- Order number: DRAK_2649L
- Release date: 12/16/2022
- EAN: 884860472326
- Band: Qntal
- Label: Drakkar Entertainment
- Set content: 1
With 3D-lenticular cover print!
GENRE: Gothic / Avantgarde
For Fans Of: Estampie, Vocame, Dead Can Dance, Helium Vola
When the project Qntal with its unheard mixture of medieval and electronic music appeared on the scene for the first time in 1992, the amazement was great. People knew medieval music, but of course they had also heard electronic sounds. In personal union, however, never before. Until today Qntal are among the pioneers of their self-created genre; with "Qntal IX- time stands still" they add another beguiling chapter to their flawless work show.
Inspired by multilingual poetry, Qntal enchant their unusually broad audience. They come from all directions. From the medieval scene as well as from the electronic corner, from the mourning flor of gothic as well as from the bearish heavy metal movement, from pop circles as well as from classical music. They travel to concerts from as far away as South America, Japan or Spain. What is truly special about the artfully conceived and sensitively realized soundscapes is precisely this diversity and the outstanding talent that Syrah and Michael Popp demonstrate.
The new opus "Qntal IX- time stands still" allows, with all its depth, an immediate dive, a return, a real coming home into this enchanted, delicate musical world: penetrating vocals, undulating, elegiac harmonies, oscillating electronics, for the first time co-designed by Christian "El Conde" Käufl. Festive, almost sacral aura, catchy melodies, unusual guests. That we had to wait a bit for this new album has good reasons: The last few years were a bitter break for many musicians due to the Corona specifications and let time really stand still. Syrah and Popp live out their lives in a purely medieval way with Estampie, in a purely vocal way with VocaMe - and now again with electronic amplification. "When you've done mainly classical church concerts for a year," says composer Popp, "you do get drawn back to computers and electronics."
The numbering of the current record already gives it away: Qntal's work carries a common thread, is inseparably connected. Syrah sees this as a "catalog raisonné," a clearly delineated work process within the framework of which the two are then nevertheless completely free. "We feel like we're connected to all the songs, just like all the songs are connected to each other," says the studied singer. "I read and collect poems and lyrics throughout the year that inspire us. There, of course, the Middle Ages are a great treasure trove. The texts of English Romantic poets like William Wordsworth have also inspired setting. Here, for us, the romantic English spirit, the retrospective of a fantastic Middle Ages, and the poets' skill marry to form a veritable treasure trove of associations and a musical realization." This took place partly again in the breathtaking nature of Ireland, but equally in the spaces of their own imagination.
This time the new CD also features wonderful finds from ancient times and the edges of the world: Old Irish Celtic texts from the 8th century that capture lonely mythical moods on the Irish coast, and for the first time an old Japanese poem.
The journey through the centuries is complete once again. This and only this is how it works with Qntal, as Syrah says: "We make music with texts from past centuries, live from looking into the past and the future, radiating a certain timelessness." So as always with great art.
Sometimes there truly is a magic inherent in a beginning. Just like back then, all those years ago, when Syrah, Michael Popp and Ernst Horn launched Qntal. The unusual name, it must be mentioned, appeared to singer Syrah in a dream. And already with "Qntal I" the three, all studied musicians from the gravitational field of classical music, played themselves into the hearts of a scene that didn't even know it existed at that time. And thanks mainly to Qntal's unique crossovers, it grew and thrived. Electronic beats, medieval melodies, choirs and Syrah's rapturous vocals - new musical territory was broken here.
"Time stands still" is a tribute to the moment, the now, the pause - at the same time also an examination of the temporary decreed silencing of music in recent years. Syrah and Michael stand for a constant confrontation with their language, the music, can now express themselves in it again and have since their musical start in the 80s now 350 !!! Songs / titles written.
Tracklisting:
01. Winterly Waves
02. Fontanas
03. Don't Fear The Reaper
04. Quis Est Deus
05. Dancing With The Daffodils
06. L'on Dit Q'amors Est Dolce Chose
07. Mich Fing Die Minne
08. Black Byrd
09. Morungens Liebeslied
10. O Welt
11. Time Stands Still