Quetzal Guerrero is a multi-instrumental composer, songwriter and producer better known by his musical moniker of QVLN.
He is a self-proclaimed student of music for whom a community spans the entire globe, yet he still feels incredibly at home within the populace of artists and musicians in Melbourne.
Initially planned as a quick sojourn “to just break bread and reconnect” with dear ones, the upcoming trip to Melbourne with his wife Sunshine Zerada aka DJ Sunny Z has morphed into a headline show at renowned Melbourne live music venue Ferdydurke.
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Although none of this is unfamiliar to the multi-talented musical duo, who lived in Melbourne for a year or so and often factor in live shows when they travel.
“We’ve been to Ferdydurke a few times before,” says QVLN. “Especially when we used to live in Melbourne. That was one of our spots that we frequented, mainly because it always had great performances and music.
“Their partner venue Section 8 was basically our church, we used to go there all the time to see all the great acts. We have performed at Section 8 a few times as well, so for us it feels like a homecoming. We’re not from Melbourne, but we called Melbourne home for a year, so we felt very connected and integrated into the arts and music scene, so for us it feels like a homecoming.”
The refrain of “it feels like a homecoming” assumes great significance for Guerrero and Sunshine, because of the integral nature of collaboration within the music they mould and sharing that with the world.
This zeal has seen them move around the globe in search of artistic connections. However, a lot of these collaborative projects reside in friendships established with artists based in Australia.
“A lot of my new music has come from collaboration,” says QVLN. “One of them specifically is TEYMORI or Amin Payne, he is a good friend of mine who I connected with when I first moved to Melbourne. We were working together remotely during the pandemic to create some good music.”
“I work with another Australian group called Oyobi, DJ Sunny Z and I play a lot of our collaborations with them.”
And yet despite for the most part of the last two years being forced to interact digitally to create with others, QVLN is full of gratitude for the opportunity to once again have time in the studio and travel.
“Since I’ve been back in Australia, I’ve been able to meet physically with other artists to collaborate,” says QVLN. “One of the artists’ that I’ve been collaborating with quite a bit since I’ve returned is Julian BelBachir, a Moroccan-Australian musician/producer.”
“He featured a lot of my playing and collaboration on his recent album. After Melbourne I’m travelling to Morocco and Mali to meet with him and do some more recording and collaborating in Africa.”
The looming trip to Africa is yet another example of Guerrero’s desire to engage with music and culture around the world, and to collaborate with musicians.
He attributes this to the ongoing journey he sees himself on as a student of music and culture, particularly that which has influenced so much of contemporary electronic music.
“For us [Sunny and I] it’s an opportunity to not only learn about the music, but to connect with the culture. Learn about the roots of where our current electronic music derives from. House music and techno music are both styles of music that came from the African diaspora, they were birthed and inspired by Afrobeat.”
“To be able to go to Africa with an invitation from some of these very established artists, is a huge opportunity to learn, to get inspired and to continue my own growth as a student of music. So, for me this is just part of my own life journey of education and integration of music in all its forms.”
It’s hard to know exactly what the audience can expect for the upcoming Ferdydurke performance given the diversity of music the duo dabbles in.
“I’m not confirmed on what I will be adding to the production for Ferdydurke because it is quite a small space,” says QVLN.
However, Guerrero suggests that attendees of the gig can expect a seamless fusion of refined djing and live instrumentation.
“I often play electric violin and sing in my live performances, sometimes I will have some live percussion that I will add. For the Ferdyduke show, I’ll probably just be playing electric violin and vocals.”
“As for Sunny Z, she is a purest when it comes to djing. She brings so much energy, she is a great mixer and knows how to read the crowd, trust her intuition, and lead the songs and beats where they need to go to continue engaging with the audience. Mixing is really her forte.”
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Catch QVLN this Friday December 16 at Ferdydurke. Free entry and DJs from 8pm. For all other info, head to the Facebook event here.
