Vells (Màgia Roja, 2009)

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Primitivistic music inspired by magic is created by Victor Hurtado, the creative force behind Qa’a in 2007 with a varied instrumentation that goes from electric viola, piano and snake-charmer’s flute to cymbals, modular synths and self-made instruments, with almost all other possibilities in between but with virtually no guitar. Moving from animalistic sexual pulsations, the reptile brain, noise-zen, surrealism, free savagery and minimalism. Huan uses space in an unusual way, orchestrating it with sounds that are almost visual and palpable. Far from cold and empty experimentalism this is visceral and alive music that’s almost like a living organism, an organism that is at times sick, dying or excited.

Huan is the alter ego of Víctor Hurtado a multi-instrumentalist and producer and distinguished member of Barcelona’s experimental scene in which he is active with many projects. He’s also the creative mind behind psychedelic-noise band Qa’a, with whom he’s toured Europe extensively and that counts Hans Jochim Irmler, Steve Stapleton and Julian Cope among their supporters. With his primitivistic industrial project Huan he’s toured several countries with highlighted shows such as at the Contemporaneous Art Centre of Barcelona, Sónar Chicago, Terminal in Oakland or at the Ethnological Museum of Barcelona. With Huan he’s also worked on several collaborations such as touring the US as an ensemble with Les Aus and as a sporadic collaborator of Nurse With Wound with whom he played live as a guest member at Primavera Sound Festival in 2013. He’s also worked in the field of sound art having garnered the Franco G. Maffina special mention for “most original piece” in the 2011 edition of the Luigi Russolo Sound Art Competition.

Since 2012 he performs with the project Jochen Arbeit & Huan together with the guitarrist of Einstürzende Neubaten/Die Haut and since 2014 with Hydra & Huan together with Catalan samplerist Adrià Bofarull.
jochenarbeitandhuan.bandcamp.com/album/jochen-arbeit-huan
hydrahuan.bandcamp.com/releases

In December 2013 he co-founded Ordre Etern together with Qa’a drummer Yarei Molina, later joined by Ignacio Lois (Banda d’Improvisadors de Barcelona).
www.facebook.com/ordreetern

Album review “Vells” by Rough Trade, London:

“Beautifully hand-made cdr. Huan is on loan from his mother-band Qa’a. ‘Bells’ is further out and crazed. sounding like something dredged up from the american counter-culture during the glory days of esp (think Cromagnon) and the furthest reaches of the most recent ‘free folk’ scene. The emphasis is on organic instruments, sound-art, voice, samples of disembodied sounds and of course bells. The cd throbs with an underlying sense of menace and ancient rituals.”

About

Huan

Barcelona, Spain