by Bernhard Wöstheinrich

In philosophy of mind, qualia are the raw, subjective “what it is like” aspects of conscious experience. They are the felt qualities of experiences, such as what it is like to see purple, taste coffee, feel pleasure, or hear a string note.

At its core, the Qualia Series is a sonic experiment. By stretching, reshaping, and transforming raw audio into entirely new textures, the series invites you into a space designed for deep listening. In previous releases, the music was built using a hands-off approach for the greater part. By layering complex sound modifiers and letting the audio morph on its own, the purpose is to step away from traditional performance and let unexpected, beautiful accidents happen.

With this latest release, the experiment evolves. For Qualia 005, I performed and tweaked the audio transformations live as they were being recorded, adding a layer of real-time improvisation and introducing back more of a personal touch.

While it remains a deeply contemplative ambient and drone album, this hands-on approach adds a new dimension. The result is a long-form piece that feels less static and more narrative, a sweeping sonic journey that tells a story from start to finish.

Step into the experience. Let Qualia unfold

credits

Composed, engineered and producted by Bernhard Wöstheinrich
Mastering by Markus Reuter

Artwork by Bernhard Wöstheinrich