Chris Watson – Planet Ocean @ Edinburgh College of Art | Friday 27th March 2026

March 24, 2026 » Permalink: Chris Watson – Planet Ocean @ Edinburgh College of Art | Friday 27th March 2026

West Court, Edinburgh College of ArtEdinburgh, Edinburgh
Friday, Mar 27 from 6:30 pm to 8 pm

A sonic journey from the Firth of Forth to Antarctica presented by Chris Watson, one of the world’s leading sound recordists of wildlife.

Chris Watson is one of the world’s leading sound recordists of wildlife and natural phenomena. His latest album ‘Planet Ocean’ is a celebration of the sounds, rhythms and textures of the oceans worldwide, a gathering of tidal voices pushed and pulled by gravitational forces from above and below the surface.

For more on the album, please visit chriswatsonreleases.bandcamp.com/album/planet-ocean

For this event he will present a selection of his recordings as a sonic journey from the Firth of Forth to Antarctica drawn from his work for the BBC and others including his BAFTA Award winning work for Frozen Planet and The Secret World of Sound

Watson was a founding member of the influential Sheffield based experimental music group Cabaret Voltaire during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Since then he has developed a particular and passionate interest in recording the sounds of animals, habitats and atmospheres from around the world and he is president of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society.

His TV credits include recent series Kingdom, The Green Planet, Life in Cold Blood and Chernobyl, and he’s also a regular contributor to radio and film productions.

As a freelance composer and sound recordist Watson specialises in creating spatial sound installations which feature a strong sense and spirit of place. His installations have been commissioned by international galleries and festivals such as; Sheffield Millennium Gallery, Opera North in Leeds, The National Gallery, London, The Royal Opera House, London, The Louvre in Paris, the Aichi Triennial in Japan, and Kew Gardens.

He has released many albums of his recordings on Touch, for which he edits his field recordings into a filmic narrative.

This event is sponsored by ECA’s MSc Sound Design programme. For more information on Sound Design at ECA please visit https://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/programme/sound-design-msc

Tickets & info: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/chris-watson-planet-ocean-tickets-1984879968417

Chris Watson on ORF, Austria | 27th Feb 2026

February 28, 2026 » Permalink: Chris Watson on ORF, Austria | 27th Feb 2026

oe1.orf.at/programm/20260227/823510/Cabaret-Voltaire-und-Chris-Watson-beim-Elevate-Festival-2026

Unter dem Motto “Vital Signs – Zwischen Kollaps und Aufbruch” begibt sich das Elevate Festival heuer auf die Suche nach den “Lebenszeichen unserer Zeit”. “Wie lässt sich Lebendigkeit in Systemen denken, die erschöpft wirken – in Wirtschaft, Klima, Medien, Politik und zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen”, fragen die Veranstalter:innen. Ein überraschendes Lebenszeichen kam 2025 von Cabaret Voltaire, die gerne als Pioniere der Industrial Music bezeichnet werden. Nach dem Tod von Richard H. Kirk im Jahr 2021 beschlossen die beiden 1981 und 1994 ausgeschiedenen Gründungsmitglieder Chris Watson und Stephen Mallinder für eine letzte Tournee nochmals zusammenzukommen. In diesem “Zeit-Ton” möchten wir ersteren von beiden näher vorstellen.

In den vergangenen 45 Jahren baute sich Chris Watson, der u.a. eng mit David Attenborough zusammengearbeitet hat, eine Karriere als Soundscape-Artist auf und gilt längst als Großmeister seines Faches. Im Jahr 2006 wurde ihm von der University of the West of England ein Ehrendoktortitel verliehen, – “in Anerkennung seines herausragenden Beitrags zur Audiotechnologie, insbesondere im Bereich der Naturgeschichte und der Dokumentarfilm-Tonaufnahme”. Von 2014 bis 2024 war er Präsident der Wildlife Sound Recording Society.

