Into the Light : Lightwave's Christian Wittman By Christopher Lawless and Michael Darnell From Beyond the Horizon Vol. 4, No. 1 (Fall 1995)   In the ever-changing field of electronic music, new names and faces are constantly emerging. Whatever their particular slant-ambient, techno, dance, house, new age, or any other of a hundred different styles-each one hopes their brand of synth music will vault them to the top of the heap. The great majority, of course, end up languishing in obscurity. Long gone are the days when « electronic » is itself reason enough to make audiences stand up and take notice. To make your mark in an already overpopulated crowd of e-musicians, you have to do more than simply press a few keys and label it art. Enter Lightwave. Inspired by scholarly insights and ancient concepts, the ensemble goes out of its way to bring artistic expression to the forefront, suppressing any focus on the technology they use. Hardly a new face on the scene, the group has been around for ten years, but only recently have they begun to receive worldwide attention. An exotic mix of synthetic and electronically-treated acoustic sound creations, Lightwave's music is now quickly gaining fans outside of the group's native France propelled by their first international release, Tycho Brahé. Critical reaction to Tycho suggests that many fans view Lightwave as a return to the early days of electronic music, when traditional structures were eschewed in favor of ambiguous, liquid-like sound sculptures. Comparisons to the early-'70s works of Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream have already been buzzing about among fan circles. But as Lightwave founder Christian Wittman is quick to point out, the group has no intention of going backward to anything, hoping instead to take the electronic music world forward a notch or two. Wittman-who joins fellow Frenchman Christoph Harbonnier and Austrian-turned-American Paul Haslinger in comprising Lightwave-recently sat down to chat with us about the group's history, their latest project Mundus Subterraneus, and the directions they aim to travel in the future.   Let's start with the history of Lightwave. How did the whole concept of the group come about ? We started out as listeners of electronic music. For years and years we listened to music like Tangerine Dream, German school progressive work, contemporary classical music, « musique concrete, » and so forth. By a strange coincidence I had the opportunity to buy my first synthesizer, an ARP 2600. And a friend of mine, Serge Leroy, had a lot of synths, old modular systems and so on. We each started out by ourselves, just making tapes and experiments. As a disciplined step we decided to try to work together, to create a band, and we got the name Lightwave. The first manifestation of Lightwave was a concert, so right from the beginning we have been oriented toward live performance and improvisation. We gave a gig with three people, only one of which is still around (laughs). It was great, because it was the first time we were listening to machines in a live performance over a huge PA system. And of course all modular systems get crazy when you are playing live, and nothing works as you're expecting. It was a very industrial performance-very free, with a lot of experimentation and energy and noise. The audience was quite puzzled (laughs). One of the trademarks of Lightwave has always been to try to create a state of music, using as many developments as possible from the machines themselves, and from the human interaction-playing together. We want to experiment-not to stop at the obvious way ot using a keyboard, using factory sounds and so on. So in our beginnings, we were really trying to use all of the possibilities, or at least some of the many possibilities, of modular analog equipment. Christoph (Harbonnier) joined Lightwave for our second concert, and this was the real starting point. Our first cassette album Modular Experiment was recorded at this early stage. In a funny way, we met Paul (Haslinger) at this time, after the Tangerine Dream concerts in Paris in '86. We had dinner together and we played our music for him. He was very encouraging, and told us, « Go ahead, guys ! » His reaction really gave us such an impulsion. Nobody would have thought that he would be involved with our music a few years later. Unlike a lot of contemporary electronic artists, your music has an almost non-synthetic feel to it. Is this intentional ? Yes, there are several reasons for that. First, synthesizers can't do everything. Instead of using some sampled violin sound, for instance, we prefer to work with a real violin and a great violin player. That's one way to achieve a new kind of expressivity and a new sensitivity to music. Also, we try to keep our recording sessions in a live context, with two or three keyboardists playing together with the violin player, rather than recording one instrument at a time. We want to develop the concept of a chamber-music-like band band-a lot of electronics, but also with acoustic instruments like violin and winds, and perhaps in the future even human voice. Lightwave is one of the very few real electronic bands today. For example, most of the tracks on our new release Mundus Subterraneus are played by