Interviews About Albums: William Covert - Dream Vessel (2025)

In this new interview, we sat down with the American Rock artist, William Covert, to ask questions about his album "Dream Vessel". 

1. What can you say about this new EP/CD?

Dream Vessel is an album based around musical duality and combining divergent genres and concepts that aren't usually presented musically together, such as quieter ambient drone with loud free jazz drums and heavy noise rock guitar with jazz improv and slowcore, etc. Half the album features the William Covert Trio playing noise-jazz infused improvised krautrock heavily influenced by heavy leaning improv by King Crimson of the 1970s, while the other half of the album is just me performing cinematic ambient post-rock mixed with free jazz drums and washed over with an array of analog synths. I wanted to make an album that had no pre-written material before entering the studio, and see what we could come up with creatively under the pressure of studio time constraints, with only a few days in the studio to record the full album.

2. What is the meaning of the EP/CD name?

All the songs on the album were born from improvising in the studio and then taking raw improv tracks and chiseling them into structured finished songs. A lot of moments across the album, especially the songs "Dream Void" and "Trancers," felt like capturing lightning in a bottle when recording them, with capturing bursts of spontaneity that moved the songs forward. The album name, Dream Vessel, is a reference to the process of how the music was made. The album, be it physical or digital, is the vessel for the music, which is creatively spontaneous, surreal, and emotive, and invokes a sense of emotions similar to dreaming; hence, this album is a Dream Vessel.

3. Which one is the composer of the CD/EP?

The three tracks performed by the William Covert Trio of me, Jack McKevitt on guitar, and Nate Schenck on bass were written by all three of us in the studio, and the three tracks performed entirely by me were composed only by me.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

The third song on the tracklist, "Dream Void," is the first track that comes to mind when I think about making this album. It's the longest song on the album and is based around a synth drone idea that was layered with cinematic ambient guitar influenced by the ambient soundscapes of Robert Fripp, and free jazz drums were added to build up the moody ambient track to create a cathartic climax of tension and release with a noise-jazz crescendo that I feel best encapsulates the ideas, themes, and meaning of the album.

5. Is there a special message in this EP/CD? If there is what it is?

I think the message of this album is based around personal discovery and diving into the void within with the wonderment of letting go and tapping into the creativity and emotions of dream states lurking just under the surface.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?

It's a fully instrumental album, so I don't have lyrics to share, but I will share the album opener song title, which is "Brotherhood of Sleep", which is a reference to the John Carpenter movie 'Prince of Darkness' and further anchors the album and music into dreams and dreamlike surrealism.

7. Which inspirations have been important for this album? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank especially?

The first inspiration/thank you I need to mention for Dream Vessel is Jack McKevitt and Nate Schenck, who are playing on the album, which inspired me to take the music in different directions than I would have if I played everything myself, like I had on previous albums. Other important inspirations for this album are the music of John Zorn, specifically Naked Lunch and Painkiller, whose blend of noise, punk, and jazz had a large influence on musical ideas on the album, as well as bands like King Crimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Tortoise, Zombi, and Swans. The late jazz drummer Milford Graves and Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale were equally the inspiration for the bursts of free jazz drumming on the album. I think the underground experimental music scene of Chicago is always an inspiration for my music, and I'm also grateful to live in Chicago and experience the music community here.

8. Something to add?

Dream Vessel is out now and available to purchase on my Bandcamp page, https://wmcovert.bandcamp.com/, and it's also available for streaming anywhere you stream music. You can follow me on Instagram, IG:william.p.covert, to keep up with news about upcoming solo shows and tours, as well as news about the William Covert Trio band, and other bands/projects I play in.