Second solo album composed, played and produced by Will Z about Alchemy,
Satanism, occult underworld, black mass, Christianity and faith
featuring Majnun and oG (Cosmic Trip Machine), Alice Artaud and Juan
Arkotxa (Book of AM). Recorded and mixed at NoHype Studio by JP Gerard
between 2012 and 2013. Mastered by Open Your Eyes Prod.
Some notes from WILL Z. Himself: "The story of 12 Visions began in
November 2011. I was totally immersed in The Book of AM I coproduced
with Juan and Leslie. I discovered it was the kind of music I wanted to
play, but I felt it would be a solo adventure. During one month, I
composed every day a song or, at least, an idea I called � Daily Visions
�: it was a new approach that required a lot of self-discipline. At
that time, I read The twelve philosophical keys, a book by Basil
Valentine (allegedly an alchemist monk) and illustrated by Michel Maïer.
When it was the time to go further with my demos, the concept was
perfectly clear in my mind : my � Daily Visions � will become 12 Visions
and the lyrics will be inspired by Basil Valentine book.
The first session of 12 Visions took place at my home on 3 November
2011. I worked on three demos which lead to the first � complete �
Vision, using the Brian Wilson Smile method: to record different parts
as individual songs and to make a montage to obtain a final track. I
needed a bigger sound, so I brought back the project to NoHype Studio. I
had written a half project, six visions. The original first side was :
The Road (without introduction), Salamander, Diamond Planet, Lalala,
Spirit and Night of Sin. I was happy with the result and planned to
complete it later with six other Visions.
In 2012, I fell in love with Mallorca, where I worked with Can AM on
Book of AM, so I decided to spend more time there with my girlfriend. In
this magical island, I composed Three Sisters, Deià Ghost and Free
Frog. I kept the two first tracks because they fit well with the concept
of 12 Visions and shelved Free Frog, which was great but not in the
same mood than rest.
Later that year, what began as an album dedicated to Alchemy and Power
of Salamander (Mallorcan symbol) became deadly serious !
At the end of September 2012, I made a dream about a succubus musician
with a background of constant tube noises, which led me to take interest
in Satanism. I read a lot about that subject, then chose to follow the
path of Baudelaire in Les fleurs du mal, identifying Satan with the name
of Hermes Trismegistus, and my music became darker and darker. J-K
Huysmans novel, Là-bas, had a profound effect on me that carried onto 12
Visions. As a consequence, my new idea was to create the � negative �
version of my first solo meditation project, Shambhala Album, recorded,
produced, mixed and mastered in almost 10 days, earlier in 2012. The
highlight of this � evil � period was Hermetic Spell, recorded with
Cosmic Trip Machine and Alice Artaud. We played by night, only with
candles lights and all dressed in capes. It was a black musical mass
exploring unknown and terrifying landscapes.
With the recording of Three Sisters, two thirds of the album were
finished. For the last portion, my first intuition was to melt acoustic
and electric songs in the final 12 Visions. We made a couple of
rehearsals with Cosmic Trip Machine but it didn’t work : for me, it
wasn’t interesting to release a solo album which sounds like a Cosmic
Trip Machine project. I needed one last idea to complete the opus. When I
discovered The Trees, a Christian band, and Judee Sill, I knew it was
the final missing inspiration. I divided the album in two parts, a white
side and a black side, and worked on Travelin’ with Cosmic Trip Machine
and Alice Artaud (because they appeared on the black piece, it sounded
logical they were on the white piece too), featuring Juan Arkotxa from
Can AM on flute.
That’s how, in April 2013, I closed the book of this
Hermetic-Satanic-Christian schizophrenic project."
Limited to 200 black and 100 coloured copies.
Gatefold cover with sticker. Fully laminated (matt)
180gr vinyl as usual.
PVC protective outersleeve.
BLACK EDITION