[Interview by Jacopo Vigezzi, originally published in Prog Rock Journal, July 10; republished with permission. Link ]
Does the "minimalist simplicity" you embraced for these albums also extend to your live setup, or do you prefer a more complex, "orchestral" array of electronics on stage?
— The last concert Lightwave gave had a relatively light setup, with MIDI keyboards and computers for both videos and virtual instruments. I haven’t given any solo concerts to date, because I haven’t been offered the opportunity, and to be honest, I’ve preferred to focus on composing and recording in the studio. As for possible live extensions of my work with Paul, we’re considering various options, including bringing in classical instrumentalists to perform with us and interacting with them using different stems and atmospheres that we could mix and spatialize in real time. The venues and setting of these performances would of course play an important role, as would the accompanying multimedia elements on stage...
Are there any "hidden rarities" or unreleased archives from the Lightwave era that might find a new home or a new interpretation through noion?
— We have dozens of hours of unreleased recordings: studio sessions, and sometimes live recordings. Christoph spent months transferring everything to a hard drive, indexing it, and sometimes restoring it. This allowed us to revisit all our musical work since the late ’80s, and we were sometimes surprised by the quality of these studio improvisations. Yes, clearly there is a lot of material that deserves to be released, and there is a first album project in the works, for a possible release this fall on noion music.
What advice would you give to young electronic musicians who are interested in "deep, mindful listening" but find themselves overwhelmed by the fast-paced, "tumultuous" nature of the modern industry?
— That’s a difficult question, because who am I to give advice to today’s young electronic musicians? The current situation has immense advantages, but also immense challenges. Among the positives are the ability to set up a home studio at a low cost, the abundance of virtual instruments and sample libraries, and an ecosystem that makes it very easy to put your music online—directly on platforms like Bandcamp and Subvert, or through a digital distributor like Distrokid, Symphonic, or Tunecore—giving you access to all streaming and download platforms. This ecosystem makes life considerably easier for independent, self-produced musicians. The flip side, of course, is the exponential tidal wave of new tracks flooding platforms every day, amplified by AI that allows some to upload hundreds (thousands?) of new tracks daily.
How do you stay afloat, how do you survive in this torrential flow? How do you catch the attention of streaming platform algorithms and get featured on influential playlists? The first, easiest answer is to go with the flow, follow the trends of the moment, and create that “how-to” music that sends Spotify stats through the roof: music for napping, for sleeping, for doing math homework, for studying physics and chemistry, for brushing your cat, for cooking pasta, for eating a hamburger, for running in the countryside, for running in the city, and so on and so forth. This means molding yourself into a mold, giving up anything too personal, any rough edges, any dissonance, anything that steps outside the very narrow confines of the playlist. If you’re willing to make these concessions, then yes, the number of streams can skyrocket… but at what cost! You’re anonymized in playlists that endlessly stream a continuous flow of sound without anything to distinguish or recognize the musicians… You’re no longer a musician, but a product, repurposed by Spotify’s “Mood Machine.”
So what to do? It’s a matter of choice, goals, time horizon, and personal philosophy… My own answer has been to stay true to myself and not create impersonal, run-of-the-mill music. I aim to chart a coherent path by creating music that I love and that reflects who I am, music that aligns with stages of development, experimentation, and exploration. In short, I make music that interests me, that challenges me, that makes me think and imagine. You have to have the means to do it—not rely on music to make a living—and give yourself the time, but also prioritize a base of followers and listeners who are genuinely interested in the music, in short, listeners who actually listen and aren’t just consumers of background noise. I’d add that any independent musical endeavor must be accompanied by intense promotion on social media; it’s the only way to break out of anonymity… And the younger generation of musicians certainly has a better grasp than I do of the ins and outs of TikTok, Instagram Stories, and Facebook…! Being comfortable working with multimedia files, Reels, and other videos is definitely a major asset!
Finally, Christian, if “Mallarmé” is about “chance” and “Borges” is about “infinity,” what is the next literary or philosophical territory you’re eager to explore with Paul?
— I can already reveal that the next literary world Paul and I will be exploring is that of the Comte de Lautréamont, the enigmatic author of *Les Chants de Maldoror*, a dark and wild epic, laced with black humor and tinged with provocative nihilism...
We have two other major projects in the works, each of which will span several albums, but I’d rather keep you in suspense for now…!
Through his work with noion, Christian Wittman continues to prove that electronic music is not merely a technical exercise, but a profound "way of being in the world." By bridging the gap between 19th-century poetry and 21st-century sound design, he provides a necessary sanctuary of "clarity, silence, and space." Whether he is sculpting textures in his Parisian studio or exploring the mathematical precision of a modular sequence, Wittman remains a dedicated “sculptor of unknown worlds.” “Mallarmé” and “Borges” arrive on July 10, marking not just a release, but the start of a new, contemplative journey for anyone willing to listen deeply.
No comments:
Post a Comment