CHRISTOPHER
WILLITS
TOKAFI (US)
INTERVIEW
WITH CHRISTOPHER WILLITS
by Tobias Fischer
Right
now, Christopher Willits is a happy man: The sun is shining,
he is working on new music and 12k have just published "Ocean
Fire", his musical meeting with Japanse legend Ryuichi
Sakamoto, an album which he calls "another dream that has
become very tangible". For the past years, his circle of
friends has steadily grown and Willits has gone on to study
with Pauline Oliveros and Fred Frith, record with Taylor Deupree
and video artist Scott Pagano, turning into a priority on the
eclectic roster of Ghostly International. In a way, "Ocean
Fire" now brings together various aspects of Christopher
Willits' oeuvre in a single, coherent and utterly unique work:
His use of experimental and extended guitar playing techniques,
his "sculptural" and "visual" approach,
the fluent combination of improvisation and composition and
his love for collaborations: Next to his solo output, Willits
has built a discography of ensemble releases, which include
projects like Flossin (with a lineup of Zach Hill, Kid606, Nate
Boyce, and Matmos) and The North Valley Subconscious Orchestra,
a duo with Medicine's Brad Laner. Another distinct feat about
"Ocean Fire" are its roots in immediately recognisable
harmony and more daring, experimental, intuitive and unpremeditated
territory. "People are not stupid, we dont need to hear
a traditional structure to understand the way that different
sounds make us feel", Willits says of this, "Let's
try some new stuff, new kinds of 'songs'". On his upcoming
tour with Stars of the Lid, audiences will be able to capture
him perform these new songs live and catch him doing what he
likes most: "To bring people together with these sounds
I imagine."
Hi! How are you? Where are you?
Hello! I'm at an outside cafe spot in Bernal Heights, in San
Francisco. Trying to get this to you as soon as possible. been
lax on my interview replies the last couple of days since the
weather here has been just amazing. Hard to be on a computer
inside when the sun in calling me outside... So I brought the
computer here... Still some sun to hang out with.
What's on your schedule at the moment?
Working on a new record for Ghostly, new North Valley Subconscious
Orchestra, some other new collaborations. Preparing for a U.S
tour this April with Stars of the Lid.
"Ocean Fire" has just been released on 12k.
How important was it to you that this album is now finally available
wordwide?
It feels like another dream that has become very tangible, feels
really fullfilling and inspiring to me.
"Ocean Fire" was recorded in two stages, with
a live session at Ryuichi's studio providing the basic tracks
and several months of studio work refining it. How did you go
about preserving the spontaneity of the initial sketches into
the minutely worked-out final versions?
It was so effortless. There was so much detail in the recordings.
All I really did was guide what was there to a final form.
The album was realized over a longer period of time and encompasses
different phases of your last two years of creativity. Did you
allow these different influences to flow freely into "Ocean
Fire" or did you try to keep your work on different albums
strictly separated?
I tend to work on multiple things at the same time. So everything
influences each other in a sense. But I'm always working within
the constraints I have set for each release, each release has
it's own boundaries. That liberates me to dive deeper into different
area that I want to explore.
I had the decided feeling that you and Ryuichi were
looking for a less obvious, but fully organic way of integrating
sounds of water and oceans into your pieces, with water sounds
turning into musical elements and sounds flowing like waves
at times. Was this a conscious approach or is it the natural
result of working on a "conceptual" album in full
concentration?
Well, we simply made the music together and then after we awoke
from the dream realized it was like a long meditation using
images of the ocean. So we decided to make the intention of
the release about healing the damage we have done to the ocean.
Personally the music is ecstatic to me. Ecstatic in that it's
full of happiness and sadness and terror and pure joy and inspiration...
All mixed together and felt simultaneously.
How, would you say, does your style complement that
of Ryuichi and vice versa? Can you still tell exactly who played
what on the album?
Ryuich had all of these grainy piano washes and I pushed my
guitar sounds to soak into that, while still retaining some
stacato and rhythmic folding that i'm into. What amazed me as
we improvised is how there was no key that was ever dictated...
We just felt it out and kept modulating stuff wherever it felt
natural. So you get this interesting mix of melodic and dissonant
sounds at times. There were a few times while recording when
we'd look at each other and be like, is that sound you or me?
Neither your guitar nor Ryuichi's Piano can be heard
in an immediately recognisable way on the album. Is this because
too concrete sounds could have potentially hurt the associative
process in the listener?
Without talking about it we just gravitated to that approach.
It just happened that way, like we both understood what we wanted.
This a unifed swarm and flow of sound like water and energy
pushing and pulling. Opening up time, allowing people to release
into it.
"Ocean Fire" is "dedicated to the healing
and restoration of our fragile oceans". Why is it so important
we become aware of these qualities again? Is there an obvious
reason why your recent releases have repeatedly touched upon
water-related themes ("Surf Boundaries")?
