Press — Christopher Watts

Christopher Watts

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BIO

Raised on the pop and rock of the late 80s/early 90s and trained as a composer, Christopher Watts writes smart, tightly-constructed songs that explore the doubts behind a life of big tech and small minds.

Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, Watts has called Canton, New York home for much of his adult life. He started writing songs at age 14, came up through the classical world, and then returned to songwriting decades later with an expanded toolset but the same desire: to make music that is highly accessible but often poses big questions.

Watts is influenced by a wide range of artists across many genres, including icons like Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, and younger artists such as Lo Moon, Nilüfer Yanya, Foals, and Dirty Loops. In today’s music scene this places him somewhere in the realm of alternative rock.

Known in his local community for occasional one-man shows that are both intricate and relatable, Watts is a relative newcomer to the world of recording and releasing his music.

Like many people, Christopher Watts began piano lessons at age 8 – but he grew up in a house where children were not allowed to quit piano. At age 14, he formed a garage band with two friends, Ryan and Eric. Today Chris and Ryan are both professors of music at small private universities, and Eric is a rock star who has written and produced multiple gold records. But they were not a particularly good band.
Watts majored in music theory at Furman University, where he was drawn into the world of experimental music in the classical tradition. After earning his Bachelor of Music degree, he went on to complete a Master of Music in composition at LSU and a Doctor of Musical Arts in composition at the University of Cincinnati. He has been teaching music full time for more than two decades.
Soon after completing his education, Watts became dissatisfied with experimental music, feeling that it was too inaccessible for most audiences. Instead of building a career as an academic composer, he focused his energy on teaching while searching for a creative outlet that might be a better fit with his artistic goals.
Many years later, he ended up in more or less the same place where he started at age 14: songwriting. For the last several years, Watts has been learning the recording and production techniques that he didn’t get in school, and helping his students do the same.
If music-making is a chain of events – writing, performing, recording, mixing, mastering, promoting – Watts likes to say that he starts strong and gets progressively worse with each step.
Whether that is true or not, you can hear some of the results below.

Music

PAPER CROWN

What if you were babysitting the future king of chaos?

It's never enough to play with your toys
You've got so much stuff 'cause you take it from the other boys

CATCH YOU LATER (STILL I WAIT)

A guitar-driven track about waiting around for someone who takes you for granted.

Seems like you're always on the run
Maybe I can catch you later on

CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE (Neon Version)

Originally a sparse arrangement for voice and piano, the “neon version” leans heavily into a melancholy 80s vibe. It’s a song about polarization and dysfunction.

Everybody knows there's no clear road to paradise from here
Opinions differ on exactly how we came to lose our way

LABOR OF LOVE

Inspired by the huge sound of Tears For Fears’s Songs From The Big Chair, and “Head Over Heels” in particular. It’s a song about the way that loving someone leaves you open to being hurt — but is worth the risk.