Over the course of tQ’s 15 years online, I can think of few other artists who have provided me such joy as Chris Watson, the sound recordist who began his musical career in the mid-1970s with Cabaret Voltaire and has now arguably reached as many ears as the world’s biggest music stars via his work recording the natural world for David Attenborough’s hugely popular documentaries. The popular perception of sound art might sometimes be austere and academic, the sense is that it lacks the familiar formulas of musical genre which enable emotional connections with the listener, and I would occasionally be inclined to agree. Even the term ‘sound art’ can feel dry, chewy, or otherwise indigestible. Watson’s work, however, has an uncanny warmth to it that, when I sit down to listen to one of his albums or encounter one of his myriad live projects, seems to become an…
