A veteran of the U.K. dance scene, Neville Watson has been producing house and techno under various guises since the mid-'90s. His diverse body of work ranges from deep, jazzy tech-house to raw, acid-heavy stompers, and while much of his work is meant to soundtrack dancefloor euphoria, some of his samples and track titles demonstrate a cheeky sense of humor. He began releasing tracks as Protein Boy in 1996, eventually going by his real name during the early 2000s. Throughout the following decades, he released material on labels like Clone and Crème Organization and collaborated extensively with Bulgarian electronic musician KiNK. He made his full-length debut with 2013's playful, acid-tinged Songs to Elevate Pure Hearts, which was followed by the spacier, more introspective The Midnight Orchard in 2018. Initially involved with the punk scene, Watson started going to raves at the end of the '80s. He began to DJ, and in the early '90s, he opened the Windsor-based shop Mighty Atom Records, later establishing a label of the same name as the store closed down. Watson became a resident DJ at legendary Reading club night Checkpoint Charlie, where he shared gigs with the likes of Laurent Garnier, Andrew Weatherall, and Craig Richards. In 1996, Watson began releasing solo tracks on Checkpoint Recordings under the pseudonym Protein Boy. He also formed the duo Elektric Suedehead with Sidney James, issuing a series of 12"s on Mighty Atom beginning in 1997. Additionally, he worked with Sam Gillet under the name Lovejuice starting in 2000 (later going by Strobe Funk). After retiring the name Protein Boy, Watson released 2003's "Since U Went Away" under his own name, followed by The Nightlife EP in 2005. After Mighty Atom stopped releasing records around 2005, Watson began collaborating with Bulgarian techno/house producer KiNK. The two started releasing records on Rush Hour imprint Hour House Is Your Rush Records in 2008, eventually taking their show on the road a few years later. Watson and his brother Gavin published Raving '89, a photo-heavy memoir of the early rave scene, in 2009. Watson released his first solo album, Songs to Elevate Pure Hearts, on Crème Organization in 2013. Numerous EPs followed on labels like the Nothing Special, Don't Be Afraid (including 2015's jock-baiting EP Night of the Inflatable Muscle Heads), and I Love Acid. Don't Be Afraid released Watson's elaborate, experimental second album, The Midnight Orchard, in 2018. ~ Paul Simpson