Service
Chris Watson
Elevate Festival

Sendereihe
Sound Art: Zeit-Ton
Gestaltung
Susanna Niedermayr

Chris Watson – Planet Ocean

December 30, 2025 » Permalink: Chris Watson – Planet Ocean

1 hour listen made up of 17 tracks – DL & 20pp booklet
Touch V33.90
Releases 2nd January 2026

Planet Ocean – A new album from Chris Watson and a listening Party have just been announced DL & 20pp pdf booklet

Out Now: chriswatsonreleases.bandcamp.com/album/planet-ocean

In the late 1960’s the first colour photographs of earth taken from outer space revealed this to be a blue planet. It took images captured from 98,000 nautical miles away to trigger a new focus on environmental issues. This attention also revealed that more than 70% of this planet is occupied by the seas and oceans, the largest and most sound rich collection of habitats.

‘Planet Ocean’ is a celebration of the sounds, rhythms and textures of the oceans worldwide, a gathering of tidal voices pushed and pulled by gravitational forces from above and below the surface.

The photographs that complement ‘Planet Ocean’ are by circumstance land and water-based. They are intended as a parallel narrative to the sound recordings, deliberately 20 in number so as not to fit with any notion of pairing with a specific location. There is a chemistry between the close-up and the epic vistas together with personal moments at the margins by the water’s edge. That seductive and dreadful beauty – are you going in? – “no, it looks freezing!” – but actually the world is melting in front of our eyes.

Wave wash releases negative ions into the air and together with the associated sound they bestow a sense of well-being and stillness when faced by this awesome power. 57 years on from 1969 we need to remind ourselves of the ancient relationship we have with ‘Planet Ocean’. A place where we evolved from and which continues to support all life on earth and in the waters all around.

Soundwalks on Bandcamp | Alec Finlay & Chris Watson

October 25, 2025 » Permalink: Soundwalks on Bandcamp | Alec Finlay & Chris Watson

During the coronavirus lockdowns, walking became an important way to connect with the outside world. At the same time, the world got quieter, making the sounds of wildlife more noticeable to many. In March of 2020, premier field recordist Chris Watson was asked by artist Alec Finlay to record soundwalks for Scottish charity Paths for All, which would be “aimed at people, not just with regards to the pandemic, but who are less able physically to get out,” Watson explained. “Alec’s idea was to take people to these places in sound. So I did binaural mixes because really, that’s designed for headphone listening. You can just put the headphones on, close your eyes, and go to that place. There’s a narrative element to it. It’s a journey.” Watson made two mixes, one of the Scottish Highlands and one of the Lowlands, that offer “imaginative access” to these astonishing environments. Though the lockdowns are over, these recordings remain essential. [Matthew Blackwell]

www.bandcamp.com
Two Audio Walks by Chris Watson

Chris Watson in Cutting Room Floor | The Cusp Magazine

October 8, 2025 » Permalink: Chris Watson in Cutting Room Floor | The Cusp Magazine

Sound Recordist Chris Watson, best known for his collaborations with David Attenborough, explains why recorded ambient sound evokes ‘the spirit of a place’

thecuspmagazine.substack.com/p/cutting-room-floor-sound-recordist

2nd BAFTA for Chris Watson 27th April 2025

June 21, 2025 » Permalink: 2nd BAFTA for Chris Watson 27th April 2025

BAFTA TELEVISION CRAFT AWARD
27th April 2025

SOUND FACTUAL BAFTA for

“Secret World of Sound” with Sir David Attenborough [Netflix]

BBC Radio 4 21st June 2025

June 21, 2025 » Permalink: BBC Radio 4 21st June 2025

To mark the Summer Solstice, BBC Radio 4 ‘Today’ have commissioned Chris to compose a 90 second piece for 21st July programme at 0820h

“Radio 4 Summer Solstice Soundscape”

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_fourfm

‘Yes, there was a riot, but it was great’

June 2, 2025 » Permalink: ‘Yes, there was a riot, but it was great’

Cabaret Voltaire on violent gigs, nuclear noise – and returning to mark 50 years
by Daniel Dylan Wray