four musicians, and three musicians actually played synthesizers together live in studio. This is quite different from electronic music by solo artists, where a single person is in control of all the music, of the sound, and of the production. You can't play, and you don't listen to, the music in the same way when you do that. We try to break linearity and to interact with the unpredictable side of studio sessions and human beings. We want to forget the technological interface and deal mainly with musical instruments and poetic materials. The compositional process for you is obviously different from what a typical band would do. A. How do you approach a new composition ? It is all by improvisation ? I would say that the word improvisation is perhaps a bit ambiguous-« sonic performances » is probably more accurate. At the beginning of a recording session we decide upon the range of sounds we want to use from various machines, and we agree on a global tuning and some specific feeling. It's much the same way that painters or sculptors choose certain kinds of colors or materials-we might decide that for a certain piece we'll use only blue with just a touch of orange, or to use only this type of stone, but with one piece of wood. That might be the starting point, but there are several layers. For example, with the Mundus project it was a very long-term work. I started working in Paris with Jacques (Derégnaucourt), the violin player who also plays a lot of electronics, and Christoph, and we did a lot of basic recording sessions. But then we started the same process again with Paul in Los Angeles-selecting the special tuning or feeling of a piece, and then interacting with the existing materials in the same way that a painter might add some colors or drawings to an already existing painting. We don't have a single compositional model, since our music doesn't fit in a precise category. We like to build sonic landscapes, with a slow motion and many details moving around in the background. We also try to develop long pieces, with several parts and a dramatic structure, similar to symphonic or concerto music. Obviously, it is sometimes possible to keep together spontaneous improvisation and a general architecture, and also to mix abstract and lyrical elements. In terms of the compositions themselves, what does each member bring to the pieces ? That's quite difficult to answer, because often when we listen to the pieces we are unable to recognize what we did (laughs). It's quite a funny gag between Christoph and me-we've done just hours and hours of recordings together, and sometimes when we listen to old tapes I'll say to him, « What is this ? I wasn't playing with you then. » And he'll tell me, « Yes, you certainly were playing on that ! » It's a plus though, because it means that our pieces represent real teamwork. The result is truly organic-it's not just three or four people bringing their individual skills. There is a real synergy between the musicians. There are some personal touches, however. Christoph and I work a lot on sound conception and development, with different synthesizers, samplers and computer programs for sound editing. With the Mundus project, Christoph was mainly working on sampled sounds, while I was mainly in charge of the electro-acoustic sounds. Jacques was, of course, the violin player, but sometimes on the tracks it's impossible to guess that what you're hearing is a violin. He created a lot of unusual sonic textures with electronics. And Paul added many interesting sounds too, and assumed some of the more musical and harmonic touches. He was also in charge of the overall production and final mixes. Regarding the compositions themselves, the four of us had a creative input on the structure of the pieces, on their formal development, and the result is a subtle blend of our personalities. Because synthesizers and electronics have become so prevalent in today's music, coming up with new and different sounds must be something of a challenge-particularly for music like yours which relies so heavily on sound design.   How do you approach it so that you create something new, and don't end up sounding like everyone else ? Each of us brings his own personality and listening sensitivity to the music, and it's a very personal effort, so trying to explain the criteria for sound selection and design is quite difficult. When we are involved in such a process, we deal with categories of space, of colors, of dynamics, their movement across the stereo spectrum. We are also looking for the subjective qualities of sounds, their evocative power. There is an inner tuning between these sounds and our sensitivity, our memory, and our imagination. The best Lightwave sounds are sounds we like to play with, that give us inspiration and creativity. I would not dare to say that we do or don't sound like anyone else in particular-that would be too presumptuous. We are simply trying to go as far as we possibly can within the whole concept of sound, and we consider it as a major aspect of our musical work. We use a lot of computer equipment and sound-design software to create sounds, and we have huge libraries of thousands and thousands of sounds. And when we work, we're always determining whether this or that particular sound will