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Recommended by us on 24th April 2009
...according to our Brett on Thu 23 Apr, 2009.
Wiqwar is the collective name for the output created by the brothers Wickwar and this s/t effort is the follow up to the well received Fence records release last year. The Wickwar brothers ideas are both refreshing and uplifting much like a can of my favorite carbonated grapefruit drink T'ing. Wiqwar, like T'ing provide a refreshing alternative to other stuff that sounds similar but not as good and I must say I am fully charmed and refreshed by this record. The warm buzz and hum of guitars perfectly accompanies the organic percussive samples that make up the beats. Tracks are both emotive yet playful and fun for the listener with both dense an complex ideas made light and listenable. Some of it reminds of River State Widening or Pullman but with more of an acoustica-electronic slant. They've also done a great job with the recording which is crisp, warm and remarkably well balanced, plus they sure as hell know how to record an acoustic guitar proper. Also, props for the self-release. It's a tough world out there for the truly independent artist and I wish them all the best for the future. 2007 saw the release of Russell Wickwars’ first cd on the mighty Fence Records, and national airplay courtesy of Rob Da Bank. Two years on and wiQwar are double the size and self-releasing their new album of instrumental acoustic-electronica.
With the help of brother Lewis, wiQwar has become a live act of Laptop/Guitar/Ukulele that has had the privilege to play with the likes of King Creosote, David Thomas Broughton, This is the Kit, Kaki King, The Owl Service and Nancy Wallace around the country, including appearances at Fence’s legendary Homegame Festival in Fife in 2008 and 2009.
Recent radio exposure has come from Tom Robinson, Stuart Maconie, Future Dario, BBC Norfolk Introducing and the 'Sideways Through Sound Radio' show broadcast in Australia.
The sound of wiQwar is rooted in the diverse musical influences the Wickwar brothers feed each other and a love of picking up and playing instruments, irrespective of whether they can or not. All their sounds come from home-made recordings of acoustic instruments (beaten guitars, melodica, bits of percussion, that little blue “Angel” glockenspiel most bands own) which have been processed and sequenced and built into beats and soundscapes, accompanying finger-picked guitar melodies.
Some people have said:
"...wiQwar’s blissed-out-summer-sun-kissed acoustic buzzings became the soundtrack for most of the autumn and winter - saving us from having to use the fan-heater. Now the summer is almost upon us, and wiQwar has cobbled together a picket fence entitled “village hall” - best accompanied by watching the sun’s glow through closed eyelids." - FENCE RECORDS
"...wiQwar are making the most beguiling acoustic instrumental music you could wish to hear. They encompass guitars, ukuleles and laptops live, with sampled kalimbas and melodicas, and a whole host of other instruments. Their blend of haunting, atmospheric Autumnal tunes such as 'The Barn', through to soundtracks for a perfect summer's day as in the evocative 'Sun & Wine' are quite simply stunning. A hint of 70s Ambient, mixed with a pinch of 60s acoustic finger picking guitar, and modern technology given the wiQwar treatment equals bliss. Superb" Richard Penguin's Musical Triangle in TRIANGLE magazine.
"...Wiqwar's multi-instrumentalist Russell Wickwar blends guitar, banjo and lap steels with laptop beats. Enjoy the folk-bluesy opener before Broughton pulls out the weird stuff." - FLAVORPILL website (Not that I play banjo or lap steel yet! UPDATE - I NOW HAVE A LAP SLIDE!)
"...In attempting to avoid phrases like 'blissed out' or 'multi-instrumentalist', I discover that I am at a loss to describe this noise, indeed, I do not want to write about it. I just want to listen. And pass it on. At the end of the evening, at the beginning of the day, in the heat of the afternoon, in the cold of my room. Guitar fed to laptop, laptop sings out, everyone shivers..." - THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE AMPLIFIED review (thanks Roz!!)
"...the lazy, skittering electro-folk of guitar/laptop duo wiQwar underpins an altogether gentler Sunday afternoon..." - Preview for Fence Hop weekend in METRO online magazine
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Norman Records,
Unit 20, Croydon House,
Croydon Street,
Leeds,
LS11 9RT, UK.
Tel/fax: (+44) 0113 245 4399
Email: phil@normanrecords.com
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