It's been several months in the making, and has gone through several working versions...
I think I've succeeded in expressing my vision with the tracks on this album.
I conceived "Orpheus" as a dark ambient symphony. An abstract, atmospheric meditation on Orpheus' descent into the underworld, driven by the hope of bringing his beloved Eurydice back to the world of the living through the power of his music.
"Orpheus" is a symphony of depths and darkness, a symphony of shadows and sorrows.
In my solo career, "Orpheus" reconnects with the sound universe of Lightwave, in particular "Uraniborg" from "Tycho Brahe" and "Mundus Subterraneus".
"Orpheus" continues the quest for a certain abstraction, and for structures that escape the traditional canons of "well-tempered" ambient music to venture into borderless sonic spaces.
Dark ambient symphony.
Abstraction.
Experimental dimension.
Long stretches of sound.
I know my music will find adventurous ears...
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REVIEWS
•• Andy Garibaldi, INKEYS — "A near 40 minute track in 5 parts, and from the opening, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you were listening to some lost outtakes from the Tangerine Dream “Oedipus Tyrannus” project, specifically the “Overture” track, as delicate, but deep, calmly atmospheric, slowly shifting, subtly changing waves of cosmic synths drift effortlessly into view, and it’s he perfect soundtrack for watching galaxies drift by, or exploring the “out there”, and at short of 12 minutes, arguably, just the right length.
Part 2 at just over 9 minutes, does actually continue from where the previous one left off, and along the way, this time, you’ll hear distant whispers, occasional footsteps, the clanking of long forgotten electronic machinery, in fact, the perfect soundtrack for any one of the legendary “2001" movies, when it comes to the slow motion viewing of the unexpected.
Whatever your headspace, the music is absolutely riveting, and as fine an exaple of constantly changing amorphous cosmic synth music, as you’ll encounter.
From there on, it’s a simply beautiful ride through the universe as the mood is maintained but the landscape changes and it’s not until the final track where we get hints of “Blade Runner”-era Vangelis, creeping in to add to its unfolding space music charms.
Although I hear a ton of space music, and often it’s difficult to separate the planets from the stars, this is one that I could listen to for as long as we all shall live – an absolute gem!! "
•• BEATRADAR — "And speaking of darkness and drama, we're almost in the psychological thriller landscape now.
What I particularly love about this composition is the very apparent orchestral element to it. The foundation of this track is of a melodic nature, but suppressed enough to maintain allegiance to the darker ambient genre, it never breaks out into something too melodic.
The result is an utterly atmospheric experience on a level that we really do not experience in many other genres than precisely classical music".
credits
released August 28, 2023
Electronics, sound design, composition: Christian Wittman
Produced at Nina Studio, Paris, summer 2023.
I am one of the founding members of the French group LIGHTWAVE, which has been tracing a unique creative path in the field
of electronic and ambient music since the 1980s.
This Bandcamp page is dedicated to my solo work.
My music is at the crossroads of ambient music and "atmospheric classical" with a strong emphasis on sound design and climates.
One of the musicians who are a part of my daily life... The ambient vision, feeling and sound at their best.. I am so sad Harold Budd passed away... His music is alive, for ever... Christian Wittman