fit into Lightwave music, or that particular sound will not fit. The entire concept of the contemporary/electronic/avant-garde scene has changed several times over the past twenty-five or thirty years. Where do you think Lightwave fits into that ? Well, as you say, electronic music now is such a generic term-it's everything from the music of commercials and TV to the avant-garde of today's university studios. I would say that Lightwave is somewhere in-between. We are always on the border of something, and there is a kind of instability or impossibility to locate Lightwave in a certain place. I think we are not so much new age (laughs). For some electronic music fans, Lightwave music is something difficult-it's not typical electronic music with constructions like sequencing, solos, melody lines, and so forth, that people are accustomed to with mainstream electronic music. Our music can be located on the large map of contemporary and new music. Let's give some very general landmarks : ambient music, as practiced by artists like Erik Satie, Morton Feldman, Brian Eno and Harold Budd ; ambient-house and all these new trends, where instrumental music is going beyond the dance scene ; French electro-acoustic tradition, with composers like Francis Dhomant, Michel Redolfi, François Bayle, Parmeggiani and Pierre Schaeffer ; there is also probably a like with contemporary orchestral or chamber music, like Gorecki, Arvo Pärt, Ligeti, and Schnittke. We are mixing various musical styles, and this probably reflects our own personal tastes and cultures. However, we don't want to imitate anyone, or to give our music a precise definition. What are your feelings on the whole electronic music scene in general ? What do you find interesting ? I'm still very interested by electronic music in general. But like a lot of my friends and people in my generation in France-who are very involved in the electronic music scene, fanzines, organizations, networks, and so on-I feel there is now a kind of disappointment, or perhaps puzzlement. I mean, it's possible to find and enjoy CDs in the field of electronic music each year-but is there really anything new or exciting anymore ? For young people just starting to listen to electronic music, there is a lot of exciting stuff of course. But for long-time fans, having listened to the entire history of electronic music from the end of the sixties to the present, they're probably not terribly enthusiastic about it nowadays. Back in the seventies, there was really something new with the machines, with the sound, with the band concept, with composition structures. That's one of the reasons why Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze were such important figures, because what they did was totally new. But now, we've had development of computers, software, MIDI equipment, and so on-the revolutionary side doesn't exist anymore. You have to go further, beyond the technical side. You can't impress an audience by just telling them, « Listen, I'm using synthesizers and computers, and I'm making a kind of weird new technological music. » Everyone is doing that. So perhaps there's a return to some more artistic concerns, to develop concepts, to have ideas, to experiment with new structures, and so on. I think the most interesting bands or artists are just trying to push the borders of electronic music, or create new links with dance music, jazz, ethnic music, industrial, and so on. Are there any artists who have been particularly inspiring to you ?   I would say that Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze were triggers, opening new directions and creative possibilities, and it was a starting point. But as Lightwave, we never wanted to follow in their tracks, because we can't-it's not to our skill, and we don't have exactly the same sensitivity. For us the influences are very wide-the ambient scene, house and techno trends, world music, classical, contemporary jazz, improvised music, and so on. My own personal tastes lead me towards electro-acoustic music like Redolfi, or ambient music like Eno or Budd.My favorite label is ECM-I can buy any record they release, because I know I won't be disappointed. Right now, Sun Bear Concerts by Keith Jarrett, and Paul Bley's records-solo or when he plays in a trio or quartet, as with John Surman, Bill Frisell, and Paul Motian-are at the top of my playlist. It's the most exciting music I've heard in quite some time.   What effect does living in France, away from the high-tech music capitals like Los Angeles and New York, have on making your music ?   