User Reviews : LIGHTWAVE

1. LIGHTWAVE - 11 months ago
Deep Listenings, whose Web site is at www.web.tiscali.it/oltreilsuono:
"Poetry, very high poetry...it is celebrated the mineral kingdom, the kingdom of the shadows, of the intact deep of geological layers that keep the memory of very far era. The film sound of that magical nights and now at our disposal for one of the best listening we can desire: we cannot speak of simple electronic music, but of a new classical music, of the art of the performance, of a 360º culture. Wonderful." -- Gianluigi Gasparetti, Artistic Director, deeplist@tin.it
From Elizabeth Barrette, Editor, PanGaia magazine, www.worthlink.net/~ysabet/index.html:
"Come sink beneath the surface of the Earth and explore the subterranean caverns that lie below. This music can take you there, because it's been there -- originally composed for a concert in the caves of Choranche in France, it premiered on loudspeakers scattered along nearly 600 meters of underground galleries through which the audience wandered during the performance. The publisher's Web site describes this as a 'poetical exploration of the Underworld, the world of shades, of stones, of memory and of oblivion.' Given my grasp of mythology and the numerous depictions of different cosmologies, I have to agree; it's like a musical tour of the nether realms.
The album contains both instrumental scores and spoken-word overlays. Together they create an incredible acoustic environment, easily painting caves on the insides of your eyelids as you listen. The eerie, echoing quality of the sounds will make your skin shiver most delightfully.
Cantus Umbrarum offers an awesome selection of music sure to appeal to fans of horror, gothic, or dark fantasy; this is a mood-setter that can't be beat. Ideal background music for gaming, ritual or writing. I wouldn't recommend it for driving, though, because of that tendency to carry you away from where you are to where it is. Listen to it for the first time late at night, for best effect."


2. LIGHTWAVE - 11 months ago
Lightwave (Fathom/Hearts of Space HS11058-2), November, 1995.
Returning again to historical prophecy for inspiration, Lightwave follows up Tycho Brahe with Mundus Subterraneus. A subsurface exploration of the truth that lies beyond, and the daemons within.
The work of a 16th century Danish astronomer inspired Lightwave's previous Fathom release. Now a 17th century Jesuit scholar's fascination with the secret knowledge held below our Earth's crust injects new ambient music with throbbing mystery.
ATHANASIUS KIRCHER (1602-1680) was intrigued by the unknown, and devoted his life to the study of scientific and mystical arts. A leading figure in the sciences and spirituality of early-modern baroque Europe, he was inspired by a first-hand observance of Mount Aetna's eruption. At a time when "underground" implied the Underworld, this scholar dared climb the rim of Vesuvius and was lowered into the maw of Hell for a closer examination.
He was fascinated by the archeology of lost knowledge. Years later, Kircher published the profound work MUNDUS SUBTERRANEUS, an 800-page compendium of theories and engravings, encompassing an exploration of geophysics and underworld myth, blending the sensationalism of the past with the science of the future. Working within a tradition of archiving knowledge behind closed doors, his philosophies reflected a faith that the more we learned,... the more remained unknown.
Building upon this dichotomy, Lightwave explores the space under the soil. MUNDUS SUBTERRANEUS is a subconscious tour of a futuristic underworld -- where technological agents and Old World daemons frolic together. This bold new work blends together the grandeur of contemporary ambience with avant garde elements of classical music. The execution is by turns hypnotic, frightening and mischievous, and marks a bold new step in Lightwave's smelting of ambient music with musique concrete and chamber music.
The album opens with a descent into a world of darkness with "De Motu Pendulorum." A mysterious blend of gentle ambience and prescient danger, it leads to occult disturbances residing within the "Cabinet de Curiosites," as the musicians divulge strange and eccentric sounds reminiscent of the expressionist design of Robert Wiene's THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Digging deeper, the music strikes bedrock in "Sonnenstürme." Here, low, rumbling frequencies provide counterpoint for the violins and synthesizers of contemporary music, as if the Grendels of the past mock and jeer at frail scientific rationale. "Glissement d'Ame" opens upon a strange cave of archaic notions, and Jacques Deregnaucourt's violin solo leads the listener down a recluse's path to a place of arcane scholarship ("Roma Barocca"). Finally, hidden musings yield to brilliant realization, and a transcendent comprehension of a deeper truth comes to light ("Ascension"). We leave the underworld of Kircher as we found it: "Mapping the Earth" promises future trips into the abyss of one man's (and Lightwave's) dark wonder.
Lightwave continues to bridge the gap from early electronic pioneers, such as Richard Pinhas and Klaus Schulze, to modern elements led by Robert Rich, David Sylvian and Future Sound of London. Lightwave takes inspiration from the visionaries of the past to forge uncompromising audio visions of the near future.


3. LIGHTWAVE - 11 months ago
LIGHTWAVE: BLEUE COMME UNE ORANGE (Featuring Paul Haslinger- Jon Hassell )
Now here's a band that have unapologetically ploughed their own unique electronic furrow for a long, long time, and the inventiveness hasn't stopped yet, as this latest studio album clearly illustrates. Composed, played and produced by the core trio of Christoph Harbonnier, Paul Haslinger & Christoph Wittmann, it's an album of sublime quality, rich almost to the point of excess, with atmospheres that are way outside of anything most other space-music artists can create. The album begins on a classical celestial note with a string quintet joining the main duo of Harbonnier & Wittmann to provide a piece of classical celestial space music that is simply magical. This mood then continues onto 'Ivoire' as the cosmic synths are joined by deep, sonorous bass clarinet to create another utterly magical piece of music that drifts, soars and flies in the most uplifting yet warm and cozy manner you could imagine. 'Huang/Hong' is the first of two tracks that feature the haunting trumpet work of Jon Hassell, as Haslinger enters the album together with the core duo, and this quartet produce yet another slice of fluid, winding space-music magic that is in keeping with the atmosphere of before, yet now they are sailing an altogether darker sea. 'Chocolat Bleu Pale' features Harbonnier & Wittmann on the cosmic electronics, with, this time, Renaud Pion joining on clarinet and piano, again producing another gorgeously tranquil yet solid and atmospheric composition, and so the album continues - so far, so superb!!! This is space music taken to an altogether higher plain as only this band can. 'Pale Aquamarine' is Haslinger on his own on electronics and piano and - surprise, surprise - it's even more wondrous, celestial, heady cosmic class, as passionate as space music can be without being overbearing, and yet it sounds so simple and so beautifully textured. A further 9 tracks follow, with assorted combinations of musicians, but revolving mainly around the core duo of electronic space wizards Wittmann & Harbonnier, carrying this whole feel ever onwards with layers and textures that truly captivate, having you riveted from beginning to end. Easily the best album from these French innovators for a long while, and it's totally timeless music too that will sound this good in ten years time and beyond.
Andy Garibaldi (CD Services/Dead Earnest)