Dreamy Vibes

This episodes guest is Christopher Willits - a San Francisco based guitarist, Grammy nominated musician, producer, and engineer.

You may have heard Christopher's music in collaborations with names such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tycho, Scott Pagano and more, or maybe you know of their discography which stretches across labels from North America, Europe, and Japan, including 12k, Plancha, Sub Rosa, and Ghostly International. Christopher's music has often been described as electroacoustic in nature, while others would say traditional ambient music. Christopher is also a co-founder of Envelop SF, a non-profit dedicated to providing curious minds with the opportunity to experience transformation through music in a true immersive sound venue.

In this episode, we learn about Christopher's beginnings and direction in music, his insight on collaborating with legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, and his work with his non-profit Envelop SF!

Learn more about Christopher Willits: https://www.christopherwillits.com/

Featured Tracks:
1) Coast - Sunset LP https://shop.christopherwillits.com/album/sunset
2) Reticent Reminiscence - Ancient Future LP https://shop.christopherwillits.com/album/ancient-future
3) The Unknown Sea https://shop.christopherwillits.com/track/the-unknown-sea

Back 2 Back Ep. 6 - Christopher Willits

Gravity

Crescent

Regrowth

Jupiter Rise | Christopher Willits

Freedom In The Chaos | King Britt

Moog PRJ | Kyle Hall

A gaze and a glance. To look and to see, further afoot and afield. Beneath the deep, into the beyond.

(00:00) Nuage - Newa [House of Youth]
(05:52) Fejká, Henry Green - Shades of You (Tor Remix) [Ki Records]
(09:52) boys be kko - Pico [Labyrinth Records UK]
(16:24) Drtinieblas - Stepin' [Conceptual]
(23:07) Pantha Du Prince - Heaven Is Where You Are (Dave DK Remix) [Modern Recordings]
(28:04) Tibi Dabo - Overture [Crosstown Rebels]
(34:52) Arutani - Oblique [Amselcom]
(40:19) YokoO, Bobi Stevkovski - Just Love [SATYA]
(47:05) Lusine - Transonic [Ghostly International]
(50:00) Anton Kubikov - Fireflies [Randomart]
(56:15) Sky Civilian - If I Could Swim (I'd Bring You the Ocean) [Atomnation]

Gaze: The Beyond

Mark Slee - Gaze: The Beyond [September 2023]

Friday’s sunrise with Robot Heart, right before the storm. 🙏🏻❤️ Full of love, resilience, and profound synchronicities, I’m so grateful for this magical moment together.

We all rolled out with the RH bus around 5:30am as the wind was picking up. During the ride out to the deep playa I played sections of Lucid Waves with the heartbeat in the music pulsing with the RH heart.

Once Benji and Justin found our spot, I began the set and a beautiful sparrow spiraled around me and sat by my side. A small window in the clouds let the golden light of the sunrise pour in.

All love for Robot Heart making it happen. Benji, Justin, Ting, the whole crew, thank you. This set was for Geo.
🤖❤️

Set list

Tides (study) - Christopher Willits
Ama - Christopher Willits
Coast - Christopher Willits
Crescent - Christopher Willits
Jupiter Rise - Christopher Willits
Tunnels - Christopher Willits
Regrowth - Christopher Willits
I Am Loving Awareness (Christopher Willits Rework) - Christopher Willits, East Forest, Ram Dass
Poured Semi Silently Upon You (Christopher Willits Remix) - Christopher Willits, Kenneth James Gibson
Overture (For Other Halfs) - Brian McBride
Crescent (April + VISTA Remix) - Christopher Willits, April + VISTA
Freedom (Christopher Willits Remix) - Christopher Willits, George Michael

christopherwillits.com/
envelop.us/
instagram.com/willits
twitter.com/Willits
facebook.com/christopher.willits.page
youtube.com/@christopherwillits
soundcloud.com/willits

Photo Credit:
John Dill

Christopher Willits - Robot Heart - Burning Man 2023

Linger in Moments

Linger in Moments (Rework)

Lovely Thunder

Olancha Farewell

Original score soundtrack by Christopher Willits for the feature music documentary "The Art of Listening"

The Art of Listening (Original Score Soundtrack) is a collection of 10 cinematic vignettes created to color the scenes of the feature music documentary The Art of Listening. As the film narrates the journey sound takes, from imagination and composition into a physical experience, the music embodies a sense of depth and reverence for the creative process. This work was composed as improvisations with Moog Guitar, analog gear, and a tape machine, while watching each scene in the film. The moody guitar lines, and rich chords, take on a kind of warm light in the film, expressing a timeless tone and texture of sound.

Composed, mixed and mastered by Christopher Willits at the Overlap Studio in Oakland CA. The Art of Listening (Original Score Soundtrack) is published by Overlap Music (ASCAP).

--

The Art of Listening is a documentary film about the journey music takes to reach a listener’s ear, from the intent of an instrument maker and composer, to the producers and engineers who capture and preserve an artist’s voice. This journey is narrated by intimate conversations with artists, engineers and producers about the philosophy of their work and the intent behind each musical note they create.

