From Stephen Parsick
Sent Tue, Aug 18th 1998, 11:43
Hi revfever, LIGHTWAVE have a simply stunning collection of analog goodies at=20 home (may I tell others, Christian ?), for more information check=20 their 1987 cassette-only release "Modular Experiment"... they=20 have/had (for instance) : 15 Modules RSF KOBOL Expander 1 and 2, RSF Kobol Keyboard, 49 Modules=20 RSF Modulair (whatever that is), Korg PS-3300, Oberheim Four Voice=20 and Matrix 12, Roland System 100 and 700 (deux consoles principales=20 avec sequenceur analogique), RSF Polykobol 2, ARP 2600 (x3), EMS VCS-3,=20 MDB Polysequencer, ARP Sequencer, Roland MC-4 (here we go again),=20 Polymoog, Roland MC-202, Korg Wavestation and M-1 (sacrilege !),=20 Roland SVC-350, plus lots more. But at that time (1987) LIGHTWAVE=20 was still a trio, Serge Leroy quit LIGHTWAVE in 1988 and=20 Christophe Harbonnier and Christian Wittman-Jacob continued as a=20 duo, collaborating with artists like Hector Zazou or Paul=20 Haslinger (I am working on a long LIGHTWAVE article for a German=20 music mag at the moment...). I have seen them perform live two years ago when they played at=20 Oberhausen Gasometer in Germany (a 350,000 m3 gas tank) during an=20 exhibition of modern art. Probably the most stunning concert I have=20 ever seen. They had some 19" racks on stage plus rather standard=20 stuff like Wavestation and DX-7 (1) plus a Polykobol 2 which quit=20 working right in the middle of the gig. They were supported by=20 S=B4Ange Susan Belling (soprano) and Jacques Der=E9gnaucourt=20 (violin/electronix). Just marvellous. Apart from that they created=20 a sonic ambience for a "Mundus Subterraneus" -- a post-industrial=20 underworld -- installed by Parisian couple Anne and Patrick=20 Poirier with the music (well, sort of) released on a limited 5" CD=20 called "In der Unterwelt" (which was also sold together with the=20 exhibition catalogue... contact me privately if you want a sealed=20 copy of that wonderful book, btw). Check out their last CD "Uranography" which was recorded live in=20 concert at Nice Observatory using all their analog goodies on=20 stage plus their "Nachtmusik" CD on German Erdenklang label. The=20 live mix (plus studio production) was done by Michel Geiss (of=20 Matrisequencer fame, and a certain Monsieur Jarre, too). Also=20 worth a listen : "Coma Virus -- hidden", a project by former=20 Tangerine Dream member Paul Haslinger. If Christian Jacob and=20 Christoph Harbonnier have not played on that album I will quit=20 collecting electronic music. LIGHTWAVE just show that electronic music from France has a lot=20 more to offer than boring Mr. Jarre (and of course there is still=20 HELDON, sorry, David, I almost forgot ;)). Hopefully that made things clearer, cheers, Stephen.