Well, Paris is a pretty big musical center too. But also, in France we've developed a network of collaborations. For example, we are very close to Hector Zazou-we shared the same studio for several years, and we've communicated quite a few ideas back and forth. We share the same musical universe, in a way. For me he's one of the most important composers in the field of new music. We've played on his last three albums, Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses, Sahara Blue and Songs from the Cold Seas. We are also very close to Michel Redolfi. He plays underwater concerts of electro-acoustic music, where the listeners are in a swimming pool. You don't hear the music unless your head is underwater-it's an amazing experiment. He has a huge studio, and music research institute, and he's the organizer of the MANCA Festival in Nice where we've played. So there is a kind of network of musicians and press people here which is quite active. I think the fact that two of the members of Lightwave are French is really very important. With Paul, quite often we have trans-cultural exchanges of sorts, because he's Austrian but also very Californian ! (laughs) Could you imagine mixing a strudel cake with Snapple iced tea and French red wine ? That's Lightwave ! So it's kind of a perpetual joke, with the different cultures, and we have a lot of fun with it. Lightwave is the result of the combination of these European roots with the settling to America. And it's an interesting experience to have our music released by an American record company. A lot of European musicians seem to be coming to America-do you ever see yourself moving over here permanently ? No, probably not. I really enjoy America, and I spent a wonderful year over there for my job. But as far as I know, the independent music scene in Los Angeles is quite difficult too. Some of our friends like Robert Rich-who lives in San Francisco-and others just began to get started there and developed strong network connections. But they spent many years underground, and in France it's basically the same. Plus we're using a lot of modern communication technologies-it's possible for us to work with Paul in a very efficient way, even though we're based in Paris and he's in Los Angeles. Living in Paris helps to keep a kind of creative freedom-perhaps the French tradition of art for its own sake. And we also have a more global view of the real world. What were you working on while you were here in the States ?   My personal background is in the history of ancient sciences and cultures, and during the past year I have been working on the history of astronomy. I guess it's kind of a follow-up to Tycho Brahé (laughs). I also did some work on Athanasius Kircher, which gave us the idea for Mundus Subterraneus. There was also a very special book project which perhaps will be the concept for the next Lightwave album, but I can't give any details about that yet ! It's still a work in progress. I can say that there are a lot of connections to America with this project. Looking back on your previous work, what are your thoughts on your first two albums, Nachtmusik and Tycho Brahé ? I think Nachtmusik was a bold attempt for a first CD release, with these two long tracks, quite abstract and mysterious. We're still very proud of it. There are some things we might like to change now, but overall we are comfortable with it. It was a rather crucial step in Lightwave's history, a time when Serge Leroy left the band and where we recorded this album during live improvised sessions, which was quite magical. It was because of Nachtmusik that we got our reputation for creating something strange and unusual. There was a lot of analog equipment in it, along with some digital synthesizers, but used in a rather weird way, not with recognizable sounds. Tycho Brahé was a very important step too, because we decided to have some shorter pieces, more efficient and concise. We worked with Jacques fro the first time, and it was really terrific. For example, on the first piece « Uraniborg, » the synthesizer parts had already been recorded on tape. Jacques just came into the studio and played over it, and it worked out great. It was an experiment-we tried to be more melodic, more accessible, and maybe more minimal-to have some very soft textures and ambient pieces with very discreet sounds. It was a difficult album for the audience I think, because there are no rhythms, and it's deep music. You could say it's one of the trademarks of Lightwave music-the listener has to be involved with it. You received a very favorable critical reaction with Tycho. Were you surprised by that ?   Well, there were two releases with Tycho Brahé, first by Crystal Lake in France and then later by Hearts of Space. So before the US release, in France we had already had a very positive critical response, both from electronic music networks and from the classical music scene. The same thing seems to have happened in the US-we got some impressive reviews in classical music journals. It's quite puzzling to see Lightwave right next to Puccini ! (laughs) But, to be fair, perhaps people who don't like our music won't write reviews about it. We were quite surprised by the reaction of radio, though-a lot of radio stations are playing Tycho. US radio programmers on independent or campus stations really do an impressive job of broadcasting non-commercial music. Their play-lists give a wide picture of the new music scene, and these people are definitely open-minded. I had a very strange experience in Los Angeles. Very late one night I was listening to some radio station, and they did a kind of ambient/house remix of « Uraniborg. » It was funny because they started with the piece, and then moved into some kind of weird rhythm-but it was great, very well done. The fact that some people are playing with this music is quite unexpected for us. The critical reaction with Tycho was a sign for us that there really is an audience for a kind of music slightly different and perhaps more abstract. We tried, with Tycho and now Mundus, to be as honest as possible toward ourselves and toward the audience-we produced the music we like, the music we can do, and music that reflects our imagination and sensitivity. What do you hope to accomplish with Mundus ?   