Qik, aka Rexilient, has been with Aula Magna Records right from the beginning, and thus far we’ve known him for his rave and techno outputs. On ‘Alba’ he gives way to an introspective approach. And we’ve decided to dissect our analysis, to describe what we’ve heard, and arrive at a conceptual interpretation.
1/ ‘So Now Just You’: Overture sci-fi piece with percussion elements and thick synths, with chirping birds towards the end.
2/ ‘Sonho’: Oscillating reverberations, more percussive elements, a sustained static texture, hidden samples, post-industrial vibes. Electrical circuits dissolving in the air. Pastoral elements come to the surface of a digital swamp.
3/ ‘Alba’: First hint of melodies are peaking through field recordings. Here the time gets distorted, it feels definitely shorter, beatless yet fast paced.
4/ ‘Las Tres Puertas’: Transition elements. Bells. A satisfying pendulum effect. Diggin’ through jammin’, some jewels are being unearthed. It feels like the whole album so far has been trying to wake from something. But from what?
5/ ‘Futura’: While it ascends, ethereal and alien distorted samples widen the sound spectrum, with hints of new horizons. As if all of a sudden Qik’s radar caught a glimpse of destiny on his sonic odyssey. Something new arises at the end of the composition, is this a new normality? At the same time, the looped-psychedelic notes are quiet now. The percussion is no longer in contrast with the digital effects. Now it’s all embedded with a tribal feeling. Is this a message?
6/ ‘La Quietud En El Movimiento’: Field recordings, and the first recognisable human voices. Perhaps a laughter in the distance. Things are more clear now. This sounds as if it was coming from a distance. ‘La Quietud..’ might as well be an extra-hidden track, due to what happens after the ending that was unveiled in the previous song. The future of the future. Or is it a distant memory from the past? It goes back and forth. Clinking noises on the distance, water drops, reverberations oscillating into granular pads. The swamp again. Bells. Which is the road chosen by Qik?
One can’t help but think about the quarantine throughout all this process. Was the path chosen or was this imposed on him? It seems like the beginning of the album was something that he had to do due to the forced self-isolation, but right in the middle of the whole he realised that the ending was up to him. In our opinion, the core of this release is on the second half of the album, or to be more precise: on the 3rd, 4th and 5th track. First two songs are an introduction to his world, showing us the distinctive elements that will interact and generate a result on ‘Alba’, ‘Las Tres Puertas’ and ‘Futura’. In other words, the beginning was the description of Qik’s surroundings, while starting from the eponymous composition – where we felt that time distortion – he started describing where he wants to be.
But what about the final song? It’s the aftermath, it has echoes of laughter and happiness, and distant bells. This makes us think of a return to consciousness, an awakening. And it gives us hope. In a sonic way.
