Kit Watkins (born 1953) is an American progressive-ambient-jazz recording artist based in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was previously a member of the band Happy the Man. [1]
Kit Watkins (born 1953) is an American progressive-ambient-jazz recording artist based in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was previously a member of the band Happy the Man. [1]
Born in Virginia to classical piano teachers, Watkins took piano lessons from the age of 5 to 13. As a teenager he began to play keyboards in various amateur bands, first playing Top 40 material, then moving to progressive rock covers by bands such as Yes and ELP. While a student at James Madison University, [2] he met guitarist Stanley Whitaker, who introduced him to Gentle Giant, Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator. He joined Whitaker's fledgling band Happy the Man in 1973.
The band moved to the Washington, DC area in the summer of 1975 and developed a devoted following as a result of airplay on WGTB-FM (the Georgetown University radio station which no longer broadcasts) as well as live performances sponsored by the station, headlining the Pandemedia event of that year. The band was a regular act at The Cellar Door in Georgetown, DC, and signed to the venue's management office. In 1976, they signed with Clive Davis' Arista Records, which released two albums, Happy The Man (1977) and Crafty Hands (1978). Both albums were produced by Ken Scott, engineer from The Beatles' White Album sessions, who also engineered and produced albums by David Bowie, Supertramp, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the Dixie Dregs. Watkins worked closely with Scott as the band's representative in recording and mixing both Happy The Man albums. But before Crafty Hands was finished being recorded, Davis had a change of heart and dropped the band from his label.
In 1979, HTM performed locally to an ever growing audience. They struggled to find another label to pick them up. In the Spring of 1979, HTM disbanded only months after having recorded a demo tape of their 3rd album.
In 1983, Kit released the band's demo and called it, 3rd, Better late.. on his Azimuth Record Label.
Kit and Brad Allen performed only one show in support of Frames Of Mind, at a club called DC Space, on Jan 21 1982. During which concert, Brad broke a guitar string and took time out to repair it. During this break, someone called out a request, "Play Untitled!" Untitled, was an outtake from the Labyrinth album and was often performed live at Kit and Coco shows. Kit honored the request. Untitled was later released on Kit's Holographic Tapestries CD.
In June 1979, Watkins traveled to England to join Camel, and the band recorded a new album, I Can See Your House From Here for Decca Records, with Rupert Hine as producer.
During 1980, Watkins launched a solo career and recorded his first solo album, Labyrinth, (with Coco Roussel on drums) on Kit's own indie Label Azimuth. In a review of the album, critic George Varga described Watkins as "a composer and synthesizer wizard of almost unequaled talents." [1] The LP was largely in the same vein as Happy The Man, including a couple of compositions written for Happy The Man's third album. "Kit & Coco" played duo concerts sparsely in the fall and winter of 1980 and 1981 - in between Kit's tours with Camel. The duo performed with backing tape accompaniment, often ending their set with an unaccompanied improvisation. A historic video tape of Kit & Coco's December 1, 1981 performance at DC's 9:30 Club was made but has never been released.
Watkins' next effort, Frames of Mind, with Brad Allen on guitars and vocals, appeared in 1982. The album was a fun and quirky mix of new wave pop and hybrid world music, recorded at Watkins' home studio in Arlington, Virginia and released on his label, Azimuth Records.
In 1983, Kit released Happy The Man's 3rd LP, "Better late.." on his Azimuth Record Label.
In 1987, Watkins relocated to Linden, Virginia in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains where he recorded and released several albums over the next 10 years, including Azure (1988), SunStruck (1990), and wet, dark, and low (1992) for the Minneapolis-based East Side Digital (ESD) label, and Thought Tones (1990), A Different View (1991), Kinetic Vapors (1993), Holographic Tapestries (1995), and Beauty Drifting (1996) for his Linden Music label. Linden also released a number of albums by other notable electronic/ambient artists, including David Borden, Robert Rich, and Jeff Greinke.
Linden Music closed its doors in 1997 due to distribution problems, but Watkins has continued releasing his work on CD, first via MP3.com and currently via Cafepress. In 2000, he signed a contract with One Way Records for the release of four of his albums (Labyrinth, SunStruck, wet, dark, and low, and Holographic Tapestries) which continue to be distributed nationally.
