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Reviews 02-11-2001 |
Music Reviews |
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Alchemy Through Dreams by Mortal Loom
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This album advertises itself as "a unique ambient crossover of electronica and trip hop with a taste of tribal rhythms." After some research, I found that "trip hop" was a style that featured slow, regular synthesized drumbeats (BOOM-cha, BOOM-cha) along with a compiled mix of sampled notes, modified voices, and electronic special effects - sort of like rap backgrounds without the shouting chanting rapper. You can find this in Alchemy through Dreams, along with floating electronic sounds, "lounge" music with synthesized African drums, hard dissonant jazz, fast danceable techno, melodic "New Age" passages, bubblegum pop music, and a few more contemporary formats. Each track seems to have a different style. Sometimes this diversity works, but most of the time it doesn't; it seems like indecision rather than exploration. You'll get a sweet, rather wistful synthesizer piece like Track 2, "Event Horizon," and then right after that, rhythmic commercial "cruising" music in track 3, "Agnosia" and then harder, more characteristic "trip hop" in track 4 ("Trip Hop Thing"). There is melodic material in most of the pieces, but it tends to be thin and repetitive. The constant use of synthesizer drum machines and simulated instruments gives the sound a mechanical, impersonal feeling. The last track, track 10, is a peculiar rendering of the old show ditty "Dream a little Dream of Me" - done in the style of the '60s band "The Mamas and the Papas." Unfortunately, the female vocalist is hardly the equal of the legendary Mama Cass, and the accompaniment seems rather ragged as well. If "Mortal Loom" had been more focused and concentrated on a single style or combination, this might have been a more effective album. As it is, it rambles on and doesn't leave many memorable moments. Reviewed by Hannah M.G. Shapero 2/11/2001 |
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A Different Space by Bob Holroyd
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There are albums that simply borrow from world music, and then there are albums that genuinely feel as though they were shaped by the experience of travel itself. Bob Holroyd's A Different Space, originally released in 2000, belongs firmly in the latter category. Long before "global fusion" became a marketing phrase, Holroyd was blending electronic ambience, indigenous instrumentation, field recordings, and contemporary rhythms into music that felt authentic rather than fashionable. More than two decades later, the album has lost remarkably little of its ability to transport the listener. By the time he recorded A Different Space, Holroyd had already established himself as a composer whose work extended well beyond traditional album releases. His background in soundtrack composition and multimedia projects gave him an instinct for creating music that evokes places as vividly as melodies. Rather than treating electronics as the centerpiece, he uses synthesizers to frame the natural sounds around them, creating spacious environments where percussion, voices, and acoustic instruments become equal partners in the storytelling. The result is an album that is less concerned with genre than with atmosphere and movement. One of the album's greatest strengths is its refusal to sit still. While ambient music often embraces stillness and meditation, Holroyd injects much of this record with an understated pulse that keeps everything gently in motion. Tribal percussion, sampled voices gathered during his travels throughout Asia and Africa, subtle electronic textures, and carefully layered rhythms weave together into music that invites both contemplation and physical movement. It is equally at home filling a quiet room or accompanying a late-night drive through unfamiliar landscapes. Holroyd recorded many of the field samples himself during his travels, giving the album an immediacy that cannot be manufactured in a studio. What impresses me most is the balance he achieves between accessibility and depth. The rhythmic pieces possess enough energy to appeal to listeners who enjoy downtempo, world beat, or even chill-out music, yet beneath those grooves lies an unmistakable ambient sensibility. His synthesizer work rarely demands attention for its own sake. Instead, the sustained drones and warm harmonic washes act almost like the sky above the music, providing an expansive backdrop against which every drum pattern, flute phrase, or vocal sample can breathe naturally. There is also a welcome sense of restraint throughout the recording. Many artists attempting this sort of multicultural fusion are tempted to layer every available sound into an elaborate sonic collage. Holroyd exercises far more discipline. Each instrument has room to exist, and each rhythmic figure contributes to the larger atmosphere rather than competing for attention. The production remains remarkably clean and spacious, allowing the album to age gracefully despite having been recorded at the dawn of the new millennium. The emotional center of the album often lies beneath its inviting exterior. While much of the music radiates warmth and curiosity, there is also an undercurrent of reflection that gives the journey greater significance. The sampled voices, haunting drones, and occasional darker harmonic passages suggest that travel is not merely about discovering beautiful places, but also about encountering different histories, struggles, and perspectives. Even listeners who cannot understand every spoken language represented here can sense the humanity woven throughout these performances. The closing title track brings those themes into even sharper focus through its English-language message calling for an end to "the flowing stream of blood and tears." Rather than feeling like an abrupt political statement, it serves as a reminder that beneath the album's celebration of cultural diversity lies a hope for shared understanding. After spending more than an hour traveling across musical landscapes that cross continents and traditions, the conclusion feels surprisingly natural and gives the album an emotional resonance that lingers well beyond its final notes. Looking back today, A Different Space feels almost prophetic. In an era when artists from every corner of the world collaborate effortlessly across digital platforms, Holroyd's vision of seamlessly blending electronic ambience with authentic global influences seems less like an experiment and more like an early blueprint for what would become a thriving corner of contemporary ambient music. The album never chases trends, and perhaps that is why it continues to sound fresh. For listeners who appreciate artists such as Steve Roach, Jon Hassell, or the more rhythmically adventurous side of Peter Gabriel's Real World aesthetic, A Different Space remains a rewarding discovery. It succeeds not simply because it mixes ambient electronics with world music, but because it understands that both traditions share a common purpose: creating music that dissolves boundaries and encourages listeners to experience the world through fresh ears. More than twenty-five years after its release, Bob Holroyd's third album still lives up to its title by opening a doorway into somewhere both familiar and wonderfully new. Reviewed by Ambient Visions |
