Qua - Forgetabout


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Qua

Forgetabout

Track List

1	Little Branches & Little Birds	1:29
2	Monkey Sleep	5:07
3	Vienna	6:05
4	Broadcast	7:34
5	800x600	4:24
6	Forgetabout	3:34
7	8tk	3:06
8	Robot unknown	5:17
9	Duet For Guitar And Fridge	1:52
10	Generating Set	7:10
11	sys_environment	4:37
12	The Air Is Thin In Here	7:00
13	Oneiric	4.15

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Review

Another Review

The distinction between so-called "electronic music" and other kinds of pop/folk music has always been a bit of a line in the sand. The extremes are easy enough to point out - the Beatles are not electronic music, Autechre are - but somewhere in between, with artists sampling live performances and musicians applying digital recording technology to their own work, things get much more muddled. Spiritualized remix LFO. Oval gets released on a label alongside indie bands. That all seems pretty glorious from where I'm sitting, listening to Forgetabout, the beautiful debut album by Qua.

With its gentle chiming sounds, field recordings, and guitar parts, I could imagine Forgetabout, going down well with fans of older Kraut rock outfits such as Ash Ra Tempel, Cluster or even the very earliest, pre-Autobahn Kraftwerk. At the same time, there are many very contemporary sounds and details that should appeal to fans of recent electronics. Anyone who enjoyed Greg Davis's Arbor (Carpark) would surely find plenty to be happy with here.

As a whole, the album is quite meditative and dream like, the notable exceptions being the bouncy "800x600", with its fun electo beat and voice-like gurgling melody, and the choppy tech-dub of "8tk", where cheerful slices of guitar are carried by a gentle four on the floor rhythm.

"8tk" is one of several tunes on Forgetabout where the influence of Mouse on Mars shows through. "Monkey Sleep", "Robot Unknown" and "Generating Set" all give a nod (or two) to the wandering dub and distorted melodies Jan and Andi (Mouse on Mars) were creating circa Iaora Tahiti (Too Pure). On the other side of the fence, the washed out guitars of the title track recall Slowdive circa Souvlaki (Creation).

All in all Forgetabout is an excellent debut. Qua covers a lot of ground across 13 tracks, but also holds things together as a whole. Tunes can be focused on at a micro scale, as little contrasting sounds shift the mood repeatedly, or the album can be taken as a whole as a rather psychedelic journey.

Michael Upton

(Courtesy of Igloo Mag)

	The melbourne based cornel wilczek, in his qua debut "forgetabout", accomplishes what it takes most artists 3 or 4 albums to really perfect. Harmony. a subtle balance of styles and techniqes that never seem out of place, or running on top of each other. Qua manages to dole out gentle melodies over well-textured atmospheres of both organic instrumentation, and electric distortions of the finest caliber. "little branches & little birds", which begins the album, is a series of electric burps and blips, all sputtering out over some droning noise. 'Broadcast' starts with over a minute of somewhat harsh electric tone work, that just melds into a soft guitar rhythm, then, a hot cup of beats are poured throughout. All elements work through into a melting pot of sounds that really works. Considering the amount of different sounding material all being worked into one track, it would seem like overkill, but its certainly not. 'Monkey sleep' gets pure nintendo by the middle mark. and some of the noises produced, especially on this track, are just so weird, that its refhreshing, to hear some sounds that haven't been over-recycled. In a time where venetian snares and kid606 are reigning champs, its nice to flip the script every once in a while and put something on that is both soothing and entertaining. Another solid from Surgery Records. we like. :) Phillip Raffaele (Courtesy of Absorb)



	On this exceptional debut album, Qua brings together a collection of organic electronic compositions, both wilfully naive and distinctly mature. A beautiful mixture of gentle organic chimes, electronic percussive clicks, organic field recordings and near-ambient guitar parts. The result is a crossover between the excessive, laboured craft of electronica and the spontaneous, immediate art of improvisation. Akin to genre-crossing organic contemporary sound artists like Nobuzaki Takemura, Susumu Yokota, Mouse On Mars and Jim O'Rourke. Beautiful art design akin to the quality of international labels like Leaf. Latest release from one of this country's finest and most acclaimed electronic music labels, Adelaide's SURGERY RECORDS. (Inertia PR)