Holroyd, Bob

Artist: Bob Holroyd
P: 2000
If you're just getting acquainted with asian-fusion but find the labyrinthine soundscapes of Talvin and Karsh too busy for your brain, then try Holroyd's A Different Space. It has all the Enigma-new-age energy you'd want to make you feel comfortable while pushing the boundaries of mixology a little bit at a time to ease you into it. Holroyd unimpeachably confuses musical traditions of Africa, India, and Europe to truly create a different space on this cd. Combining acid jazz, African, Indian and operatic vocals with horns, keyboards, guitars, drums and electro-synth pulses, A Different Space is unlike anything I've heard before.
The cd kicks off with the energetic "Drumming Up A Storm" which feels more like something you'd hear at a Carnival party south of the American equator... Celtic flutes take the journey down a more mellow road recalling an Indo-European lineage in "A Promise To Return."
North Africa follows in "Passing Through" as we cross the Nile Delta into ancient lands east, with time for reflection on "Dark Waters," a beautiful ambient respite before the pow-wow all-nighter of "African Drug [original tribal mix]."
The cd starts to waver a bit, new-age sensibilities start to creep in, but still far above any dreck churned out by the genre's luminaries... "The Sheer Weight Of Memory" almost seems to be reminding us of where this all came from: Passion.

Artist: Bob Holroyd
P: 2011
Afterglow is one of those special recordings that gets better with each playing. With repetition, the music gradually reveals more of what it's all about (which can frequently happen with this type of ambient minimalism). The first playing evokes the more easily recognized emotional resonance, but as one delves into these tone poems over and over, one "hears" more, whether actually discovering more musical aspects or, instead, resonating on a deeper level with the introspection that lies at the music's core.

Artist: Bob Holroyd
P: 2011
'Beachcombing' is the best kind of ambient album that creates a relaxing framework, yet doesn't require one to leave his or her critical faculties at the door. Bob Holroyd has created a very worthwhile and engaging album that is certainly worth a listen.
It's unlikely that Brian Eno had any idea of the can of worms he was opening when he described the new sounds he'd conjured for his 1975 album, 'Discreet Music' as ambient. In the more than three decades that have passed since that landmark record, the genre has exploded (if one can use such a dramatic word for a style of music that is often described as unobtrusive and atmospheric) into several fragmentary sub-genres such as organic ambient, industrial ambient, ambient dub and ambient house. It would be convenient to be able to slot the work of the veteran British composer Bob Holroyd into one of those categories, but thankfully his work is simply too diverse and individualist to be easily pegged. His newly released CD, Beachcombing is perhaps his best and most challenging work to date and is a worthy successor to 2009's RE:lax and RE:act albums.

Artist: Bob Holroyd
P: 2001
This finds him taking a techno-tribal turn, using lots of global instrumental and vocal samples from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and putting it on top of propulsive dance grooves à la Deep Forest. Then he tosses in live players like trumpeter Kevin Robinson doing a Hugh Masekela-style solo on "Drumming Up a Storm" or Dirk Campbell weaving in uilleann pipes and ney flute. It's all been done by Deep Forest, Loop Guru, Banco De Gaia and others, and Holroyd adds little to the form, but there's no denying the slick, sonically rich landscapes he creates. But like his library music it has the feel of formula. Here are 4 different versions of this track with different and clever remixes.

Artist: Bob Holroyd
P: 1993
In the current flood of ambient music releases there are a few gems that shine through. They are usually the CDs that are not produced specifically for the post club space cake market, but are well-crafted pieces of music that work as well as when you're not off your trolley without a paddle. One such release is the obscure Fluidity & Structure. It is recorded, produced, marketed and most probably paid for by one Bob Holroyd. It is filled with twelve delicate, fresh tracks that draw inspiration from 'modern classical' composers like Reich and Glass more than the obvious 70s hippies. It's a soothing spacious rather than spacey, journey through some lovely soundscapes with noises from all over ranging from Kalimbas and African drums to snatches of those Deep Forest pygmies. Yes, it works as a post club chill but it's much more than that. Bob Holroyd's album is just very versatile and professional. You will find all kinds of styles on it. Some tracks are quite spacious, some are minimal music with slowly varying rhythmical patterns, some feel like soundtracks for a thriller, some are beautiful drumming tracks. When he uses the title Descent Into Darkness for one track, he means it and you can hear it. Cries From The Rooftop - For A Free Tibet uses a beautiful sample of a Japanese shaku-hachi flute. Some passages are very lyrical and beautiful. There is something crisp and clear about this album.

Artist: Bob Holroyd
P: 2006
Hollow Man (49'05") is an album that dwells in the ambient elsewhere somewhere between the classic trip-hop of Mezzanine by Massive Attack and the cerebral pop of Music For Films by Brian Eno. The dramatic arrangements and shifting intensity of the more cutting pieces provide an expected aggressive stance - which is periodically softened by brief smooth areas of sincere ambient-inspired contemplation. This enticing sound includes the gritty drum loops, rumbling bass lines and squelchy guitar riffs found on more established dance oriented releases; but Holroyd makes this music his own by adding in exotic samples, ethnic instruments, ethereal voices, surprising digital manipulations and an uncluttered cinematic character. Hollow Man runs hot and cool, with glowing miniature soundscapes of reverberant piano keys, strumming acoustic guitar and fluid synth pads, placed strategically to chill the listening experience. What remains constant throughout this CD is its forlorn disposition. Somewhere in the midst of the music technology, Holroyd has found a way to express the nuanced human condition of yearning, and, by album's end, hope.

Artist: Bob Holroyd
P: 2009
Ambient, world fusion, experimental, chillout, electronica; these are just some of the genres Bob Holroyd’s music has been described as. But not wanting to be categorised, he has long pioneered music that crosses musical and cultural boundaries.Spiced with world influences, his music touches all corners of the globe and he has worked with such a diverse range of artists that his music knows no boundaries and becomes almost impossible to describe.
This Re:Cycled CD is a Best of CD with the best tracks out of his first 4 works.

Artist: Bob Holroyd
P: 2009
Downtempo remixes featuring Lemonde, tj Rehmi, DimmSummer and others.
Slow tracks with a lot of ethnic influence and vocals of some foreign countries. Very melodic and calm.

Artist: Bob Holroyd
P: 2009
Uptempo remixes featuring  Nitin Sawhney, Coldcut, Frederic Galliano and others. Lots of ethnic influences within this music. Fast tracks with modern rhythms.

Artist: Bob Holroyd
P: 2001
Music with some ethno influences. Could be placed in the Peter Gabriel real World studio releases. The first track is really hypnotising with its perfect sequence and slowly evolving structure.