On ne connaît pas le vrai nom de William Wilson, un musicien italien qui s'est inspiré d'une nouvelle d'Edgar Poe pour choisir son nom de plume. Cette nouvelle d'Edgar Poe avait pour thème un personnage dont le double le mène peu à peu à la folie. Cette thématique du double est sans doute très sensible à notre William Wilson sicilien qui se réfugie derrière un autre pour pouvoir s'exprimer pleinement musicalement. William Wilson démarre ce projet solo en 2009, avec l'intention d'adapter sur la partition des textes d'Edgar Poe, Charles Baudelaire, Boris Vian ou Gregory Corso. Chemin faisant, il réalise un premier album "Just for you, not for all" en 2010, puis un EP "Summer holidays & folk routine" en 2011. William Wilson participe également en 2013 à l'écriture de la bande originale du film "17:34" de Patrick Caldelari, un vidéaste suisse. William Wilson a également emmagasiné toute une série de morceaux réalisés entre 2010 et 2014 et ayant fini sur des faces B de singles ou dans des tiroirs et les a compilés sur l'album "What I used to be", disponible à la vente à la sortie de ses concerts ou postés sur son site Bandcamp. Les concerts, William Wilson connaît bien; il en a réalisé plus de 130 en Italie mais est peu enclin à se produire en dehors de son pays. Sa dernière œuvre s'appelle donc "Whispers: A scar is born", jeu de mots incisif (si l'on peut dire) tournant le fameux "une étoile est née" (a star is born) en "une cicatrice est née". On voit que l'ambiance n'est pas forcément à l'optimisme, ce qui est confirmé sur cette suite de neuf chansons à la douceur intimiste, à la douleur voilée et au chagrin timide. William Wilson égrène de doux arpèges à la guitare acoustique en murmurant ses textes ("Whispers", "The solitude glass", "Lost love"). De temps à autre, une petite section rythmique vient faire palpiter momentanément des chansons qui restent toutefois empreintes de mélancolie et de gravité ("Omid", "The other one"). On ne reste pas forcément tout le temps dans la neurasthénie, avec des titres – relativement – plus enjoués comme "The same fucking shit" ou "Raw suns and grim moons". Un petit côté Neil Young règne sur "You in me" et le dernier et languissant "A scar is born" dissimule un morceau surprise quelques minutes après sa fin. C'est calme, c'est doux, pas mal composé et cela posera une ambiance idéale pour regarder la pluie tomber par le carreau ou rêvasser devant son canari mort.

William Wilson is een soloproject dat eigenlijk in 2009 als grap is begonnen. Een Italiaan, wiens naam geheim blijft, heeft de wens werken van Edgar Allan Poe, waar de naam William Wilson ook vandaan komt, Boris Vian, Charles Baudelaire, Gregory Corso en anderen te herinterpreteren en op muziek te zetten. Uiteindelijk gaat, laten we hem gewoon maar William Wilson noemen, verder met het maken van muziek hetgeen drie lastig verkrijgbare album oplevert. Nu komt hij met Whispers: A Scar Is Born met negen nieuwe songs dat beter verkrijgbaar is. Wilson zingt in het Engels en heeft een prettige, licht herfstige zangstem. Wilson (zang, akoestische gitaar) krijgt hulp van een handvol gastmuzikanten op gitaren, bas, strijkinstrumenten, samples, drums, zang, drumcomputer en Rhodes piano. De veelal droefgeestige liedjes zijn op het eerste gehoor heel sober en oprecht, maar bevatten door de bijzondere inkleuring behoorlijk veel subtiele details, waardoor de muziek ook behoorlijk de diepte ingaat. Wilson houdt het fraaie midden tussen Peter Hammill, Power Of Dreams, Tim Buckley en Elliott Smith. Het moge duidelijk zijn dat William Wilson de grap ver voorbij is en hier serieus te nemen schoonheid brengt.

Il rock della malinconia, tra chitarre acustiche ed elettriche, basso, batteria e samples. “Whispers” apre l'album con una bella atmosfera acustica, seguita da “Omid”, un brano piu' movimentato. “The Solitude Glass” è una ballata notturna, di luna e silenzi, seguita dalla canzone sorella “The Other One”, una ballata di sentimenti, sogni e speranze.
“The Same Fuckin' Shit” è un esperimento di folk ed elettronica leggera ben riuscito, un brano originale e interessante, anche nel testo. In generale dalle canzoni del disco si levano solitudine, nostalgia, sussurri, amori (“You In Me”) e amori perduti (“Lost Love”).
"A Scar Is Born" chiude il lavoro con toni noir, cicatrici, bugie, cuori morti e psichedelie sintetiche. 
La voce e i cori sono buoni. Si avverte che i pezzi sono sentiti e realizzati con cura ma la produzione è da migliorare. Nel complesso il progetto ha ormai un'identita' e un immaginario precisi, non resta che aspettare i prossimi album, puntando sempre di piu' alla perfezione e all'orecchiabilita'.

