Qntal is a German dark wave band founded in 1991 by Michael Popp and Ernst Horn. They later added vocalist Syrah (Sigrid Hausen) to complete the band.
The band has roots in Estampie, an acoustic band based on "authentic" Early music, whereas Qntal is a dark electronic "crossover" project. Michael Popp and Syrah are the principal members. Horn left the group in 1999, to concentrate on his other band, Deine Lakaien. He later formed Helium Vola in 2001. Philipp Groth (a.k.a. Fil) then joined Qntal. In 2008, singer and violist Sarah M. Newman (Mariko) left the New York–based band Unto Ashes to work with Qntal and Estampie in Germany.
The band's lyrics are primarily drawn from historical sources. Throughout their first three albums, lyrics were primarily in Latin, medieval German, Galician-Portuguese and a few other European tongues. On Qntal IV, the band added a few songs in English to their body of work. Two tracks from this album, Cupido and Flamma, reached the 2005 DAC, peaking at № 1 and № 8 respectively.
"Qntal" is an unknown word that appeared in one of Syrah's dreams. Pronounced by her as [kɑn-tʌl].
Qntal has headlined at significant goth and industrial music festivals such as Wave-Gotik-Treffen and M'era Luna. Qntal's debut U.S. concert took place in September 2004 at Dracula's Ball in Philadelphia. In 2007, 2008, and 2011 the band was featured in the Bad Faerie Ball at the Baltimore FaerieCon.
Discography Studio albums Year Title Label Peak positionsGER 1992 Qntal I Gymnastic Records — 1995 Qntal II Gymnastic Records — 2003 Qntal III: Tristan und Isolde Stars in the Dark / Noir Records — 2005 Qntal IV: Ozymandias Drakkar Entertainment / Noir Records 71 2006 Qntal V: Silver Swan Noir Records 74 2008 Qntal VI: Translucida Drakkar Entertainment 77 2014 Qntal VII Drakkar Entertainment — 2018 Qntal VIII: Nachtblume Drakkar Entertainment — 2022 Qntal IX: Time Stands Still Drakkar Entertainment —
EPs Year Title Label 2003 Nihil Stars in the Dark / Vielklang Musikproduktion 2004 Illuminate Noir Records
Compilations 2008 – Purpurea: The Best Of, Drakkar Entertainment
Singles 2002 – O, Tristan 2003 – Entre Moi 2005 – Cupido 2005 – Flamma 2006 – Von den Elben 2008 – Sumer 2017 – Music on the Waters 2018 – Die finstere Nacht 2018 – Nachtblume 2022 – Winterly Waves
Special releases 2006 – Qntal V: Silver Swan 2 CD; Noir Records Special Edition featuring artwork by Brian Froud
Compilation appearances 1993 – "Por Mau Tens" on German Mystic Sound Sampler Volume IV, Zillo 1993 – "Ad Mortem Festinamus" on We Came To Dance - Indie Dancefloor Vol. III, Sub Terranean 2005 – "Ecce Gratum (Club Mix)" on Asleep by Dawn Magazine Presents: DJ Ferrets Underground Mix #1, Asleep by Dawn Magazine 2005 – "Entre Moi Et Mon Amin" on Sleepwatching, Vol. 1 DVD, Asleep by Dawn Magazine 2006 – "Von Den Elben" music video on Asleep By Dawn - DJ Ferret's Underground Mix #2 CD/DVD, Asleep by Dawn Magazine
Members
Current members Sigrid "Syrah" Hausen (since 1991) – Vocals Michael Popp (since 1991) – Vocals, vielle, saz, shawm, oud, tar Mariko (since 2010) – Violist, backing vocals Markus Köstner (since 2005) – Live drummer
Former members Ernst Horn (1991–1999) Philipp "Fil" Groth (2002–2014) – Keyboards, vocals, guitars, programming
References
External links
Qntal Official Website Qntal listing at Discogs.com
Qntal Official Myspace Run by Andreas Meck and Cypress