Recent albums include The Unseen (2000), Rolling Curve (2000), The Gathering (2001 - a live recording of a rare live performance given in Philadelphia that year), music for the end (2001), This Time and Space (2003), unraveled (2003), Flying Petals (2004), and World Fiction (2005). Critic Ernie Rideout, in reviewing Flying Petals, wrote that it "is as intriguing for the depth of compositional talent as it is for beautiful sound design and monster grooves." [3]
Watkins has released two DVDs: a hypnotic visual work based on his album This Time and Space (2004); and The Gathering (2005), a live performance, videotaped by his longtime friend and Azimuth Records partner Sally Heldrich.
In 2008, Watkins began an association with the Earth Mantra ambient netlabel which has released many of his albums for free under a Creative Commons license.
Mixmaster Morris is an English electronica DJ and underground musician who has also recorded as The Irresistible Force. His work in the 1990s blended ambient music and chill-out influences with UK dance styles.
Dead Can Dance are an Australian world music/darkwave band from Melbourne. Currently composed of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, the group formed in 1981. They relocated to London the following year. Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance's style as "constructed soundscapes of mesmerising grandeur and solemn beauty; African polyrhythms, Gaelic folk, Gregorian chant, Middle Eastern music, mantras, and art rock."
Juno Reactor is a multi-national musical and performing group, primarily based in Brighton, UK. Known for their cinematic fusion of electronic, global influences, and orchestral symphonic approach, collaborating with composer Don Davis and composing for the musical score of The Matrix . Central to the project is Ben Watkins and his collaborations with a constantly changing ensemble of musicians from across the world. This ensemble has included Mabi Thobejane, Amampondo, Steve Stevens, Eduardo Niebla, Greg Ellis, Taz Alexander, Sugizo, Budgie and recently Hamsika Iyer and Maggie Hikri.
Skin Graft Records is an independent record label specializing in no wave and noise rock, originally based in Chicago, Illinois. The label is largely responsible for spawning "now wave" genre, an updated version of the late 1970s/early 1980s no wave movement.
Nicholas Bullen is an English musician and a founding member of the grindcore band Napalm Death.
Gregory Brian Leisz is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitar.
Happy the Man is an American progressive rock band formed in 1973 at Madison College. The band was since based in Washington, D.C. The name Happy the Man is a reference to Goethe’s "Faust" and the Bible, rather than the 1972 Genesis single.
Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the Fearless Flush Sampler and Punk Bites releases, as well as additional releases by bands such as Bigwig and Dynamite Boy; and later Sugarcult; Plain White T's; The Aquabats; Amely; and post-hardcore releases by At the Drive-In and Anatomy of a Ghost. However, the label has experimented with different styles in recent years. Acts such as Blessthefall, The Word Alive, Ice Nine Kills, Mayday Parade, Pierce The Veil, Starset, The Pretty Reckless, Underoath and The Color Morale have showcased post-hardcore, metalcore, hard rock and alternative rock bands that have emerged in recent years. Fearless Records' releases were distributed in the US by RED Distribution, but after Concord Music Group's purchase of the label in 2015, it is now distributed by Universal Music Group worldwide.
Loscil is the electronic/ambient music project of Scott Morgan from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Morgan launched the project in Vancouver in 1998 while a member of the multimedia collective Multiplex, which curated audiovisual events at an underground cinema called The Blinding Light. The name Loscil is taken from the "looping oscillator" function (loscil) in Csound.
Crafty Hands is an album by the progressive rock band Happy the Man, released in 1978. Only one track, "Wind Up Doll Day Wind," contains vocals.
I Can See Your House from Here is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. Released in 1979, a new line up was introduced with founding members Andrew Latimer (guitar) and Andy Ward (drums) joined by bassist Colin Bass and keyboardists Jan Schelhaas and Kit Watkins who replaced Dave Sinclair. At one point, the album was going to be called Endangered Species.
Axel Willner is a Swedish electronic music producer and DJ from Stockholm and currently based in Berlin, best known for his releases as The Field, blending micro-samples of pop songs into atmospheric minimal techno.
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Happy the Man is the debut album by the American progressive rock band Happy the Man, released in 1977. Rolling Stone ranked it 50th on their list of the 50 greatest prog-rock albums of all time.
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Beginnings is an album by the progressive rock band Happy the Man, released in 1990 but composed of material written and recorded during Happy the Man's first two years, 1974 and 1975. Originally recorded on 2- and 4-track tape as demos, the material was compiled and transferred to DAT where additional mixing and processing was added by Kit Watkins.
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East Side Digital is a record label and distributor based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Abaddon is an Italian extreme metal band from Emilia-Romagna, formed in 1999. It is heavily associated with sister band Spectrum-X.
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