophomore effort Moments In Time. Another Moment In Time is a rich house exploration with a tendency towards the deep and always magical melodies. It's timeless and tasteful material that is all expertly arranged and executed from the gentle piano joys of 'Peace Of Mind' to the reflective and jazzy chords of 'Lost In The Deep'. One of the cuts, 'Rendezvous' has appeared in a different form on Carl Craig's Planet E but here gets a 'Finale' version that brings classic house drums with widescreen synth work and warm chord vamps.

Review: Six years ago, Vince Watson released a digital-only compilation marking two decades since his first release, in the process providing updated re-makes and remixes of some of his best-loved cuts. The versions on this 12" appeared on that set but have not been released on vinyl before. His re-wire of 1999 cut 'Mystical Rhythm' is little less than sonically gorgeous, subtly updating Watson's classic, Detroit influenced sci-fi techno sound to include all manner of spacey chords, warming organ sounds and jazzy, life-affirming synth solos. His version of 2000's 'Moments in Time' is even deeper and more intergalactic in tone, delivering heart-aching Motor City style machine soul by the boat-load. In a word: stunning.

Review: Vince Watson released the DnA album in 2019, and now he's revisiting it for a bumper remix package from a frankly dizzying cadre of producers. First up is Carl Craig, who takes 'Ride Or Die' in predictably epic, soaring directions before Jon Dixon lays his ebullient, melodious touch over '(RE)volution'. Steve Rachmad whips up a tight and punchy strain of techno while re-versioning 'Second Wave', and Claude Young takes a delicate approach to 'Universal Language'. Stephen Brown creates a brooding, Detroit indebted mood on his mix of 'Immersion', John Beltran goes predictably far out with 'Second Wave' before Stephen Lopkin's own dreamy, sky-scraping take on the track. Shawn Rudiman completes this all-star cast with a supercharged, uplifting techno workout as he re-interprets 'Metamorphosis'. If you like classically-informed techno, you can't pass up this sterling package.