Andrew Weatherall: Qualia review – sumptuous take on dancefloor solitude

“Qualia” is a lovely word for the private sensations of experience. Or the private experience of sensations. Either way, it’s an excellent take on the communal solitude of the dancefloor, all of us alone together. Appropriately, where Weatherall’s last album Convenanza was largely expansive and vocal-led, Qualia is more insular and instrumental. Over the last few years, the DJ-producer has been proselytising for slower, lower dance music, but this set goes for a mid-paced, light feel with live-sounding drums, no brass and little bass. Apart from Vorfreude 2’s militant chug, it’s unexceptional. Sumptuous listening, immaculately constructed, but lacking the malevolent heft of his classics.