We wanted to make something different with Mundus, and at the same time to go further. We worked on it for the good part of a year, and we tried to be more extreme with it. It's sort of the concluding act in a trilogy of Nachtmusik, Tycho and Mundus, a logical progression and arrival point for this work. Like Tycho, Mundus is inspired by science, but also imagination. For example, with Tycho we wanted to deal with astronomy and all the cosmic imagery, but not in a cheap way, with pictures of stars and some science fiction title. Going backwards to the past was a way to find some very influential concepts, and a poetic atmosphere. Tycho was looking at the sky with only his naked eyes, and he tried to understand the mechanics of the universe. Kircher-the inspiration for Mundus-was crazy, and Austrian, and for one of these two reasons at least, he appealed to Paul too. Mundus is a concept album devoted to the exploration of the underworld, of the subterranean phenomena and beings-rocks, earthquakes, volcanoes, and strange animals. We are between science and reason, scholarship and madness. Both Kircher's book and our music deal with understanding the unknown, throwing the nets of reason upon an irrational world. Kircher was fighting against demons with categories, scientific drawings, collections of natural samples, and by reading Greek and Roman authors. So you see, both Tycho and Mundus are somewhere between contemporary high-tech perspectives, and the very ancient, the roots of European culture and science. It's up to the listener to choose, and to bring his own creativity and imagination around the music and the concept. There are quite a few older Lightwave recordings, cassette-only releases. Now that you're signed to a larger label, are there any plans to re-release any of them ? We've had some offers from companies in France who wanted to so dome CD reissues of previous tapes, but we are a bit hesitant to do that. We would like to eventually make a compilation of unreleased materials, because we have so many recordings-we could make one of those ten-CD boxes ! (laughs) But the strategy we preferred was to have only a few releases, and to take the time to find the right concept, and release CDs we were very happy with. There's no point in releasing twenty CDs if there is only one hour of great music there. Now we are thinking of releasing a one-CD retrospective-some really great and weird recording sessions that Paul, Christoph and I did in Paris. We've also recently finished the editing and mixing of our first live CD, Uranography–Live at the Nice Observatory. It's a recording of the second of two concerts we played in Nice. At a certain point, everything was improvised and we interacted with the audience and with the incredible location, built on top of a hill by Eiffel, the architect of the Eiffel Tower, and Garnier, the architect of the Paris Opera. Do you have any plans to perform live in the US ?   Not at the present time, but we are trying to develop some new performance concepts. Electronic music concerts are really a nightmare, playing live with this kind of equipment. For example, in Nice we were playing at this astronomy observatory, and we had moved our entire studio there from Paris. For two or three days before the concert we played constantly, day and night, to work out all the technical problems. To feel comfortable in a live situation, you have to have every piece of your equipment with you, and be absolutely sure that everything works okay. For your average concert situation, where you just show up in the morning, set up your equipment, and play that evening, it's really crazy. We could indeed, though, conceive a more compact setup for concerts. Our next project will be more performance-oriented, and again we are trying to find a new sonic and visual concept. So there are many things to create, performance concepts to invent-perhaps we will do something in the US in the future. VI. What do you ultimately hope to accomplish with Lightwave ?   That's a hard question. I think we want to go on with this project, even if it is sometimes quite difficult. Every member of the band has a kind of inner vision and energy, and the three of us share the same feeling. Jacques, too, is a regular collaborator, although he is not involved in the production and mixing process as such. Of course, everybody has his own life-Paul is working on his solo career, and film projects and so on. Christoph might work on a solo project, and perhaps me too at some point. I'm also very involved in scholarly work, writing books and giving lectures. Lightwave is something we share. It has a kind of open structure, and the way we interact together is always changing. Perhaps in the future we will work with other musicians for specific projects. And actually, we have a lot of projects and works in progress. We have a very strong connection, on the musical and human level, between the three of us, and I hope it will go on for a long while.