Name: Vince Watson
Occupation: Producer, lecturer, label founder at Everysoul
Nationality: British
Current release: Vince Watson's new EP Eminesence - The Mixes is out via Everysoul.  

If you enjoyed this Vince Watson interview and would like to know more about his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Facebook.

For a deeper dive, read our earlier Vince Watson interview and our conversation with him about Production.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

Yes, when making music I'm also a little bit of a synaesthete.

It's mostly shapes, but I get very strong smells when I remember things. It's really hard for people to understand when they have not experienced this themselves so you just get funny looks sometimes.

When I'm simply listening to music It's shapes for the most part. Some of my Rekordbox playlists are named after shapes :)

How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?

I actually like the claustrophobic nature of the narrow field of headphones, but I do enjoy spatial sound too when walking the dog in nature.

I do not think I could make music on a 5,1 or above system though, the options are too endless for me. I did try different soundstages on headphones with apps but the imaging was a bit off for me.

Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.

The latest artist for me is Quartz, the halftime DnB producer. Absolutely incredible sound, next level production.



For the rest, too many to mention.

Do you experience strong emotional responses towards certain sounds? If so, what kind of sounds are these and do you have an explanation about the reasons for these responses?

I have a 9 year old so "Annoying Orange" and the guy who does the voice on "The Floor Is Lava" are really on the edge for me!

I really don't sit well with resonance from the low mids. 160hz drives me insane, I hate it, scoop that motherfucker out.

I love the pressure of thunder and lightening though.

There can be sounds which feel highly irritating to us and then there are others we could gladly listen to for hours. Do you have examples for either one or both of these?

I could listen to the rain forever, It's so delicate and soft.

I cannot listen to dogs barking for more than 5secs, it drives me insane and goes right through me.

Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

Tunnels, I love feeling the sound travel down them, like you can almost feel the vibrations of the sound. I also love the vacuum created by going into them.

For devices, the current favourite is the GR-Mega granular synth, I'm obsessed with granular at the moment.

Have you ever been in spaces with extreme sonic characteristics, such as anechoic chambers or caves? What was the experience like?

I've been in an absolutely massive warehouse, like an Amazon one but fully empty … and that was endless reverb, quite surreal.

Even a small click of your voice is affected - always wish I could have recorded that.

What are among your favourite spaces to record and play your music?

My own studio has a really great response and is very transparent, great for producing but maybe not great for recording instruments, in as It's not giving any special colour to the recording.

I do enjoy going to the Conservatorium van Amsterdam studios though, or even Wisseloord in Hilversum for some great sounding environments.

Do music and sound feel “material” to you? Does working with sound feel like you're sculpting or shaping something?

I'm a storyteller at heart, I try and take people from somewhere to somewhere else and bring them home again. For me this feels like I am sculpting a journey where you can leave you rucksack of problems at checkin for a few minutes.

When I'm actually producing, I try really hard to shape narratives all over it, building and layering to give depth to the journey too. I'm trying to build something that will last a long time.

How important is sound for our overall well-being and in how far do you feel the "acoustic health" of a society or environment is reflective of It's overall health?

Even though I am regularly exposed to 100db in volume and work in a studio that is fully sound proof from the outside world, when I'm at home for example, I'm super sensitive to loud noises and really look for calm and space in the atmosphere, which is hard with a 9 year old!.

All around us, you can feel and hear the change of an atmosphere. When there are dark times, the weight can be felt and there volume is a little restrained …. and conversely when there is nothing but good times and sunshine, the atmosphere is more energetic and the murmurs are constant.

A bit of balance is the key to all this.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds?

Coming from Scotland, the sound of the highlands, the sheer depth of the reverb, the echoes around and the distant sound of eagles above is pretty inspiring.

It's the unknown sounds at night that get you the most. ‘WTF was that?’

Many animals communicate through sound. Based either on experience or intuition, do you feel as though interspecies communication is possible and important? Is there a creative element to it, would you say?

I'm pretty sure there are alien/human hybrids on the DJ circuit, I reckon we all know a few of them already (joking/not joking). It's all vibrations and maths, everything.

It would be foolish to think we are not affecting or connecting to everything around us, including animals. Intent, empathy and gratitude are the keys to life …. and animals can sense that.

I'm not gonna be sampling my dog anytime soon though :)

Tinnitus and developing hyperacusis are very real risks for anyone working with sound. Do you take precautions in this regard and if you're suffering from these or similar issues – how do you cope with them?

Luckily I have survived the first 15 years of my career without any protection.

I used to have to get my ears syringed and cleaned out 2 times a year, then the custom plugs started coming out and a jumped in immediately. I have very high quality custom protection since around 2009. I hope the damage doesn’t come later.

Back in the days it simply wasn’t in artists scope but now thankfully It's easy to protect yourself and if you are a touring artist in 2026 and you are not wearing any protection “because you don't like the sound’….then just ask yourself if you like hearing zero sound later on. It takes 3-4 gigs to get used to it then you will never go back.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

Silence allows the mind to wander without direction. Sound allows the mind to wander with intent. Both are vital.

Seth S. Horowitz called hearing the “universal sense” and emphasised that it was more precise and faster than any of our other senses, including vision. How would our world be different if we paid less attention to looks and listened more instead?

The scene would be much healthier for sure.

Imagine a world where people went to clubs and festivals to listen to music instead of what we have now which is that people go to clubs and festivals to show people they were there. Imagine a world where people when to venues to listen to music instead of going to see a DJ.

If I owned a club, I would immediately put all artists and DJs who were playing behind a semi transparent wall and force people to look at each other instead.