- Francesco Carrubba -

GOLDEN BOY PRESS INTERVIEW #420

Meet WILLIAM WILSON, a music artist that transcends the bounds we’ve placed on artists today.  This artist takes many inspirations from Baudelaire and Corso, intelligent individuals who have all released their share of creativity into the world, for people like WILLIAM WILSON, how he channels it, and creates something marvelous.
“Escaped from a story by Edgar Allan Poe, and apparently survived his double, the artist William Wilson resurrected with the release of Whispers: A Scar Is Born.
Dreamy, melancholy, surreal, ironic, this album is above all, lucid. We don’t sink in bloody wounds, not plaintive cries within the walls of our house, no broken windows or broken dishes or pain lost en route because of suicide; rather a radiant consciousness oozing sounds of detached redemption, in a tie, with the music, totally transcendent – by the player and the part of the listener.”

Could you introduce yourself?
Hi everybody !!! I’m William Wilson, singer & songwriter from Sicily.
This is my solo project, started on a cold fall of 2009, with the desire to reinterpret old Edgar Allan Poe, Boris Vian, Charles Baudelaire & Gregory Corso poems (and so on …) and put them into music. The name comes from a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, “William Wilson”, who was a key figure in the poetry of the American writer. Fascinated and captivated by the power of the ‘double’ or 'doppelgänger’, William Wilson becomes a perfect moniker to my new artistic reincarnation.

What’s your life philosophy? How do you try to apply that to your work?
“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” is my life philosophy, according to Crowley’s thought. I just try to be myself everyday and do whatever makes me happy & satisfied.
It’s a difficult path to lead, but you know, perseverance pays.
I guess everyone could hear this sort of artistic freedom even in my songs, or maybe, I like to think it is so …

Could you tell us what you think makes you stand apart in the music industry?
I would like to stand apart in the music industry and maybe I succeed sometimes, but when you go deep inside & try to be a part of the whole music business you can’t really stand apart.
I just write, sing & play whatever comes from my gut & that’s all I would like the audience to know & take from me & from my music.
So, I think it’s hard work to stand apart even if you try, because I’m just a piece of the puzzle …

How do you feel your visual aesthetic influences your music? Do you feel that it plays a role in what you produce, or is it not as important to you personally?
I don’t mind what people see or look for, but just what they feel listening to my songs.
It’s not that important to me, what I could seem or appear as to others. Only music matters.

What are you looking forward to most in the next coming months? Do you have any plans that you don’t mind sharing? Maybe collabs, or other projects in the works?
I’m touring around Italy right now and this will go on until next June. This should be the first part of my acoustic tour, then after summer I should go playing around Italy & Europe with my brand new band, hopefully in September / October / November.
So, I’ll spent my summer in Sicily rehearsing for the upcoming tour.

Do you have any rituals you do before you start your creative process for a new project, to get your mind and energy in the right place?
Not really … I read a lot, books, comics & everything that could be inspiring & then I begin with the writing process after creating a bunch of music with my acoustic guitar.
And I go running, three days a week, 'cause it keeps me focused on my target & gives me time to think, all alone by myself.

What are some of your goals for 2016?
Play live a lot all over Italy & Europe, promoting my new album “Whispers: A Scar Is Born” out on June the 10th (Seahorse Recordings). That’s all I really want, actually.

What makes you happy?
Reading books, listening to music, watching movies & TV series, go running, loving, travelling, playing my guitar, singing my songs, the sunlight, cats. Being free.

Any closing comments?
I really hope to come to U.S. next year & spread my verb all over the world.
Stay tuned on my facebook page for more updates to come. To be social is the new law :)
Thank you very much for the interview.
A huge CIAO CIAO to all.

Partira' Venerdi' 25 Marzo il T.T.T. (Tri Tubba Tour) che portera'
William Wilson e la sua musica in giro per lo stivale.
Ecco, di seguito, le date:

25 Marzo | CANTINA MEXICANA | Siracusa
26 Marzo | MAMI BAR | Floridia (SR)
1 Aprile | ZANZEBUR'S PUB | Sarteano (SI)
2 Aprile | LENINGRAD CAFE’ | Pisa
5 Aprile | L'ARSENALE | Trento
7 Aprile | BALU' | Perugia
8 Aprile | SOUND BBQ | Foligno (PG)
9 Aprile | ARCI TOM | Mantova
10 Aprile | LO STATO DELL’ARTE | Padova
28 Aprile | ZONE K | Ferrara
29 Aprile | BIRRERIA LEX | Cremona
6 Maggio | GOGANGA DISCO CLUB | Milano
7 Maggio | CIRCOLO ENOSUD | Milano
12 Maggio | 4ROOMS | Prato (FI)
13 Maggio | OFFICINA 34 | Foligno (PG)
14 Maggio | VALIA DRINK FOOD MUSIC | Roma
17 Maggio | SAN BELUSHI | Roma
19 Maggio | ASILO OCCUPATO | L'Aquila
24 Giugno | ARTS CAFE LIVE | Napoli
25 Giugno | TBC
26 Giugno | LA GILDA DEGLI ARTISTI | Reggio Calabria
29 Luglio | TBC
30 Luglio | AL SOLITO POSTO | Roma
31 Luglio | SPAGHETTI UNPLUGGED | Roma
19 Agosto | SHULUQ | Marina di Modica