Vince Watson Music Playlists: Guest Selector

Man of many names and one of Scotland's finest, Vince Watson shares nine favourite LPs from his record collection

Feature by Vince Watson | 06 May 2015

Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters [Sony, 1973]
I wasn't raised around jazz music, my father was a folk musician, so when I first heard Chameleon it totally intrigued me. I loved the organised chaos it seemed to have, compared to the strict folk music I heard on peace camps. This changed everything for me from a young age, I knew I was following a different musical path from my father.

Minnie Riperton – Les Fleurs: The Minnie Riperton Anthology [Stateside, 2001]
This is one of the best compilations – if not the best – of any artist's music career. Every track is a winner, every track has been sampled a million times and every track just has that awesome feeling about it. The kind of tracks you wish you had written yourself. A true timeless classic.

Jean Michel-Jarre – Equinoxe [Disques Dreyfus, 1978]
This was the album that really captured the essence of chord building and layering my music on many levels. Its predecessor, Oxygène, was awesome, but this took the 'techno' elements to a new place and told a very pure 'underground' story. A beautiful journey into melody and melancholy.

The Police  Reggatta de Blanc [A&M, 1979]
This was the first album I actually ever heard. My mum had the cassette in her Mini and we used to listen to it non-stop along with Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. I preferred this album as it had the jazz bassline, amazing chords and brilliant drumming. They were so far ahead of their time. Innovators.

Underground Resistance  Revolution for Change [Network Records, 1992]
Sometimes an album comes along at the right time... this was it. I was moody, young, lost in music and needing direction in 1992 and Revolution for Change was perfect. Even the title inspired me at the time. It all seemed to fit. Aggression, acid, amazing chords, beautiful album start to finish. So many haven't even heard this which is a real shame. A definite building block.

Rhythim is Rhythim – Relics: A Transmat Compilation [Buzz Records, 1992]
I had so many test pressings, and US import Transmat and Buzz Records all had canvas covers and proper art; they were real 'products, start to finish.' All the extra unheard tracks were just so good, unlike most things out there at the time, and totally inspirational for, due to the fact they were all recorded live, which I really loved. I still made music like that myself until 2005.

Black Dog Productions – Bytes [Warp, 1993]
The UK has so many amazing electronica labels, but Bytes was the start of so many great tracks that followed it. BDP and all the related artists were true pioneers, and still are today, in the form of Plaid. This was and still is my favourite Black Dog project. Not to be confused with the relaunched Black Dog around these days, of course.

Carl Craig – More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art [Planet E, 1997]
One of the best techno albums from Detroit. In an era that had much competition and lots of artists really pushing things, Carl pops up with this and blows everyone away. An incredible example of Detroit techno, and very much in the purist category, but such an iconic record that even today it sounds fresh and exciting.

Plaid – Not for Threes [Warp, 1997]
When Black Dog split, I really hoped that Plaid would carry on where they left off, and after a few years this was the album I had been waiting for. Even today, I still play a long edited version of OJ (which was only on the vinyl, I think). It's got such a variety of genres and types of sounds; it really showcases how talented the two of them are.

Vince Watson's Eminesense EP is out now on Yoruba Records. Look out for projects for Cocoon, Ovum, Planet E and Poker Flat in 2015