Originally known as a guitarist, since 1991 Watson's work has also featured new music for the Highland Bagpipes.
Before moving to New York, while in New Zealand in the 1980s, Watson co-founded Braille Records to document the local experimental music scene.
Watson's work includes regular performances with MacArthur Award winner John Zorn; ongoing recording projects with Lee Ranaldo and Christian Marclay; a premier performance of a Robert Ashley work in New York; performances in Europe with rock-minimalism pioneer Rhys Chatham; a recording project with Jonathan Kane; performances with Zeena Parkins at Brooklyn Academy of Music and a score for Jeremy Nelson Dance.
Watson released his disc Throats - with vocalists Makigami Koichi and Shelley Hirsch - on Ecstatic Peace; and a double CD Fingering an Idea,[1] on Phill Niblock's XI Records to critical acclaim.
In 2010, Ranaldo released the solo album Maelstrom From Drift on Three Lobed Recordings with guest appearances of Tony Buck and David Watson.