Christopher Willits might be trying to blow your mind. The San Francisco-based ambient musician just released the first track from his upcoming album OPENING, which is set to be released on Ghostly International on September 2. But don’t be fooled, this is no “simple album”, as Willits puts it. In addition to 45 minutes of well-orchestrated ambient songs, Willits is releasing a seven-scene film he directed along with seven accompanying photographs, in an effort to make OPENING a fully immersive, visual album.
Willits collected the photos and videos that will accompany his music over the course of four years of extensive traveling, and has pieced them together to create an ambient narrative. The project is meant to engage all the senses and create a story in which “the audience and their perception is the main character.” Suffice it to say, Willits does not think small.
The song (or scene) that he just released, “CLEAR”, is an airy, mellow instrumental track, set to peaceful shots of the beach, waves, and the sun. In addition to “Clear”, Willits also recently released a trailer for the album, which showcases some of his photographs and several of the gorgeous shots of nature that will be featured in the film.
As if all this wasn’t enough, Willits also said that he’ll be releasing exclusive OPENING content through the subscription service, Drip.fm. The monthly subscription service will give members access to new music, photos, videos and educational tutorials, guest list spots, archival releases, and remastered albums. Apparently, the service will also give members a direct line of communication with the musician, presumably so fans can get feedback on their own high-concept art projects.
In honor of Willits’s head-spinningly ambitious project, I bring you my own visual ambient piece, which I call BRACKETING. Enjoy:
(. ,, . ,, /// // //// // / ^^^><> [ ][ ] [ ][ ] ..,.,…,,…,.,.>>><<<<.,.,,,.,,,..
. ,, . ,, /// // //// // / ^^^><> [ ][ ] [ ][ ] ..,.,…,,…,.,.>>><<<<.,.,,,.,,,.. . ,, . ,, /// // ///
/ // / ^^^><> [ ][ ] [ ][ ] ..,.,…,,…,.,.>>><<<<.,.,,,.,,,..
????????////////////////////????????!@#$%^&*()_!@#$%^&*()_////////////////////????????////////////////////
.
. . .,, , , ,, . ,, ,, .. ,, .. . ., , , , . . ,,
.)
