De Qualia: a term used to describe the subjective quality of conscious experience.
Qualia embody the ineffable.
Music for me has always been an invitation to shed my layers and surroundings in pursuit of an unchartered fold in existence. My entry into the subculture of electronic music came about when I traded linear story-telling for abstract forces, thus cultivating an appreciation for nuanced sound and complexities. For me, electronic music is an imagery driven art form, and for Jonathan Baruc, AKA De Qualia, its power lies in its ability to conjure a setting with a texture-induced soundscape.
It’s a “cerebral braille.”
New York native and current Cambridge resident Baruc is what I call the haute couture of electronic music production. With an obligation to aesthetics and a painstakingly detail-oriented eye, De Qualia, meaning “embody the ineffable,” traverses genres in order to fulfill his desire to define a sound. It’s a tireless devotion, “a blessed unrest,” as Martha Graham called it, but it’s the outpouring of these visions that push sound forward and out of the shadows.
De Qualia’s hour-plus promo mix for Make It New, “Octavo Format”, straddles the liminal space where art and technology collide; a union of the old and new, current and future, thus making it quite new. In maintaining this spirit, De Qualia integrates originally produced tracks that hold their own next to the big names. Flowing in at 7:15 is “Aldine Press”, a seamlessly produced track on the exterior, but one that’s rich backstory begs for explanations to unasked questions. Deeper listening into the mix does not solve any questions but rather conjures more, so for now, I will settle on the “divine dissatisfaction” (Graham again).
Baruc rarely plays live, since his focus is on his work, so tonight will be a special evening at Make It New with the De Qualia debut and of course those all star resident boys: Alan Manzi and Baltimoroder. Where’s David Day you ask? In here. Just kidding. He’ll be there, too.
Octavo Format (Make It New promo mix) by De Qualia
MAKE IT NEW WITH DEQUALIA
WITH ALAN MANZI AND BALTIMORODER
THU 6.28.12
MIDDLESEX
315 MASS AVE.
CAMBRIDGE
617.868.6739
9PM/21+/FREE
@MIDDLESEXLOUNGE
MIDDLESEXLOUNGE.US
© 1999-2013 Dig Publishing LLC. All Rights Reserved.
