Album Review: Christopher Willits – Sunset

Christopher Willits
Sunset
Ghostly International
★★★★

“Look at that sunset!”

When we are impelled upon a glorious sunset, everyone wants to announce it, document it, and revel in its glory. It’s the finale of nature’s fireworks before the calm of the night sky takes over. Through social media and in various forms of archiving, we get expressive interpretations of a sunset.

Christopher Willits documented the art of the sunset in a different way. Through a soundscape timelapse, Willits captured the mood and modality of the sun fading with implicite instructions, “Begin the music 15 minutes before the sun sets.”

The sun is an extension of humanity once worshipped for its necessity to enrich life on this planet. Willits creates worship music to the tune of zen-like contemplation. I have often caught myself watching the sun slowly falling into the horizon with lethargic speed. Maybe I reflect, and maybe I just gaze on its beauty if only for a moment. Willits accentuates that moment with hues of swelling crescendos and hushed calm. An experience, the album is a transitional moment from one sequence of life to another. Willits transverses from warm to cool with far-reaching tones while leaving the moment open ended.

Willits landscape is serene, often mysterious and strangely fascinating. Many ambient albums have been devoted to nature using field sounds and capturing the essence through motion. Willits dissects the sound through time, using a Pacific backdrop to fuel songs like “Pacific 1, 2 and 3,” “Coast,” and “Transpire.” As each second elapses through the star’s descent, Willit’s sunset is passed on through association. We hear what he wants you to see. But in that vision, we have our own interpretations of the heavens. His sunset is born out of dissipated light and coastal waters.

Sunset is an ambient achievement that could not better document the universal approach to nature’s process. Calming in its sound and retreating into the recesses of the mind,