Scottish producer Vince Watson is launching a very special compilation to celebrate his first 20 years in the game. In two decades Watson has featured on no less than 200 releases, 80 remixes, 8 albums, TV series and adverts. Well known for his early releases on the likes of Delsin, Fcom, Ibadan and Tronic, more recently Vince has made appearances on seminal imprints such as Cocoon, Ovum, Poker Flat, Rekids off-shoot Pyramids Of Mars, Planet E and Yoruba. Landing on his own label Everysoul, Vince Watson’s next contribution sees him delve into his established discography where he has spent many hours stripping back his original productions and rebuilding them from the ground up whilst using completely new sounds and parts. Some tracks have been slowed down and remastered, others have been rebuilt into more club friendly numbers and some just sound so much better courtesy of today’s mastering techniques. There are also nine exclusive beatless versions which have never been heard before and were specifically made for this one-off release. Included in the package is ‘Renaissance’, originally released on Carl Craig’s Planet E in 2006, which has been given a completely fresh drum workout to bring the track into proper club territory.
‘Mystical Rhythm’ was one of Vince’s seminal anthems that’s been reimagined as a beatless ambient version whilst the completely remastered ‘Moments In Time’ is the title track from Watson’s second album on Ibadan from 2002 featuring new synth parts, grooves and lush pads. Meanwhile, 2005’s ‘Long Way From Home’ was the standout track from Vince’s fifth album titled ‘The eMotion Sequence’ on Delsin that has never sounded this fat before. On the other hand ‘Pure Innersense’ was released on Laurent Garnier’s Fcom label the same year and earned single of the month with the likes of Mixmag and DJ Mag. It’s rework is subtle in new parts but huge in effect. All in all this is outstanding music and we all should salute the man for digging deep and reconstructing all these pearls! A must have for EVERY House lover out there!
5 out of 5
Reviewed by Mannix
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The world of techno has its superstars, much like any other scene or genre. Often more interesting beyond the stadium sheen of the Vaths and Hawtins are the producers and DJs who irk out a living on the underground, crafting music which appeals to the true acolytes of the sound. This is is an area where Vince Watson comes into his own.
To mark the hugely significant milestone of 20 years in the game, Watson has gone back over 20 of his productions. His utterly timeless ‘Mystical Rhythm’ makes an appearance in two guises, the lush Detroit orchestral vibe benefitting from a melancholic mix as well as a more pumping 2016 update. 17 years on from its release it loses none of its power, clear to see why everyone from Slam to Danny Krivit and his Lost & Soul party loved it when it first came round.
Elsewhere there’s other crackers, the decade old and Planet E released ‘Renaissance’ benefitting from a beefier groove on the VW20 version, whilst the gargling synths of ‘Pure Innersense’ have been preserved, very little done to a record which still sounds sonorous. Watson has also delved deep into the melody he is known for for a series of downbeat and melancholy interpretations of the likes of ‘Come With Me’, Kaleidoscope’ and ‘Love in F Minor’.
Across the tracks it’s striking just how effective a producer Watson has been, making the kind of majestically melodic electronic music that showcases how well these grooves can sound when we’re yearning towards the future. An epic ensemble form one of techno’s true greats.
4 out of 5
Reviewed by: Jimmy Coultas
