ANCESTRAL is an innovative musical composed and produced by Quilla and choreographed by LeDarius Parker. It is an intergenerational story told through dialog and live dance sequences accompanied by a powerful electronic score. The narrative focuses on a group of characters who reside in modern-day Greensboro, NC. Each character encounters one of their ancestral figures during a dream, and undergoes a transformative process.
This project is being created with support from a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council and partnering arts councils, as well as artist residency award by Creative Greensboro.
ANCESTRAL will premiere on April 27-28-29-30, 2023 at the Stephen D. Hyers Theatre in the Greensboro Cultural Center.
PURCHASE TICKETS
LATEST ALBUM
Quilla’s third studio album, The Handbook of Vivid Moments (Ritual Fire Records), beautifully weaves elements of her Latinx heritage with dancefloor beats. Uplifting and contemplative, the album explores themes such as climate change, transformation and women’s empowerment. The album is available on all platforms here: https://orcd.co/
Buy | Stream here
Quilla’s album was written and produced in her home studio in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was created with support from the North Carolina Arts Council and the partnering arts councils of the Regional Artist Project Grant Program (2020). Their support is gratefully acknowledged. The printing of physical albums was also made possible by an Artist Support Grant from ArtsGreensboro and the NC Arts Council in 2021.
ALBUM CREDITS
Music, lyrics, electronic production and mixing by Quilla
Vocal production by Quilla and Mike Garrigan
Violin on Track 5 by Kate Musselwhite Tobey
Mastering by Holger Lagerfeldt
Cover art by Marty O’Connor
ALBUM REVIEWS
“Mixing elements of heritage and genre in tune with body and space, The Handbook of Vivid Moments, the third record from Greensboro electro-artist, Quilla— the artistic persona from Montreal-born Anna Luisa Daigneault— serves as a vessel for expression and empowerment in a time of dystopia, laid amongst dance floor beats.” – YES! Weekly
“The Greensboro musician and producer emphasizes biological cycles, family relationships and women’s liberation in her music. And those themes stand out… [in] her most recent album, The Handbook of Vivid Moments. While the album features multilingual lyrics and ranges from dancehall beats to ethereal soundscapes, the electro-vocal tracks remain extraordinarily accessible. The welcoming groove is a product of Quilla’s thorough checks on audio quality.” – The State of Things (WUNC)
INTERVIEWS
Digging into the sounds of CREEP with Quilla – WUNC interview (Oct 2022)
Anywhere But Here GSO – Podcast interview (June 2022)
UNCSA Changemakers (January 2022)
Authority Magazine (April 2021)
The State of Things (WUNC Radio, January 2021)
Pathways: Art & Technology (October 2020)
Yes!Weekly (September 2020)
Off the Beat podcast with Dr. Wally Wallace (Ep. 6, Dec. 2018)
Artists at Work Podcast (Artstitution, November 2018)
Gate City Live Podcast (October 2018)
RELEASES
BOOK LAUNCH! Quilla is featured as the letter “Q” in this new book published by GIA Publications. Order today. Read more on Quilla’s blog post.
VIDEOS
BLOODLINES | Composed and produced by Quilla, choreographed by LeDarius Gipsi Parker and directed by Alexei Mejouev, this song is the opening sequence to Quilla’s new musical, ANCESTRAL
BOW THE REBEL QUEEN | Music video out now! Choreographed by LeDarius Parker and directed by Alexei Mejouev, this video was filmed in Greensboro in 2021 with Triad-based multimedia artists.
BIT ROSIE | Quilla was featured in an episode of a documentary series that explores the home studios and creative processes of women and gender non-conforming music producers around the globe. Bit Rosie is produced, directed and edited by multimedia artist Adele Fournet.
BEANS BEANS BEANS | Quilla’s music video for her viral track “Beans Beans Beans” premiered on PBS Kids NC & Rootle in July 2021! Read more.
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RAVENS AND THE WRENS | Out now! Quilla co-produced a dreamy electronic folk track written by one of her favorite songwriters and collaborators, Molly McGinn. Read more about this production.
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Music video directed and produced by s/n (Jennida Chase & Hassan Pitts), in conjunction with the Media Studies Department at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. The track is available for streaming everywhere. Sagittarius was officially featured at multiple film festivals in in 2019 and 2020. See blog post for the full list of festivals.
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TV APPEARANCE | Quilla was on UNC-TV / PBS (Public Media North Carolina) on May 2nd, 2019, during “MUSE: The Arts Show” which also included segments on A/V Geeks and Art-o-Mat. View full credits here.