I am currently exploring the archive of my musical activity through the years, and LIGHTWAVE, of course, is a major part of it.
I will post in my blog a few documents belonging to this history....
French or English language... Italian perhaps too...
Music without frontiers!
Cassiopeia is a celestial constellation visible from the northern
hemisphere, named after an Ethiopian queen from Greek mythology, who was
the mother of Andromeda, another neighboring constellation.
Between large stars and nebulae, supernova and Milky Way, this celestial
region inspired this new space music project, under the sign of
fluidity and expansion, meditative contemplation and cosmological
curiosity.
On this album, I use a renewed sound palette, reviving the organic
experimentation of analog and modular synthesizers, in a spirit that
would like to situate itself in the continuity of the abstract
soundscapes of early Tangerine Dream.
Review par Ly Luan pour Houz-Motic Magazine
Lien
Andrew Heath et Christian Wittman s’inspirent d’un motif de piano, d’un chatoiement électronique ou d’un son trouvé et traité… Leur musique dérive en créant de nouvelles cartes. Cette collaboration immersive est une exploration musicale des thèmes des grandes marées, qui montent et descendent, et des courants d’air qui circulent entre les terres et les mers. Paysagiste sonore et compositeur, Andrew Heath produit une musique calme, ambiante, basée sur le piano, l’électronique et le Field Recording. Christian Wittman est l’un des membres fondateurs du groupe français Lightwave qui, depuis les années 80, trace un chemin créatif unique dans le domaine des musiques électroniques, au croisement de la musique ambiante et du « classique atmosphérique », avec un fort accent sur le design sonore et les climats. Leur rencontre est sublimée avec cet album, découvrez Par vents et marées…
« J’aime les sons qui évoluent d’une manière que je ne peux pas toujours contrôler, je recherche la juxtaposition aléatoire de petits bruits et je les oppose à des notes de piano soutenues qui dérivent en phase et en déphasage, ou à des chemins de modulation complexes qui produisent des sauts de filtre imprévisibles. Je cherche à créer des textures sonores et de la musique en minuscules. Un point où la musique et le son sont en suspension dans l’air, des particules et des éléments en constante agitation autour d’un thème ou d’une pensée à demi remémorée » (Andrew Heath).
Dans Par vents et marées (Stroud – 2024), paru le 25 octobre, Andrew Heath et Christian Wittman tissent un univers sonore unique, inspiré des mouvements naturels des marées et des courants aériens. Ce projet explore la rencontre entre des nappes de piano, des textures électroniques subtiles et des enregistrements de terrain minutieusement intégrés, créant une œuvre immersive à la fois aérienne et sous-marine. Le piano, tantôt électrique, tantôt acoustique, se mêle aux sons imprévisibles de percussions et de bruitages modulaires, tandis que les notes de guitare flottent au-dessus d’un maelström sonore. Heath exprime sa recherche d’une juxtaposition de sons aléatoires et de textures en évolution constante, pour suspendre la musique dans l’air comme des particules en mouvement autour d’une pensée, subtile et fugitive.
Cette collaboration entre les univers musicaux de Andrew Heath et de Christian Wittman est une véritable alchimie, chacun apporte ses sensibilités et ses textures sonores pour créer un voyage évocateur. Leurs approches complémentaires fusionnent pour capturer l’essence des paysages marins et aériens, offrant une expérience sonore aussi poétique que profondément sensorielle. Tantôt léger, tantôt sombre – évoquant le contraste entre le calme apparent de la mer, et les dynamiques et flux qui se déploient, à la fois en profondeur et dans l’air, ces paysages sonores organiques et immersifs nous maintiennent habillement en voyage.
If you find white noise – or field music – relaxing, then this album, originally recorded and released way back in 1988 by the French duo Christoph Harbonnier and Christian Wittman, would definitely scratch that itch. However, I can’t promise you that your dreams will be sweet ones for its entire duration…
It’s something of a pioneering work, the gentle electronica of ‘Le Parvis‘ like an embracement of the soul, akin to a woozy, back seat of a taxi ride through the lights of the city at three in the morning. This comes after the ‘field music’ of ‘Intro‘, ‘Airport‘ and ‘Correspondance pour ailleurs‘ (effectively ‘Mail For Elsewhere‘), being, let’s not forget, a good six years before The Future Sound Of London’s seminal classic Lifeforms. Whether or not the latter act knew of, or took inspiration from, Lightwave, I am unsure, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
The otherworldly feel of much of this record is partly due to its sparsity, yet that somehow gives it an unexpected gravitas that is eerily beautiful – I guess in the same way that Vangelis‘s soundtrack to Blade Runner was – particularly on the thirteen and a half minute ‘Agora‘.
