Eleven- years after „World of Strings“, „Streams“ is the second solo record from Stephan Wittwer. If „World of Strings“ was a live recording, or, if you wish, naked guitar record, then „Streams“ presents itself as multi-layered, complex but thoroughly listenable textures. It reflects Wittwer s work with live electronics, which has led into a surprising, yet absolutely logical symbiosis. What is guitar and what is digitally processed, what is played live in real time and what was synthesized later — all this is no longer clearly recognizable.
Each track has its own history of origin and development. What all of them do have in common is that they are based on recordings of an electric guitar, with often quite unusual playing techniques, manual gestures and mechanical preparations/installations. Sometimes there was no amplifier nor loudspeaker involved (very quiet),sometimes there were several of them (very loud). In many cases there were analogue processors in the chain of the electrical signal - devices for ring modulation, voltage controlled filtering, valve distortion, dynamic compression, resonance, phasing and such.
Post-production was digital , hard disk - based, virtual studio-like, but also utilizing non-real-time computer music tools like spectral mutation, granular synthesis, convolution, modulation synthesis, wave shaping - plus some real-time-action with plug-ins of both pedestrian and exotic origin, primitive stomp-boxes in the signal path again, physical fader riding, layering, switching, alteration and degradation of the basic sonic material...there is some exceptional sequencing, but frequent spatial and/or electronic feedback.
Most often the linearity of the underlying improvisation was left intact in the process, the gestural information shines through or is obvious.
Each track consists only of material of the corresponding recording situation (be it microphone, line-in, or both) - there is no addition of “found” or “concrete” material - everything was already there, but possibly hidden in a subliminal area.