Wizards was my first deep trance electronic music album. This album was inspired by Terry Riley , one of the earliest people ever to compose and perform long, extended, cyclic pieces in the electronic format. This music was composed and performed in '81 and '82.
I consider this album my best work.
The instrumentation is three Sequential Circuits PRO-1s, Crumar Traveler One and a Yamaha SK-20, all real time recording to a Teac 4-track reel-to-reel. I mixed the four tracks to a Teac A-7300 Master 2-Track tape recorder using a DeltaLab DL-4 Digital Delay to create the delay track. In 2006, I used a Tascam 34B 4-track to remaster all my master tapes to digital master of 196 KHz/24 bit .WAV files using Soundforge 8 software.
The original Wizards LP was published in the Summer of 1982 with the black and white cover. The initial tracks had no names and were called Movements I-V. Several years later sales had slowed down, in an effort to improve sales we tried the alternate color cover and I created names for each track, as shown on the samples.
Here is a picture of me in my studio taken in 1982 during the creation of Wizards.
Many people have asked me about the "Wizard's Incantation" on the back cover of the album.
It is an original poem created by Anne Daffin, a dear friend who I met during my time with the Fellowship of the Inner Light in the 1970's while in Virginia Beach, VA. Oddly enough, we were from Houston, Texas, and had moved back to Houston in 1980. She also knew the people, Gordon and Margaret Rice, who designed the album cover for Wizards. When she learned of the publishing of Wizards, she offered this poem for the back cover.
Here is the poem from the back cover:
Wizard's Incantation
I am a weaver of spells for all who care to see!
I can show you things you'd forgotten how to see.
And I can make you something you forgotten how to be.
For one Magic Moment you'll be free.
You will float timelessly in a sea a visions.
On the wings of magic you'll fly free.
When it's over you'll feel you've only dreamed it,
But funny you suddenly feel all your dreams can be.
Yes, I am a weaver of magic spells.
Come weave a dream with me.
With my words I can paint you a sunset.
I can tell you of things I've seen.
Or open your eyes to a new sunrise and take you to places I've been.
You can sail away to the stars,
or go flying away to Mars, or wherever I happen to be.
For I am a weaver of spells and you can come along with me.
You'll remember things you forgotten existed.
You'll be things you've yet to be.
©1980, Anne Daffin
August, 2007, the 25th Anniversary Reissue of Wizards Vinyl Album
Limited Edition, 300 Pressings
Sold out in Europe in less than 2 Weeks!
Important Records released the Wizards LP, August 2010.
Limited Edition Pressing of 500 LPs, currently sold out
Important Records released the new pressing of the Wizards LP for retail and wholesale distribution. This straight analog pressing sounds as close to the original master tapes as you can get. The test pressing of this all analog production I personally received sounded beautiful. Thanks, John, for producing this LP.
I have to also thank Paul Gold at Salt Mastering for the excellent job of cutting the master from my analog tapes and RTI for creating the final LPs.
 The original Wizards LP cover was B/W made from the original color slide that I composed and photographed myself. The reissue of Wizards features a color cover using the original color slide. This is the 3rd and probably last release of Wizards on vinyl.
Important Records released the Wizards CD with 2 bonus tracks, 2015.
Limited Edition of 500 CDs, currently available
Important Records released Wizards on CD with 2 bonus tracks, June, 2015. The original version of Wizards had a defective master tape that stopped LP production. In the meantime, I had created two new pieces that I liked better for Wizards, replacing tracks 3 and 5. The bonus tracks are the original tracks 3 and 5 which have been added for historical purposes. The 2 bonus tracks are also included in the digital download.
Media: CD and digital files.
Original 1982 North Star Productions LP, the 2007 25th Anniversary Reissue LP was published by Lieven Martens, Dolphins Into the Future, and the 2010 Reissue LP was published by Important Records, are all sold out and are only available from record sellers. Currently only available in CD.
You may review and download Wizards on Bandcamp.com, CDs and digital downloads are still available.
|