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/02/cabaret-voltaire-riot-returning-attenborough-chernobyl

Eternal Lanes of Joy by Pat Collins

March 27, 2025 » Permalink: Eternal Lanes of Joy by Pat Collins

Drama On One, RTÉ Radio 1, 8pm, Sun, Mar 30

Written and directed by filmmaker Pat Collins, Eternal Lanes of Joy recreates Patrick Kavanagh’s epic journey on foot from his home in Mucker, County Monaghan, to Dublin, in the year 1931. This was a pilgrimage of sorts – a very deliberate setting out on his poetic path – a symbolic journey that would affirm Kavanagh’s idea of himself as a poet. Mikel Murfi stars as Patrick Kavanagh, both as the young man on the journey, and as the older Kavanagh in his fifties, looking back. Chris Watson has added pristine recordings of birdsong and atmospheres corresponding to the soundscape of 1931, from Curlews and Corncrakes to distant steam trains and church bells.

Research for the programme is funded by Creative Monaghan. The programme is funded by Coimisiún na Meán with the television licence fee.

Writer/Director: Pat Collins
Cast: Mikel Murfi, Catherine Walsh, Rosaleen Linehan, John McArdle, John Connors, Charlene McKenna, Eamonn Owens, Eamonn Hunt
Wildlife Recordings: Chris Watson
Sound Design: Damian Chennells, Chris Watson, Tom Norton
Composer: Irene Buckley
Producer: Kevin Brew
Series Producer, Drama On One: Kevin Reynolds

‘Namib’ | The Octagon, Queen Mary’s University, London March 8th 2025

March 1, 2025 » Permalink: ‘Namib’ | The Octagon, Queen Mary’s University, London March 8th 2025

Next Saturday March 8th there will be a rare opportunity in the Octagon at Queen Mary University,to hear three performances of Chris Watson’s surround soundscape ‘Namib’.

The piece will begin at 1pm, 4.15pm and 6.30pm and entrance is free.

Tickets & info

Documentaire : Chris Watson, un portrait | Radio France, 23rd February 2025

February 20, 2025 » Permalink: Documentaire : Chris Watson, un portrait | Radio France, 23rd February 2025

Chris Watson, compositeur et preneur de son anglais, à l’origine du groupe Cabaret Voltaire, connu pour ses enregistrements de terrain récompensés par un BAFTA, pour David Attenborough “The Life of Birds” et toute une série d’émissions de la BBC.

www.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/podcasts/l-experimentale/documentaire-chris-watson-un-portrait-2102827

Festival Antigen, Switzerland | 9th February 2025

February 2, 2025 » Permalink: Festival Antigen, Switzerland | 9th February 2025

The Sounds of Sanctuary

Maître du field recording, Chris Watson vous transportera à l’Abri PC avec ses paysages sonores immersifs. Allongez-vous et plongez au cœur d’univers acoustiques fascinants et captivants.
Chris Watson, artiste sonore de renommée, capture la vie secrète des écosystèmes les plus reculés. A l’occasion du festival, Watson nous présentera son projet The Sound of Sanctuary qui vous fera voyager dans la forêt tropicale de la montagne

antigel.ch/event/chris-watson/

The Burning Question RTÉ Radio 1 | 8pm, 15th December

November 28, 2024 » Permalink: The Burning Question RTÉ Radio 1 | 8pm, 15th December

The Burning Question

rte.ie/dramaonone

The first episode in a new Drama On One strand offering a compendium of thoughts and stories on climate activism and the living planet.

Presented by Louise Williams, Episode 1 features wildlife recordist Chris Watson and university professor and writer Philippe Sands, author of East West Street and The Ratline. The programme also tracks the progress of the Youth4ClimateJustice court case – when Irish lawyers worked with six young Portuguese activists to take 32 governments to the European Court of Human Rights. With dramatised excerpts performed by Percy Chamburuka, Hannah Brady and Imogen Allen.
Original Score by Daragh Dukes.
Wildlife Recordings: Chris Watson
Sound Design: Chris Watson and Ruth Kennington.
Sound Supervision: Ruth Kennington and Tom Norton.
Producer: Kevin Brew
Series Producer: Kevin Reynolds
The Burning Question was funded by Coimisiún Na Meán with the television licence fee.

