Decadent Electronic Art-pop-noir laden with electronic beats, guitar atmospherics, classical-inspired piano and female vocals. Brought to you from the frozen Canadian prairies.

6 MP3 Songs
POP: with Electronic Production, POP: Piano



Details:
âThe sound of Enya and Tori Amos dropping LSD and getting right paranoid.â Melissa Martin, Uptown Magazine, January 24, 2002

Punk and classical music, lush melodies and sexy grooves, Querkus mesh rough with smooth. The haunting vocals of Karen Asmundson and electronic beats of Edgar Ozolins have seen critics trying to pigeonhole the act since its inception in 1999.

Querkus - once called classical art-pop and electronic pop-noir - remains happily, elusively unclassifiable. With their dreamy, musical meanderings, Querkus is⦠Querkus.

Karen Asmundson, vocalist and pianist, initiated the project and wanted to combine well-crafted, piano/guitar based pop songs with dramatic, electronic orchestrations. Asmundson called on Edgar Ozolins guitar wizardry to add classical style and well-placed noise to the mix. At gigs, live instrumentation is often used with spaced out electronic beats and sequences.

Rising from the ashes of Celineâs Real Killer - Asmundson and Ozolinsâ previous band - Querkus hit Winnipegâs music scene in 1999. Asmundson wanted to perform her own creations and introduced Ozolins to the chaos. Over the years the duo has become a formidable songwriting team, with frequent live performances including support slots for notable acts such as Sarah Slean, DJ Andy Smith of Portishead, and Ember Swift.

Querkus debuted their first EP No Direction at a sold out release party in January 2002. With airplay on CBC, the EP spent several weeks at #1 on UMFM 101.5 FM, #2 on CKUW 95.9 FM and was a staple on college radio charts across Canada throughout 2002. Querkus toured the EP across eastern Canada in October 2002. A limited-edition live album, The Fire Behind Us, was released in September 2003 at the UMFM Autumn Art Expo to an audience of 300. Most of the live album was recorded during a single performance in Toronto during the 2002 tour. The Fire Behind Us also features two studio tracks recorded at Precursor Productions and a remix by Winnipeg DJ Joe Silva.

Querkus has also become entrenched in Winnipegâs underground film scene, creating music for many local independent film projects. Querkus is currently writing music for a variety of film projects as well as recording their first full length studio album, scheduled for release in fall 2007.


Press Reviews

âQuerkus uses traditional pop music as a base, augmented by flourishes of jazz, industrial and trip-hopâ â Rob Williams, Winnipeg Sun (May 23, 2002).

â(Querkus) sends you into a dark, swirling existence that seems scary, but at the same time you donât want to leave, craving moreâ. --- Derek Penhale, Swerve Queer Newsmagazine (February 2002).

âSomehow orchestral, rich with effects, and highly dramatic, this music explores the dark and the beautifulâ â Tom, Stylus Magazine (February, 2002)

âThe sound seems to come from all directions, the layers of programmed sounds mixed with the subtle piano, the powerful guitar sound, and Dunhamâs lilting vocals to form a sound that is purely Querkus.â --- Jeff Robson, The Uniter (January 24, 2002)

âBoth Dunham's keyboard playing and Ozolins' six-string work are classically inspired, yet are dark, original and innovative, in a new age cabaret sort of way.â --- Chuck Molgat, Exclaim! Magazine (December 19th, 2001)

âThe bastard progeny of Nine Inch Nails and Rachmaninov, with Tori Amos providing midwife dutiesâ --- Chuck Molgat, Uptown Magazine (May 17th, 2001)