This film is an invitation for music fans to rediscover the intricacies and details available in their favorite recordings. The Art of Listening is the beginning of a conversation of how the quality of our listening experiences define the medium.

http://www.theartoflisteningfilm.com

"The Art of Listening" music documentary features - 
Andrew Scheps
Beacon
Christopher Willits
Dave Smith
Ethan Diamond
Hans Zimmer
Hiatus Kaiyote
Jack Douglas
James Brown
Jean Larrivée
John Luther Adams
John Storyk
Kaki King
Kamasi Washington
Mark de Clive-Lowe
Mike Milosh
Reggie Watts
Steve Vai
Scott Hansen (Tycho)
The Chainsmokers
Tim Westergren

--

Christopher Willits is an artist, guitarist, and producer based in San Francisco who believes that music and art can catalyze inner change. Willits creates meditative ambient electronic music created with guitar and voice, that is designed to overlap with his own cinematic film and video work. These immersive audiovisual experiences speak to a global audience on a universal level. His music on labels such as Ghostly International has garnered critical acclaim, sending him on continuous tours around the world. Multiple solo albums and collaborations with the likes of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tycho, and Taylor Deupree have accounted for a diverse catalog with over 25 releases over the last 15 years. Christopher is the founder of the creative collective Overlap, and also Envelop, a spatial audio platform that creates Ambisonic sound spaces and open source software tools. As a devoted teacher, Christopher strives to illuminate people’s creativity in music and art, and has lectured at many leading institutions in the world.

The Art of Listening (Original Score Soundtrack)

Download / Support

Words

Many requests for this as a first dance during the wedding ceremony/First Dance The Brides love it!!!
happy Days!!

This i promise you (Gary James)

Immerse

Morning Lagoon

Solitude (prod. Zeeky Beats)

L'Orange L'Orange

Blind Contour Drawing for Piano

This episode features San Francisco composer and producer Christina Chatfield. She’s a professional sound designer who has been making music for over a decade with releases on labels such as Beretta Grey and God Particle. Never a DJ, Christina’s live sets that center around synths and other hardware have debuted alongside names such as Omar S, Voices From the Lake, Luke Vibert, Todd Terje, and more!

Her most recent release is a masterclass in acid techno entitled "Ascent/Descent" out on the newly minted label from San Francisco’s As You Like It (https://soundcloud.com/as-you-like-it), including a 12 inch vinyl available now on Bandcamp.

Featured tracks:
1) Christina Chatfield - Ascent [As You Like It Recordings]
2) Christina Chatfield - Descent [As You Like Recordings]
3) Christina Chatfield - Energies [As You Like Recordings]
https://ayli.bandcamp.com/releases

Follow Christina Chatfield
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/anitserk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anitserk/

Follow your host Brennan Ko
Instagram: www.instagram.com/brennan_ko/
Twitter: twitter.com/brennan__ko

Back 2 Back Ep. 02 - Christina Chatfield | Fault Radio Podcasts

Immersive ambient composer, guitarist, and producer. Co-founder & Director of Envelop. https://christopherwillits.com

Christopher Willits is an artist, musician, and guitarist who creates immersive ambient music. As one of the core artists on the Ghostly International label roster since the early 2000s, Willits has continually evolved his craft, producing one of the most diverse and prolific catalogs within contemporary ambient music. Releases span introspective solo albums, widescreen audiovisuals, and unbridled collaborations. His process is an expression of love, inspired by an international audience of listeners, and the conviction that music can catalyze personal transformation and spiritual awakening.

Willits began his career with a string of critically acclaimed albums on the 12k label. The minimal sound introduced on those recordings remains at the core of his work: warm guitar tones woven into smooth, harmonic surfaces. Willits made his Ghostly International full-length debut with 2006 landmark Surf Boundaries. He’d expand his vision next through collaboration, working with Ryuichi Sakamoto (2008’s Ocean Fire and 2012’s Ancient Future), Zach Hill of Death Grips, Taylor Deupree, and, for 2014 LP Opening, with the whole band of Tycho. He also lent a hand in mastering the latter’s album Awake, composed the original score for documentary The Art of Listening, and continues to lead music production and meditation classes in San Francisco.

In 2017, Willits put forth Horizon, the first ever spatial audio release on Ghostly International. The album’s innovative 3D mix is mapped to surround listeners and align with sleep patterns, meditation, and other mindful practices. Willits is also the director and co-founder of the nonprofit, Envelop; leading a mission to amplify the connective power of music through immersive audio venues and spatial audio production tools. Like Horizon, his 2019 album Sunset utilizes Envelop’s cutting-edge technology to encourage listening from within. The five compositions move from warm to cool designed as a soundtrack to embrace the day's end; a collective letting go. Another skyward, pioneering project from an artist who occupies a unique corner of the electronic music universe.

Words

Christopher Willits

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