With a combination of stunning electronics, confident storytelling, and clever songwriting, The Qualia is prepared to redefine boundaries with the release of its first record, Nevada’s Greatest!  The musical project of Lars Casteen, a native of Charlottesville, VA, and collaborators, The Qualia pulls from a wide range of influences, from electro-industrial to krautrock and country, to create unique singable and danceable songs about the trials of finding oneself in the western world.

A longtime enthusiast for electronic music, Lars worked through dozens of zero budget instrumental demo tracks in the EBM/industrial dance style before setting off on a transition to full-fledged songwriting and starting The Qualia as a fully realized project.  Finding himself attracted to the storytelling song style of artists such as Nick Cave and Lyle Lovett, Lars steadily started working characters and narratives into his writing, working towards a distinctive voice and personal style.

The Qualia's first record, Nevada's Greatest!, was released in 2007 on WTII Records.  The music on Nevada’s Greatest! features a compelling mixture of lush synthesizers, sequenced beats, and sparse guitars.  Lyrically, the record includes a unique combination of fantastical western storytelling and reflections on current affairs, through topics bordering on personal, political, and sociological.

In late 2008, The Qualia started playing live shows, bringing the music of Nevada's Greatest! to stages around New York and beyond. With Lars singing and playing guitar, Chvad SB (from Things Outside The Skin) on electronics, and Rossen Nedelchev on drums, The Qualia is playing songs from Nevada's Greatest! as well as selections from a forthcoming full-length record in 2009.

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