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Christopher Willits and Ryuichi Sakamoto’s new release, Ocean Fire, is a sublime soundtrack for the ocean. It is an intense and stirring wash of cascading tones and textured harmony. Willits + Sakamoto surprise with rare form in this collaboration, creating a sound world unlike anything they have produced previously. Each artist has gently pulled the other into new sonic territory. Sakamoto’s gorgeous processed piano sound reflects Willits’ beautiful shimmering clusters of notes, a new aspect of Willits’ pioneering guitar/computer approach. Together, their sounds merge effortlessly, creating deep and seamless swells of gigantic melodic waves.

Sakamoto is a living legend in music. His numerous releases in Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), and his Grammy Award-winning solo work has inspired two generations of fans and artists. Christopher Willits is a young talented artist who has shown he can do just about anything. In the late-nineties Willits began integrating his guitar playing with unique custom digital processing, and has since been instrumental in redefining the sound palette of the guitar. Overlapping all forms of music, sound, and visual art, Willits’ work defies genre and retains a presence of its own.

Ocean Fire was recorded live at Sakamoto’s New York City studio. The improvisations found their final form through some further editing in the months to come, and final mastering by Clayx in Berlin.