The Cage
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley June 9, 2018
Artist – Bob Holroyd
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Bob Holroyd’s music is, to put it simply, difficult to define. In many ways it has always been; created from many sources, inspirations and complexities. His new album, The Cage is equally as difficult to define. Dark, sombre, challenging, experimental and exploratory, his work needs to be absorbed rather than listened to, as it is also incredibly intricate.
This latest work is drawn from a new focus in his life, that of ‘allowing things to be discovered’; allowing feelings, thoughts, positives, negatives, emotions, people and places to resonate, something he had over the years blocked out, thereby establishing barriers, or in his words creating a ‘cage’ which kept him safe. He discovered it had simply isolated him.
After considerable therapy, he has now allowed himself to be free, to taste freedom and has created this twelve track album in tribute to ‘allowing everything in’.
His musical style has been billed as ambient minimalist over the years, a style which has not changed, but has been refined to a far more sensitive and emotional level that will resonate with anyone who enjoys textures, levels within levels, combined with a genteel mix of sound waves, patterns and colours within the music.
Each of the tracks has been slowly developed by simply letting the feeling and inspiration flow without any predefined structure of thought or rehearsal, moving through the emotional plane to let the music happen as it would. This has allowed a certain freshness to overlay the various pieces that could be considered as a sound collage which is very apparent on Possibilities.
Perhaps the words inside the album cover sum the entire recoding perfectly and fittingly, when as Holroyd says,
‘Freedom is a larger cage, a longer page, a wider stage. True freedom comes not from escape, but allowing everything in.’
The Cage reflects a turning point in Holroyd’s life and his music which will be interesting to follow as the layers peel back, his journey is continued and his psyche is allowed freedom to wander at will, to paint a fresh and vibrant soundscape as only Holroyd can.