Ralph Watson Interview CC: First of all, introduce yourself, how long you been in the game and how did you get started? I’ve been doing this off and on for years now and probably hit a peak around’04 / ’05 when I managed to amass a decent following mainly in the States. I was also signed by Rydas Records which was an indy label run by one of the most switched on individuals I’ve ever worked with, with regard the underground scene in America. I had a couple of songs out and went by the name Geist. Many people still address me as Geist and that’s cool; I changed to my real name to show that I’ve moved on since that era - as I took a big time out and I’ve come back as something entirely different. I’d like to be considered an artist over and above a writer, rapper or whatever… the Geist in me still lurks in the shadows though. CC: You've just released "Londinium". Tell us a bit about the track and the making of the video. I wrote the song taking on the role of a guardian of this city; telling people of what they may find here. The track is produced by a guy over in the States called Smitty and it features Vicky O’Neill who’s got to be one of the most talented people I’ve come across doing music. She’s an all round artist herself and I found her online, her voice is amazing and she had a look of Evanescence about her that I knew would fit with the visuals. I literally hunted her down as there was no-one else that I wanted to do the singing part. The same kind of thing happened with the video; I had seen a short film called Nightshifters by this director, Richard Peretti and the look was exactly what I wanted for my video. I had to track him down as, unusually nowadays, I couldn’t find him online anywhere. He heard an early demo of the track and agreed to take on the video. The video was an ambitious project as the entire shoot was green screen; it was a two day shoot in a central London studio. Richard also produced the video, imagine having to recreate London from nothing!! He did an amazing job and I can see him getting into movies. CC: Your influences seem to be a mix of rap and metal. Break that down for us. Well, I’m a metal head first and foremost. I’d say my iPod is 60% heavy metal, 15% rock, 15% eighties cheese and 10% hiphop. That’s my taste, it’s rare nowadays for hiphop to turn me on; but it does still happen. I’m liking La Coka Nostra, Ill Bill, Jedi Mind Tricks and that type of hiphop. I like some of the newer mainstream stuff but only on a superficial level. Jay is still killing it, so is Em so the torch is still burning bright. My influences generally include bands like Trivium, Killswitch Engage and Downset from back in the day… things like that. Then with rap, I got into Naughty By Nature heavily and Heltah Skeltah and the Boot Camp; things like that plus I love my Def Leppard, Phil Collins, Journey and pretty much anything like that out of the eighties. CC: The UK seems to finally be making progress in developing a proper industry for rap/grime. Why do you think it has taken this long? Is it a lack of talent or just a poor work ethic? I think the UK always had talent but the identity wasn’t there; the grime scene ozzes charisma and this has proved to be the catalyst that was needed. A few years ago, it was all about lyricism over anything else and I still think a mix of both is when you get that magic. I don’t know all of the ins and outs of the UK scene currently but it’s great to see artists doing so well. CC: Whats the process when you create a track? Do you just write to producer's beats or are you involved in production in any way? How do you go about laying your vocals? I will usually hunt out productions or instrumentals. There’s been a couple of cases where I did have something specific in mind and I’ve then worked with the producer to bring it about but generally, I’ll find beats that I like; it’s that simple. I’ll then try to conceive something specific for that track; hence you’ll never find me talking about just general stuff like, I’m this or I’m that… I did this or that… I can’t work on that level; my minds not wired that way... I look to use my words in a way that can create a movie and bring about pictures. Someone like Richard on Londinium took it a step further and actually did create a movie! So it’d be nice to continue in that way. CC: For all the techies our there, give us a break down of your recording equipment. It’s a standard dinosaur of a Pentium 4 PC running Windows XP and ProTools 7. It’s been stable for many years and has crashed twice the whole time I’ve owned it. However there have been some creaking noises coming out of the side of it recently so I hope it hangs on! Apart from that, the recording chain was a Rode condenser but is now a Neumann U87 or Shure SM7 into an Apogee Mini-Me which takes care of the AD conversion and a touch of compression. This is then routed via SPDIF into the Mbox basically bypassing the Mbox mic pre’s and processing completely. The Apogee is very clean and super sharp but I’m aware that for my type of music, there are maybe more well suited compressors out there. I have an M-Patch 2 volume controller and a pair of Tannoy active monitors. And that’s it; very very basic; about as basic as one could expect despite the expensive mics and the Apogee. I know guys running Mbox and ProTools putting out stuff that sounds cleaner and harder than mainstream music right now; the technology has come such a long long way. I used to have all of my equipment in a studio space in North London and I ran a small studio called LDNstudio; I’ve since moved the whole rig into my own place, so I’ve come a full circle but it’s nice having it all at home in a dedicated room. CC: What collabs have you got coming up and given the chance, who would you like to work with? I have the holy grail of collabs which is me and Tech N9ne; it’s been under lock and key for the simple reason that if I’d put it out when it was done… it would have slipped into obscurity. I’m knocking out another couple of big songs, videos and the like then that track will see the light of day. Given the chance, out of anyone; I’d work with the producer Michael Cretu who most will know through his project, ‘Enigma’. Enigma do these trancey atmospheric songs and some made it into the mainstream but he’s also done some amazing work using big beat and hiphop as the backdrop. Some of the most atmospheric music I’ve ever heard bar none. Apart from that, Tech N9ne is one of my top five rappers and I’ve got a song with him; I’d also like to work with the likes of Ill Bill. Some of the talent is the underground is mad right now and I’d like to work with artists who get what I’m trying to do also. CC: Apart from music, you seem to be heavily involved in a whole range of media related work. Give us some insight into your various talents! Well, my website is all me, I spent ages knocking together a site from readily available components so I can get geeky on that level. The graphics and artwork is me and I want to get more involved with the videos and maybe one day, direct and produce my own videos and also videos for other artists that I’m feeling. I also find myself advising on new media and digital marketing, as part of my role in a digital music research company. CC: What are you plans for the future? We've heard a few whispers about the "Genome Saga" project. What's that all about and how does it differ from your other material? Genome Saga is my side project with producers Covert Recording, it plans to be an even heavier and dark look at our world and what’s going on around us. It’s not music for music’s sake. I come across far too many producers and artists who make music for the sake of making music; almost on a selfish level – and there’s nothing wrong with that – but my solo material reflects something altogether different. If you read between the lines, you’ll always find another level to the content. Genome Saga will take this concept even further. CC: You've got a lot of experience with various aspects of the music industry. What advice would you give to younger artists/producers? Decide what you want to be and what your whole thing is. It took me a long long time to really find myself and find that niche that felt like home. My music is only one part of my art, as I’d like to think that the visuals, graphics, website and everything that represents me also makes up part of the equation. The other thing is keep plugging away and with the right intentions, you’ll keep it moving. CC: Thanks for your time - we wish you well with everything you do. If you've got an last words or web sites you'd like to promote then let us know. Well, of course check out my site which is still in beta mode… you can watch the Londinium video in HD if your computer is up to it! I also have a remix section where you can remix my material and we’ve had submissions from all over the world already for Londinium, see www.ralphwatson.tv/remix . Shouts to HC, the WU, the Network, anyone who remembers Geist and Geistweb, Philip Rydas, Vicky O’Neill, Richard Peretti, LDN, Covert Recording and ohhhhh man, the list is too long. To you and whoever is reading this; consider yourself an ally. If you’re on Twitter, FB, MS or YT then add me and let’s connect: www.twitter.com/ralphwatson www.facebook.com/ralphwatson www.myspace.com/ralphwatson www.youtube.com/ralphwatsontv |
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