A night-time album if ever there was one, Cités Analogues sometimes has a creepier, ghostly feel about it, not least on the short ‘Cités de miroires‘ and the subsequent ‘Polycentre‘, which would absolutely work as incidental music in a psychological horror movie.
This is most definitely not an album for connoisseurs of ‘pop’ music or lovers of the contagious refrain. Instead, it requires the listener to use their imagination, or to lose themselves in the artists’ created world, though I would think fans of The Orb, at least, or of Brian Eno‘s ambient works, would be able to see the appeal in these recordings. The title track is arguably the only one that flirts with any kind of commercial bent, however – a 14-minute piece that feels like a carefree journey through stunning exotic landscapes. It’s odd how it often makes me feel like I’m a passenger, relaxing in one type of vehicle or another, but that, in itself, is strangely appealing.
After that, things become even more minimalistic, with the empty sky meanderings of ‘Ophelia‘ and the final void of nothingness that is ‘Lunar Parking‘.
Cités Analogues certainly feels like an important work anyway, and while I’m unlikely to be taking this to accompany you on many car journeys, it undoubtedly has a unique appeal, particularly if you’re a devotee of Dystopian soundscapes.
Cités Analogues is out now on Bureau B.
Loz Etheridge, God is in the TV Zine.
"Cités Analogues is a mesmerizing album
by Lightwave, released by Bureau B / Indigo. This ambient electronic
masterpiece takes listeners on a journey through ethereal soundscapes
and hypnotic rhythms.
Each track on the album is carefully crafted to create a sense of otherworldly beauty, blending intricate layers of synthesizers, pulsating beats, and haunting melodies. The music ebbs and flows, creating a dreamlike atmosphere that invites the listener to lose themselves in its immersive sonic landscapes.
Lightwave's attention to detail is evident throughout Cités Analogues, with each composition unfolding like a sonic tapestry rich in texture and emotion. The seamless integration of organic sounds with electronic elements gives the music a unique depth and warmth that sets it apart from other ambient works.
From the opening notes to the final crescendo, Cités Analogues captivates the listener with its evocative soundscapes and innovative approach to electronic music. It is a must-have for fans of ambient music looking for a truly transcendent listening experience."
In the story of electronic music – and especially that with a more experimental, ambient viewpoint – the name of Lightwave will not be known to many. Christoph Harbonnier and Christian Wittman released their first album, Modular Experiments, in 1987, after which they recorded Cités Analogues in April and May 1988. It was released as a casette.
Their relative neglect is a mystery, but the restoration of this album should ensure their profile is raised. Bureau B have done the duo proud with a reissue on LP, CD and download. Their press release lists an inventory of RSF, ARP, Roland and Oberheim modular systems, mixed on A&H 12/2 and recorded to tape on a Revox B77 tape machine – a complex set-up but one aimed at what they describe as ‘a concept album, comprising of a series of discrete compositions and atmospheres assembled into two continuous tracks. The tracks are split out a little by dividers, with field recordings and tape processing softening the join between sections.
This is a fascinating listen, and if you didn’t already know you might suspect that Cités Analogues had been recorded in the last year, such is its reach and originality. Whether they work in long or short form the duo make subtly shifting soundscapes that are unexpectedly intense in their realisation.
On occasion they hit some winsome grooves, as in the slow but elastic Le Purvis. Agora is lost in thought, musing over a slowly shifting bass, while the eerie Polycentre and activity of News are at once complementary. Cités Analogues itself is an effective long form piece, its quarter-hour duration packed full of ideas and fragments that are given an assured and compelling development. As the album evolves Lightwave create soundscapes with industrial roots but with added splashes of instrumental colour. These are especially evident on Ophelia, a dream sequence with feather-light textures, suspended in mid-air.