Cassiopeia by Christian Wittman
Cassiopeia is a celestial constellation visible from the northern hemisphere, named after an Ethiopian queen from Greek mythology, who was the mother of Andromeda, another neighboring constellation.
Between large stars and nebulae, supernova and Milky Way, this celestial region inspired this new space music project, under the sign of fluidity and expansion, meditative contemplation and cosmological curiosity.
On this album, I use a renewed sound palette, reviving the organic experimentation of analog and modular synthesizers, in a spirit that would like to situate itself in the continuity of the abstract soundscapes of early Tangerine Dream.
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REVIEW
•• Andy Garibaldi (INKEYS)
"Brand new album from the French cosmic music pioneer, this time with 11 tracks between 5 and 7 minutes long, all of which are their own unique universes of sound. It starts with “Stellar Eternity” that hearkens back to what Tangerine Dream were doing on albums such as “Zeit” and the quieter passages of “Alpha Centauri”, possessing a remarkable analogue feel and takes you right back to the early seventies German synth explorers, a superb opener that sets the mood.
“Tycho Brahe's Supernova” continues from there with a more top end brew of floating cloud music, this time less overtly “deep” at the bass end, with more of a shimmer to its higher register electronic excursions through the universe, slowly unfolding like some emerging galaxy in slow motion. “Schedar” is, if anything, slightly more minimalist, with a much more unnerving feel to its pastoral pleasures, as you stare into the blackness through slowly moving layers of synths. “Open Cluster” is initially more in your face with blasts of sound before settling back into a continuously shifting, eerie electronic realm that is now almost totally devoid of light and I wouldn't want to listen to this one in the dark.
By contrast, “Northern Sky” adds extra layers courtesy of a strange sea of piano ripples set to what sounds like piano strings being struck and the whole track is veering close to avant-classical. “Radio Source” is string-like cosmic electronic that hearkens back to the Germanic, harsh and bleak yet strangely serene and addictive, while “Cosmic Dust” goes through a variety of textures and soundpools as it travels, more vibrant now, with almost percussive bursts of background, but still the sound of the universe unfolding in all its electronic glory.
With four further excellent and similar tracks to surprise and delight, this is one of his finest to date, possessing more of an exploratory nature, a cutting edge and a seriously early seventies electronic pioneering approach to the tracks, but still being cosmic electronic music of the highest order."
Tracklist
| 1. | Stellar Eternity | 5:30 |
| 2. | Tycho Brahe's Supernova | 5:55 |
| 3. | Schedar | 6:28 |
| 4. | Open Cluster | 5:48 |
| 5. | Northern Sky | 5:56 |
| 6. | Radio Source | 5:52 |
| 7. | Cosmic Dust | 6:26 |
| 8. | Rocking Stars | 6:24 |
| 9. | Catasterisms | 5:15 |
| 10. | Black Vibration | 5:47 |
| 11. | Abstract Rotation | 5:28 |
Videos
Credits
Electronics, sound design, compositions: Christian Wittman
Artwork: Christian Wittman
Recorded and produced at Nina Studio, Paris, October 2024-January 2025.
License
All rights reserved.Tags
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.
Contact: wittman.christian [at] gmail.com