Grischa Lichtenberger – electronic music producer and visual artist living in Berlin; frequently collaborates with the cult Raster-Noton label. Known for his characteristic spatial compositions based on abstract deformations. His music is most often compared to “glitch”, an experimental style of electronic music dating to the 1990s.

Lichtenberger will visit Lublin with his brand-new material Kamilhan (la demeure / il y a péril en la demeure) recorded for Raster-Noton, whose premiere preceded by the Festival date.

His live sets are multimedia performances. In addition to music, the visual aspect, which is not limited to the role of an attractive background, is equally important. Sound and vision are two complementary means of expression that make up one coherent and fully original message.

To Lichtenberger, the visual layer is very important. The artist grew up in a farmhouse somewhere in the hinterland near Bielefeld (Westphalia), and there – he claims – his artistic strategy began to take shape. The artist derives his search from his relation to the surrounding landscape. In the light of his theory, the landscape is not only a picturesque fragment of unspoiled nature, but also an environment on which humans leave their footprints.

Lichtenberger’s signature jagged sound design finds its counterpart in an emotional depth of the musical structure. The artist puts a special emphasis on presenting personal emotions in his arrangements. He strives to ensure that his introspective moods are properly received both at the club and during the intimate presentation that we will be able to experience during the Festival. What is particularly palpable during his concerts is the touching sincerity that lies somewhere between the powerful beats of the sound and the tremble of subtle melodies. From the technological point of view, his productions seem perfect. However, these almost mathematical structures reveal elements of deconstruction relating to the psychology of failure and error. Because there lurks a shadow of ghostly despair hidden in the refined and specific forms.

Kamilhan (la demeure / il y a péril en la demeure)

 
Kamilhan – as the artist writes – is a word Ernst Bloch mentions in an anecdote. As a boy, he often went to the port to see sailors. He watched them and listened to their stories. He heard the word “kamilhan” during one of those trips. He was fascinated by the sound of the word itself because he didn’t know what it in fact meant. In childhood, we experience words precisely in their “material” form of sound – we rotate them in our memories, repeat them until they are completely detached from the assigned meaning. (…).

Bloch’s story reminded me of a narrative from my own childhood, in which I used to go along a long dirt road that led from my elementary school and would sing radio songs in English out loud, whose lyrics I did not understand at that time. Despite this, the radio hits sounded strangely familiar.

Using a computer-generated voice, I try to recreate this early experience on my latest album. I mean the sensation of the material “soundness” of the language itself. We hear syllables and phrases that resemble words, but their meaning remains illegible to us.

 

Lichtenberger performed audio-visual live sets at international festivals. He has also created several installations.

In 2009, he released his EP ~treibgut as part of the unun series on Raster-Noton, followed by his debut album i iv (inertia) in 2012. He went on to record and release a trilogy of EPs: Spielraum | Allgegenwart | Strahlung. For his work, he was awarded the prestigious 2013 Prix Ars Electronica.