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Chillits is an annual
ambient music weekend-long outdoor party, usually held every September, starting in 1999. From then through 2009, it was held at a private retreat center near
Willits, California
Willits (formerly Little Lake and Willitsville) is a city in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located about north-northwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of . The population was 4,988 at the 2020 census. Willits is at the center ...
, US, and at an alternate location in
Plymouth, California
Plymouth (formerly, Puckerville, Pokerville, and Poker Camp) is a city in Amador County, California, United States. The population was 1,005 at the 2010 census. The town was originally named Pokerville, when it was settled during the time of the ...
, US from 2010 to 2012. In 2013, it was held on private property in
Lake County, California
Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,163. The county seat is Lakeport. The county takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic fe ...
and then returned to Willits in 2014 at another private retreat center. The event later moved to the private Camp Winnarainbow venue at
Wavy Gravy
Hugh Nanton Romney Jr. (born May 15, 1936), known as Wavy Gravy, is an American entertainer and peace activist best known for his role at Woodstock, as well as for his hippie persona and countercultural beliefs. He has reported that his moniker ...
's
Hog Farm
The Hog Farm is an organization considered America's longest running hippie commune. Beginning as a collective in North Hollywood, California, during the 1960s, a later move to an actual hog farm in Tujunga, California gave the group its na ...
at the Black Oak Ranch outside of
Laytonville, California
Laytonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located north-northwest of Willits, at an elevation of . The population was 1,152 at the 2020 census, down from 1,227 at the 2010 census.
Geogr ...
where it's expected to return to in 2022 after a hiatus due to the pandemic. There is one main sound stage, with music playing almost continuously through the weekend by many DJs and, occasionally, live musicians. Attendance is limited to a few hundred people. It was started by the
Cloud Factory community, then expanded and took on a unique character. Two inspirations were leaving an event and decided that a Chill/Downtempo event at the same location would be Awesome. A "Chill" event in "Willits" Ca. would be Known as "CHILLITS".
Music
Most of the DJs and live musicians who play at Chillits could be considered amateur, in the sense that they do not attempt to make a living from playing music but instead donate their time and services. Some are
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
technologists, including
Brian Behlendorf
Brian Behlendorf (born March 30, 1973) is an American technologist, executive, computer programmer and leading figure in the open-source software movement. He was a primary developer of the Apache Web server, the most popular web server software ...
. Starting with the 2000 gathering, many of the sets have been recorded and made available for free online (see links below).
In 2003,
Mixmaster Morris
Mixmaster Morris (born Morris Gould, 30 December 1965) is an English electronica DJ and underground musician who has also recorded as The Irresistible Force. His work in the 1990s blended ambient music and chill-out influences with UK dance ...
performed at the event, and subsequently mentioned the campout in a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary later that same year.
[
] Following Morris's visit, additional recognition was garnered amongst the
Internet community
A virtual community is a social network of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual communi ...
, resulting in the listing of music sets from Chillits on
Boing Boing
''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twic ...
[
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[
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Other notable visiting acts include
Black Sifichi
Black Sifichi is a Scottish / American spoken word artist and writer born in New York City and who now lives in Paris, France. He has recorded albums with a multitude of artists, including "Unsavoury Products" and "Genetically Modifidied" with Blac ...
, Lena, Robert Leiner, Gamelan Anak Swarasanti
,
[
] Safety Scissors, Wobbly, Quiet American, Jonah Sharp, Randy Jones and Balearic Mike.
Attendance
Due to the size of the
venue
Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to:
Locations
* Venue (law), the place a case is heard
* Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur
* Music venue, place used for a concer ...
, attendance at Chillits has always been extremely limited. The information sheet distributed with
tickets
Ticket or tickets may refer to:
Slips of paper
* Lottery ticket
* Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start)
* Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...
says ''"Every year, the Chillits organizers agonize for months over how to distribute tickets so that everyone who wants to can attend. And every year, some good folks miss out. It's an obvious quandary: if we sold thousands of tickets then everyone could go, but we'd quickly lose the comfortable, laid-back vibe that makes Chillits so popular."''
Ticket distribution is largely based on participation: collective members and others who involve themselves in the responsibilities and tasks made necessary by the planning and execution of the event are awarded the right to buy a pair of tickets. Basically, if you work it, you can attend. This work includes but is not limited to set-up and clean-up shifts, meal shifts, DJ/performance slots, door and parking shifts, equipment responsibilities, coordinator shifts, etc. There is a
lottery system designed such that anyone who wants to attend may put their name in for a chance to get tickets, as well as a mailing list that facilitates the buying and selling of unneeded tickets, between private parties, right up until the event begins. There is obvious difficulty in trying to please everyone all the time, but over the years much effort has been expended toward pleasing as many people as possible. Few similar events have been created, despite the availability of this and other similar venues across the land, despite the obvious
demand
In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...
.
Recordings
sets from 2017
(only a few were successfully recorded)
â€
â€
* earlier years were not recorded, and/or the recordings are not available
See also
*
List of electronic music festivals
The following is an incomplete list of music festivals that feature electronic music, which encapsulates music featuring electronic instruments such as electric guitar and keyboards, as well as recent genres such as electronic dance music (E ...
External links
The Cloud Factory* BoingBoing.net – Chillits 2009 ambient music mixes onlin
* BoingBong.net – Chillits 2005 ambient DJ sets onlin
* BBC Documentar
Moments in Love in which
Mixmaster Morris
Mixmaster Morris (born Morris Gould, 30 December 1965) is an English electronica DJ and underground musician who has also recorded as The Irresistible Force. His work in the 1990s blended ambient music and chill-out influences with UK dance ...
mentions Chillits.
References
{{Electronic music festival
Ambient music
American artist groups and collectives
Electronic music festivals in the United States
Music festivals established in 1999