For over 20 years, Craig Williamson of Hamilton, New Zealand, has used Lamp of the Universe as a solo vehicle for exploring the cosmos. From the Eastern-inflected acid folk of his earliest work to the spaced-out vibes of some of his splits and the surprisingly rocking fare on his new album, The Akashic Field, Williamson — who was in Datura concurrent to starting Lamp of the Universe and who founded Arc of Ascent late in the aughts as well — has never rested on laurels or stayed in one place too long, sonically speaking. His releases follow a trajectory that twists in one direction or another, but remain consistent in terms of his performances, craft, and flair for arrangement.

Earlier this year, Lamp of the Universe premiered two singles on this site: “Return as Light” (posted here) and “Descendants” (posted here). These two songs were the first audio to come from The Akashic Field, and showed a definite turn away even from where Williamson was with 2020’s Dead Shrine (review here). The shift brought more of a full-band sensibility to the material, which is something Williamson accounts for in terms of self-producing, hearing himself and being driven forward by following what he likes about what he’s doing in terms of arranging and building the songs outward from their foundations on acoustic or electric guitar.

Lamp of the Universe are still plenty psych, and even with an uptick in production the abiding vibe remains organic, but if these tracks feel more in line with where Arc of Ascent were on their 2017 offering, Realms of the Metaphysical (review here), that’s not an accident. Williamson, while keeping firm hold conceptually and practically of Lamp of the Universe as a solo-project — I do ask him whether or not he’d put together a live band in the interview — has endeavored to bring that feel to life, essentially working as the entire band himself in putting together rock songs, bringing a side of his writing to the material that’s never shown up in this context in quite this way.

The Akashic Field was/is occasion enough to talk, but I also wanted to pick Williamson‘s brain on his general creative mindset. He’s someone whose work is deeply consistent over a long period of time; who’s never stopped progressing while staying true to his own intentions and drives. Needless to say, in addition to being a fan of his output, this is something I find deeply admirable, and I feel fortunate to have had the time to discuss it with him this past Friday.

Oh, and if you stick around until the end my kid shows up in the video. Sometimes these things happen.

Enjoy:

Lamp of the Universe, Interview with Craig Williamson, Dec. 3, 2021

Lamp of the Universe’s The Akashic Field is out Jan. 11 through HeadSpin Records. More info at the links.

Lamp of the Universe, “Return as Light” official video

Lamp of the Universe, “Descendants” official video

Lamp of the Universe on Facebook

Lamp of the Universe on Bandcamp

Projection Records on Bandcamp

HeadSpin Records website

Tags: Hamilton, Headspin Records, Lamp of the Universe, Lamp of the Universe The Akashic Field, New Zealand, Projection Records, The Akashic Field

This entry was posted on Monday, December 6th, 2021 at 11:54 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater, Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.