ARTIST TALK: BIAŁOWIEŻA WITH CHRIS WATSON & IZABELA DŁUŻYK (TIMES) | Friday 30th September 2024

September 24, 2024 » Permalink: ARTIST TALK: BIAŁOWIEŻA WITH CHRIS WATSON & IZABELA DŁUŻYK (TIMES) | Friday 30th September 2024

Chris Watson is one of the world’s most acclaimed recordists, known for his work with the BBC and David Attenborough, as well as his many releases on Touch. Izabela Dłużyk, sightless from birth, is known especially for recordings made in Białowieża Forest, Europe’s last primaeval forest. Together, Chris and Izabela recorded in the forest last spring to create a new work called Białowieża. This is a sonic document of not only one of Poland’s most beautiful regions, but in recent years one of its most brutal, the site of migrant deaths along the crossing from Belarus into the EU. This discussion, moderated by Polish sound artist and musicologist Iza Smelczyńska, will explore the practical and ethical dimensions of a sound recordist’s work and the individual artistic philosophies involved in creating Białowieża.

Commissioned by TIMES* – the Independent Movement for Electronic Scenes.

More info here

Fuzzzel (artisanal white noise) | iOS app

August 22, 2024 » Permalink: Fuzzzel (artisanal white noise) | iOS app

“Fuzzzel is a bespoke iOS white noise app and the world’s first artist-centered white noise record label. Although these sounds are intended to be utilitarian, we offer no preference on how you should experience them. Feel free to use fuzzzel for background noise, sleep ald, meditation, concentration, nome atmosphere, deep listening, party accompaniment or as part of your everyday music rotation.” (Christopher Weingarten)

Featuring exclusive tracks from Chris Watson, Mary Lattimore, Eluvium & more…

Fuzzzel can be found in the App Store here and is featured in Rolling Stone here

A Journey South | Felpham, West Sussex 26th July 2024

April 22, 2024 » Permalink: A Journey South | Felpham, West Sussex 26th July 2024

Chris Watson – A Journey South
Felpham Memorial Village Hall, Felpham, West Sussex

7PM, Chris Watson comes to Felpham, West Sussex, England to present “A Journey South”, the story of his trip to Antarctica with Sir David Attenborough for the BBC TV series “A Frozen Planet” (2026).

Tickets are available locally at the Post Office or by email here. All proceeds from ticket sales, which cost £12 (£5 for under 18s), go towards the ‘Save Our Felpham Village Post Office Campaign’, which is up for sale and under threat of closure. After the shocking Horizon Scandal revelations, the community has got together to save this essential and much-loved local post office.

(If you can’t make it, you can still show your support by buying a ticket for a friend or we can donate the ticket to local schools.)

Seven Sonic Wonders [Dolby] | March 2024

March 27, 2024 » Permalink: Seven Sonic Wonders [Dolby] | March 2024

Introducing Seven Sonic Wonders – a groundbreaking album that takes you on an audio journey of incredible, rare and endangered sounds of our planet. From the majestic pop and rumble of Iceland’s Vatnajökull Glacier to the serene dawn birdsong in Finland, each track puts you at heart of the beauty and fragility of nature’s symphony in Dolby Atmos.

This extraordinary project brings together the talent and expertise of award-winning wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, award-winning composer Nainita Desai and Dolby Atmos mix engineer Kurt Martinez to create an unparalleled listening experience.

Available now on Apple Music with all proceeds going to EarthPercent to aid the preservation of these natural wonders.

