Bourbonese Qualk (mp3s)

I love it when a quality people once used to criticize a band for turns into that band’s selling point.  Take, for instance, the criticism that kept Bourbonese Qualk in obscurity for a career that spanned over twenty years and twelve albums: ‘too experimental for pop fans and too pop for experimental fans’.  Maybe I’m out of touch with society, but tasteful ‘experimental pop’ seems extremely salable today. I suppose Liverpool wasn’t quite ready for these early industrialists, whose sound ranges from dark-wavey jungle kraut to harsh ambient soundscapes.  Much of their work brings to mind Clock DVA and 808 State.  Over the years, BQ released material on seminal experimental labels such as Staalplaat, Korm Plastics and Praxis.

Even if all this makes Bourbonese Qualk salable, the band won’t capitalize on it since their entire discography is available for free in mp3 form on their website.  Below I’ve posted 1991’s compilation album Bo’Qu, a retrospective of select out of print tracks released following the relatively popular album ‘My Government is My Soul’.  The band continued to release material until the death of founding member Miles Miles in 2002.

Petit Mal | Gag | Shutdown | Makboun | Glass Works | Counter | Under The Influence | Let It Go | I've Heard Some Talk | God With Us | Lukunzi | Return To Order | Always There

Comments

[Mark Williams]

thanks for posting this. They were always one of my favorite artists from this period. A few minor quibbles/corrections, if you don't mind.

Miles Miles wasn't a founding member. He joined what was effectively their second line-up, after Simon Crab had split with fellow founding member Steven Tanza (who did several projects at The State thereafter). Also, I'm not sure why you referenced Liverpool, since I do believe they were a London outfit, more or less.

as for the 'tasteful experimental pop' bit, I don't think that was ever a component of their sound. BQ, right from the very beginning, was mostly on the experimental/industrial side of the equation (though with a melodic eye), and never really had a sound that could do the likes of a "Hot on the Heels of Love" (Throbbing Gristle), or thereabouts. When they pumped up their sound in the late '80s and had a more electronic/beat backbone (at times, and with a real drummer), perhaps that was where they lost some people. Who knows. I'll put their first 4 records up against anyone's output from that era, and their secondary period's "My Gov't Is My Soul" record is still as good as it gets for 1989.

[zom]

yeah thanks- good stuff. that's why i come here to be educated on new (old) sounds.
i was in the mood for these and didn't even know it.

[bela]

http://www.bourbonesequalk.net/

[maarten]

nice to see a band mentioned that i think received way too little attention while they were active. be sure to check out founder member simon crab's blog at http://crab.wordpress.com/ for the occasional post on the band.
at the risk of sounding like a total geek: the image at the top of the page seems to be the cover from the 'cast loose red net' cassette. could you tell me where it came from? never saw it before...

[Nash Roads]

Mark - Aside from the Liverpool thing, you are completely right. We both know that in a better world you would have written that article, not me. Thanks for being nice about it.

Bela - I do not know why you did that.

Maarten - You're in the company of total geeks, that's who wfmu is for! I just got that pic from the bourbonese qualk website, which bela just graciously informed me of.

[maarten]

ah! that explains things, as i never had the patience to click through them all, but right now i'm going keep at it until i'm sure i've seen every gem that's there. thanks! (of course i secretly hoped you had the actual tape, but it still might turn up somewhere sometime, just as this has: http://nostalgie-de-la-boue.blogspot.com/2008/04/bourbonese-qualk-unreleased-demo-radio.html)

[bela]

sorry
i missed your link

[Julian Gilbert]

Actually BQ founding members were from Southport,near Liverpool, not London. The real founding member was Simon Crab with his brother. He remet me (Julian Gilbert) and Steve Tanza who he knew from school, and we moved to London (without his brother) where we set about the project seriously. The real brains behind it was still Simon, though. I was only a member for a few early years (till about 1986 or so) and Steve and Simon continued together for about a couple of years more. In my opinion, BQ only started really doing good stuff when Simon teamed up with Miles Miles, I suppose some time near the end of the 80's.
Brings back memories but makes me feel really old.

[Julian Gilbert]

Incidentally, the artwork from the top (Cast Loose Red Net) is from a very early cassette cover (could be as early as 70's). Simon's actually a really good visual artist (he never seems to talk about it though) and most of the early artwork, like this, was his.