Sometimes raw talent comes bursting out the seams of this over saturated, fast and furious, internet controlled music-blob... and it claws at your eyes whilst snogging your ear-holes, only every so often that is. Lionel Williams AKA Vinyl Williams is one of these rare occasions. His recent LP Lemniscate has been on rotation since I first caught site of it. Fusing old and psychedelic with his own blend of sonic craftmanship and pain-soothing songwriting at the tender age of 21. I had to know more and so do you.

So where are you right now Lionel can you describe your setting, I have a feeling it is quite different to where I am sat?

My world is a strange realm...lately I've been flooded by coincidence, strange Los Angeles mysteries, and lots of pot to bind it all together into a fluid pattern, rather than discombobulated fractals of my weird narrow scope... I've been studying Fine Art at CalArts (#1 art college in the US) which is quite open...in a way, our faculty take the "go have fun kids!" approach, as long as we're crazy and spontaneous enough to do what we do, gain attention, and sustain ourselves. It's been perfectly accomodating for my musical practice, as well as my art practice. It lets me feed my own ideas, create my own deliberation, rather than telling me what to think or making creative demands.

Are you the kind of guy to make music every day or do you dip in and out?

I make music everyday, absolutely. I have a full analog & digital setup, to cross pollinate the two and I constantly record improvisations.

Awesome and is this a solitairy experience or do you collaborate often?

Regularly with a friend, James Lake, but although with dozens of others, more-so recently in an art context rather than a freeform musical context. 

is there such thing as a typical day for Lionel?

Hmmm, my days are becoming more and more unpredictable, I must say, but I wake up, half the time with strangers on my dorm floor, go to my weird Fine Art classes, which are anything but conventional, then usually read and research, and at some point go to libararies to endless search for collage material, and ultimately end up in my studio with musical or non-musical friends, and make something spacey.

I guess your day to day art studies must be influence on your music, in terms of the images and conversations you see and hear. Do you feel the lines are blurred between all your practices?

Absolutely, there is no background or foreground to my music and art making. There is a themed template that is a direct expression of some vast intangible part of me that is undefinable.

So do you feel part of a scene of some sort, are there other musicians bands and artists that are particularly inspirng to be about right now?

I haven't quite found my place in the LA scene yet, although the LA scene is such an overwhelmingly vast landscape,  Vinyl Williams, as its current live lineup, has only performed one show, it was last month.

How was it?

Stellar! It was at a gallery opening / exhibition, we were basically performing inside of a sculpture. Aside from live events, I am constantly around and in touch with people that have incredibly parallel music tastes, and usually have certain talents and technical abilities that I could never reach, which are usually more systematic and based on proficiency, which makes certain creative friendships of mine work like puzzle pieces.  We fill out each other's flaws and exentuate our abilities.

Do you have a answer when asked what your sound is?

SPACE CRUISIN' capatalized, of course

So you gonna take one of these trips in to space when they are freely available to the modern man?

I'll hide myself in the rich Jewish accountant's suitcase and have a free ride.

Ok so what is the next thing in your life you are looking forward to?

International touring I've only been to Israel a few times. I've always visited because of this orbiting feeling I always had towards it. Once I arrive, I feel reconciled with some other version of me, A better version of me, more complete.

is there anything music you want to mention that you like new or old, something to champion?

Lately I've found some life-altering new music.  I don't feel the need to champion old music, it has been triumphed enough.  Except for Harold Budd, I'll champion you. Valet's record Naked Acid, a mind fuck of bliss and the unknown. All of the Deep Tapes recordings James Ferraro forever, Rangers new album Pan Am Stories, best lo-fi out right now and always Tim Hecker.

Vinyl Williams - Object Of The Souce

Vinyl Williams - Inner Space
Vinyl Williams - Follow In Your Dreams