Qualchan. presents ‘a mix of inspiration.’ [mix]

About this time last year, we shared a mix by Whettman Chelmets, whose most recent tape had made a big impression on us. Whettman Chelmets recently collaborated with Qualchan. on Theme∞Variations for Æscape Sounds, and so it felt like a good moment to invite Qualchan. to produce a mix for our readers as well.

Qualchan. first came to my attention with 2017’s vera’s dream., a hazy exploration of new age tropes. But the project has a deep discography, with the prolific bedroom producer releasing tapes, CD-Rs, and digital releases on a number of labels including No Problema, Strategic Tape Reserve, Czaszka, and especially his own Peradam Tapes. Qualchan. is the project Ryan Durfee, a Seattle-based multi-media artist, animal right’s activist, and a contributor to the excellent podcast Tab’s Out. Ryan has crafted an exquisite mix for deep night contemplation, a soothing salve that so many of us need at this time.  It’s our pleasure to share Qualchan.’s a mix of inspiration. Enjoy. (Joseph Sannicandro)

MINI-INTERVIEW

Please introduce yourself.

 

hiya! i’m a multi-discplinary artist residing deep in the heart of the pacific northwest. i’ve been recording as qualchan. for eight years now but have been making music for almost twenty five. i started out as a teen trying to wed kitaro to angel hair on my buddy’s four track to making treated guitar pieces in my early twenties to dj’ing screwed 7″s at house parties in texas in my late twenties to now making hazy beats indebted to dj screw & jefre cantu~ledesma.

 

Wow, this totally resonates with me. Excellent. Tell us about the mix

 

i have terrible insomnia, so these are the songs i listen to at two in the morning while smoking a cigarette & staring up at the stars.

 

Any artists labels venues etc in your local scene you want to plug? Based on your artist name I assume the project has a strong sense of rootedness in Cascadia?

 

although i’m not the most outgoing person, i have made some great connections from living up here for the last eight years. i would love to give a shout out to evan crankshaw, norm/panabrite, adam from eiderdown records, will/prana crafter, gregg skloff, josh/the modern folk, & dave segal who gave me my first real write up in the stranger (a seattle weekly) a few years ago. there aren’t any active venues that really strike me offhand, but i do wanna say rip to cairo which was one of the best places to see music in seattle.

 

The pandemic has obviously upended the norms of music performance. Maybe I’ve just been depressed but I haven’t found too much that has enticed me to watch (though I loved Lil’ Jurg Frey). Have there been any live streams or other quarantine performances that have impressed you?  Have you done any yourself?

 

to be perfectly honest, at the beginning of covid i was spending waaaaay too much time on the internet, so now i have cut it back to maybe an hour or two a week so i can catch up on emails/dms, & that’s about it. it’s been a lot healthier for me, so unfortunately no, but i’d love to see gunter schlienz do a livestream, i had the pleasure of seeing him play in seattle a few years ago to about ten or fifteen people & it was one of the most beautiful things i’ve seen.

 

Any upcoming releases or anything to plug?

 

yeah, i have a split with phirnis coming out in the next couple of weeks, & this crazy cassingle comp that features so many folks… panabrite, rangers, brad rose, raica, leaaves, cruel diagonals, missing organs & a ton of others. other than that, i just wanna say thanks to joseph for allowing me to do this interview & mix, i had a lot of fun making it & i hope everyone enjoys listening to it!

TRACKLIST

1. sab ~ yume-no-ishi
2. dada ~ 遊宴。妊楽。餓鬼
3. osamu sato ~ chu tend (ambient mix)
4. seed ~ falling bodies alight
5. palomatic ~ flutter
6. speaking furniture ~ intervision
7. pacific 231 ~ adventures in a tropical temple
8. child’s view ~ pendulum
9. tolerance ~ two owls