I don't think it is important if you have read the press release
or not. And this is not a campaign for green peace where we
needed to make ocean sounds for saving the ocean (although I'm
not against a more didactic project like that). This mysterious,
expansive, ecstatic sound emerged through our subconscious minds.
This music grew from the great unknown. The words surrounding
the music simply aim to consciously clarify the feelings and
intentions we felt and heard in the process. I mean, what if
a collective intention is enormously powerful?
So the intended outcome is there to join forces with, if you
choose to. Perhaps we sound like some cheesy artists dreaming
about saving the world to some people, and thats fine too, ha
ha. I'm sure there are Sakamoto fans who are hearing this kind
of music for the very first time and they are like "what
in the world is going on here?" and that's so great! I
mean, what is going on?? I feel that there is a large number
of people, especially in Japan who are going to hear this very
strange and beautiful music and tune into the intention that
surrounds this music. Even if it's just from the sound or title
"Ocean Fire" alone, or even on a subconscious level.
It will have an influence. It already has on us.
The title "Surf Boundaries", to me at least, had little
to do with the movement of water or anything like that... Definitely
nothing to do with surf music or the Beach Boys. Not sure why
people talked so much about the Beach Boys with that record.
Most likely, the vocal harmonies + the word "surf"
in the title = Beach Boys? I personally don't think so.
Actually, that really relates to what i was just talking about.
That's a good example of how the sound (5 part vocal harmonies)
+ the framing with a word (surf) creates some intention... But
in that case it's not my intention, ha ha. Anyways, for me "Surf
Boundaries" is about being conscious of and creatively
navigating these sometimes elusive boundaries between people,
energy, objects, ideas - everything really.
For "Plants and Hearts" on Room40, you used an ingenious
recording technique to capture your guitar's sounds from various
angles. How did the idea come up?
My old friend, and master engineer out here in San Francisco,
Ryan Kleeman, introduced me to MS recording and we just decided
to try it out for that recording. I wanted to play with the
sonic perspectives of the recording and MS gave me a lot to
experiment with. I'm definitely going to be doing more stuff
like that in the future. I think the results are fantastic.
Efforts like "Plants and Hearts" and the sounds
on "Ocean Fire" suggest you no longer see your guitar
as just an instrument, but as a complex tool for sonic exploration,
which you are still discovering yourself. Is that a correct
perception? And so, what are your challenges in this regard
at the moment?
Yeah it probably seems like I'm in my "drone period"
or something, ha ha! I'm always doing all kinds of stuff. Really
into the guitar processing on the releases you just mentioned,
and also more funky, cut up folded guitar processing. I've always
seen the guitar as something more than just a string instrument
for chords and solos. That path began years ago with long chains
of stomp boxes. I'm always going to be discovering the guitar
and different ways of processing its string vibrations. I'm
definitely devoted to it. This is one of the reasons I'm here:
To bring people together with these sounds I imagine.
These experiments also show your proximity to the visual
arts. Do these two areas of interest constitute direct mutual
inspirations or are they merely two different ways of expressing
yourself on a different level?
Or to put it differently: Do you sometimes compose with a particular
image in mind?
I think it's all coming from the same source. Images and sounds
are just different forms of energy... Different ways of communicating.
And when you bring those things together, so much can happen.
I'm making more films lately, getting back in to this more.
Often using sequenced photographs that are woven into the rhythmic
structure of my guitar sounds. For instance, for a live performance
of “Plants and Hearts" in LA, I took over 5000 photographs.
Hi-res abstract shots of plants and light. I created a max/msp/jitter
patch that sequenced these photos randomly. And it was all synced
up with my guitar processing. I'm working on more of this stuff
for my U.S. tour this april/may with Stars of the Lid.
In terms of thinking about music and composing, I approach it
more like sculpture or painting than traditional music. I'm
thinking a lot about about shape and color and texture and space
and how that all creates a cohesive whole. I'm less concerned
about adhering to any "musical" structure, just for
the sake of communication or something. People are not stupid,
we dont need to hear a traditional structure to understand the
way that different sounds make us feel. Let's try some new stuff,
new kinds of "songs".
An important step towards uniting your activities underneath
one umbrella is your overlap-project. How is it developping
in these - still early - stages?
Indeed, you're on it man. Overlap.org is about giving a home
to this diverse culture of music and art that many of us are
in. We release all kinds of music and videos, allowing people
to pay what they want for them. We organize live events, and
we also provide people with a way to share their work via a
blog and podcasting tools we provide. Overlap is about this
nebulous culture of art that weaves into all kinds of genres
of music, sounds and images.
You studied with Pauline Oliveiros and Fred Frith - what did
they teach you?
I think fred taught me about remaining wide open when improvising.
Having no predetermined ideas when entering into an improv session.
Pauline taught me about deepening the way I listen. Around that
time a lot was bridged between meditation and listening.
On your own website you repeatedly thank your listeners
and audiences. Are you still as grateful as ever for being able
to live the life of amusician?
I'm so grateful for all of the support from fans and friends
and family. So happy about the decisions I have made in my life
and the people that surround me.