Track listing:

A Glacier’s Journey (Beneath the Ice)
Endless Dawn Chris (Songs of Taiga)
Rings Angels
Deep Blue Voices
Laughing Hippos
Reef Whispers
Frog Beats (Gamboa)
Seven Sonic Wonders of the World

You can listen to many other recordings on Chris’s Bandcamp page here

Earthsounds | Apple TV February 2024

February 24, 2024 » Permalink: Earthsounds | Apple TV February 2024

Apple TV+ revealed today the premiere date and official trailer for new 12-part documentary series “Earthsounds,” narrated by Golden Globe winner and Emmy Award nominee Tom Hiddleston. Filmed over 1,000 days across three and half years, “Earthsounds” reveals our planet like never before — a world buzzing with unexpected, unfamiliar and untold sonic stories that we have never been able to capture — until now. The series documents over 3,000 hours of audio, using cutting-edge technology to record our planet in brand-new ways. Filmed across 20 countries on all seven continents, “Earthsounds” will premiere all episodes globally on February 23 on Apple TV+

With contributions from Chris Watson & Jana Winderen

www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2024/02/listen-up-apple-tv-reveals-the-world-premiere-and-trailer-for-new-docuseries-earthsounds-narrated-by-golden-globe-winner-and-emmy-award-nominee-tom-hiddleston/

The Secret World of Sound | Sky TV/NOW February 2024

February 24, 2024 » Permalink: The Secret World of Sound | Sky TV/NOW February 2024

Sky has today announced its brand new, ground-breaking nature series – Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough – will launch on Sunday 25 February on Sky Nature, as well as streaming service NOW.

Sky also unveiled the series trailer providing viewers a first look at this unique, three-part series, which explores how animals use sound to communicate, thrive and survive in the natural world.

Incredible footage captured throughout the documentary series will give viewers an intimate look at how baby caiman communicates with each other from within the egg, how lions and hyaenas battle in the dark using sound, how a strange fish baffled residents with its eerie hum, and how some birds have mastered the art of mimicry to remarkable effect. Packed with insight and new scientific discoveries, Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough will transport viewers into the natural world for an unforgettable experience full of wonder.

Filmed in 4K ultra-high definition, each episode of the series will feature in-depth stories of eight animals, followed by five-minutes of Behind-The-Scenes footage. Unveiling the very latest in audio technology, the series uses specially adapted cameras and laser vibrometers, which allows humans to truly eavesdrop on the animal world for the first time and discover new stories and information that have been hidden until now.

The series incorporates microphones so tiny, they fit on your fingertip, and so precise they can detect the noise of a baby caiman calling from inside the egg. With 360-Dolby Atmos Sound, viewers will experience the breath-taking sounds of the natural world as never heard before.

With contributions from Chris Watson

www.skygroup.sky/article/sky-nature-unveils-first-look-at-secret-world-of-sound-with-david-attenborough

A Tribute to Philip Jeck | Iklectik, London 16th September 2023

August 29, 2023 » Permalink: A Tribute to Philip Jeck | Iklectik, London 16th September 2023

Saturday 16 September 2023 | Doors: 7pm
THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT

Touch, Iklectik & Mary Prestidge invite you to “A Tribute to Philip Jeck” at Iklectik, London on 16th September 2023.

7PM Doors

730PM Speakers: Mary Prestidge & Mike Harding

Chris Watson presents ‘Oxmardyke’, his recent collaboration with Jeck

830PM Liverpool Improvisation Collective
[Andrea Buckley, Paula Hampson, Mary Prestidge and Kate Brown]
‘Echoes of Philip’ an ensemble performance with dancers from Liverpool and London.

John Beaumont [Tenor] – Gregorian chant

Storyteller: Bryan O’Connell

9PM Jonathan Raisin
Piano solo. ‘in the absence…’ an improvisation, a memory… half a duet. Jonathan is a composer and improvising musician, based in Liverpool, who played with Philip several times over the last few years.

John Beaumont [Tenor] – Gregorian chant

Storyteller: Doug Gill

945PM Claire M Singer

Timings are approximate