Afterglow
Star’s End
“With Bob Holroyd it is easy to see the musician behind the music. His involvement in such an impressive range of projects leads one to conclude that he is a man of many interests and talents - playing music out of his own life. His seventh studio album is Afterglow (45'00"), an elegantly melancholic CD from the temple of stilled thoughts. A sort of third stream music, influenced equally by classical and ambient, the 12 tracks on Afterglow are a constantly shifting interplay between piano, cello, trumpet and guitar - with Holroyd's atmospheric treatments hovering intelligently over each. Throughout this work the music is understated, yet possesses an ethereal sense of certainty. From grown-up lullabies and electronic elegies to minimalistic classicism and space age drift Afterglow is a succession of small moments, the tiny details connected in precise order. Listening to it is a beautiful experience. This kind of music makes the world vibrate in ever so slightly closer harmony.” - Chuck van Zyl, Star’s End
Sonic Immersions
"Afterglow" (also the featured album on the Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound website during July 2011) is the seventh album by UK musician Bob Holroyd, musically turning away from the outcome as heard on his previous recordings.
The 45-minute instrumental release features quiet and reflective ambient miniatures with a profound organic backbone. Its compositions slowly move back and forth between minimal and contemporary classical music, together creating overall intimate spaces.
The 12 introspective ambient musings contain no percussion/drums, and are assembled of carefully constructed live and treated piano, synth textures, guitar loops, cello and trumpet. At times, some of the subtle processed and quite spacious music slightly remembered me of Mark Isham’s "Film Music", while the beautiful closing piece "Stillpoint" is almost funeral-like.
All in all, the well-balanced "Afterglow" and a kind of intrinsic chamber music for the slow lane, gently evolving before the mind’s eye while time seems to fade away. " - Bert Strolenberg, Sonic Immersions
Interchill
When it comes to finding music that creates an emotional resonance for the people on the dancefloor, Bob Holroyd is my ‘go to’ man. A definite statement was made with his last offering (“Beachcombing”) by venturing (with a few key tracks) into territory normally reserved for ambient luminaries.
For his latest album “Afterglow”, Bob completes his transition into the realm of pure ambience. There’s not a beat in site; what “Afterglow” misses in beats however, it more than makes up for in incredible depth, subtlety, and vibrant emotional resonance.
This is music that navigates deep rivers, and the oh so human condition of transitioning from loss to redemption. The result is a richly nuanced melancholy musical treat that would (I believe) make ambient pioneers Brian Eno and Harold Budd proud.
A cd like this is not something you can simply slap on, skip through and listen to a song or two here and there. This is essentially one long song broken down into chapters; uninterrupted listening is essential, and it takes multiple plays before this diamond in the rough really starts to shine.
Floating drone sounds, simple piano lines, nostalgic guitar riffs and reverb drenched cello notes create an ethereal and enveloping perfume that connects the listener to their emotions, releases tension and acts as a soothing balm to the ears. Bob Holroyd and his studio musicians make it all seem so easy...but there is true genius at work here; and an acute understanding of the principle ‘less is more’.
It’s not often these days that you get to listen to music that is as much defined by the space between the notes as by the notes themselves. There’s so much room to breath and just be in these compositions that it literally calls out to the listener to be an active participant in the dialogue that is unfolding.
Make no mistake about it; this cd is quite a drastic and daring departure from the typical ambient world electronica, even for a producer who is continually proving his willingness to try the unexpected. And it has a definite melancholic mood that may not be to everyone’s tastes. But for those who believe that good music justifies investing oneself in the experience, this release is definitely for you.
Relax, take your shoes off, kick back, and get ready to take a trip to moonlit clouds under the most incredible star filled sky you have ever seen. “Afterglow” is the musical equivalent to a constellation shaped like a string of pearls hanging from the bosom of the milky way; it will guide you through the darkest of nights and whisk you back to the mists of dawn with each and every listen...
Derives
I have no other example in mind about such a drastic change of style for a musician. If the process was opened on his previous album, "Beachcombing", mostly with the opening track "Glow", on "Afterglow" we are decades, light-years away, with a radically different scenario.
"Afterglow" mixes ambient, minimalism and (neo-)classicism, with both mastership and humility. It's a very delicate, subtle, balanced and refined record, which, even if offering no revolution or unexpected surprises, fulfills everything you could expect from such record. It is introspective, inviting and contemplative but fluid with nice structure and textures.
What makes the differences is the absence of vocal samples and of drums and beats, two elements who had an unfocussing effect on me on his previous album. There are musicians playing cello, horns and acoustic guitars, but has been processed next, composed and constructed, in order to reach a very synthetic and personal, layered, perspective.
These 45 minutes nicely depicts the atmosphere of an afterglow during the first part of autumn, when the diminishing influence of summer is still like a comforting background ghost, masking the reddening colors of leaves and the expectation of no so distant frosted mornings.
I am so critical about the previous discography of Bob Holroyd that I'm utterly flabbergasted by the perfection of "Afterglow", not a weak track, not an hesitation, not a shortcut, no inconsiderate pretension. From the first note to the last hum, he is adopting a low and modest profile, and "Afterglow" is a successful proof of concept about his capacity to achieve a much more reflexive and ambitious form of expression.
DJ Nartak
" Beautiful music, the new album is a jewel box crossing borders to New Classics and Music for films. It is a pleasure to listen and to enjoy" - DJ Nartak
"Very beautiful" - Andy Wilson, Sonica Ibiza
"Another fine release'' - Tim Quigley , Groovera
"Simply beautiful - the best album he has released so far" - Raphael Marionneau, Abstrait
“With Bob Holroyd it is easy to see the musician behind the music. His involvement in such an impressive range of projects leads one to conclude that he is a man of many interests and talents -
Sonic Immersions
"Afterglow" (also the featured album on the Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound website during July 2011) is the seventh album by UK musician Bob Holroyd, musically turning away from the outcome as heard on his previous recordings.
The 45-
The 12 introspective ambient musings contain no percussion/drums, and are assembled of carefully constructed live and treated piano, synth textures, guitar loops, cello and trumpet. At times, some of the subtle processed and quite spacious music slightly remembered me of Mark Isham’s "Film Music", while the beautiful closing piece "Stillpoint" is almost funeral-
All in all, the well-
Interchill
When it comes to finding music that creates an emotional resonance for the people on the dancefloor, Bob Holroyd is my ‘go to’ man. A definite statement was made with his last offering (“Beachcombing”) by venturing (with a few key tracks) into territory normally reserved for ambient luminaries.
For his latest album “Afterglow”, Bob completes his transition into the realm of pure ambience. There’s not a beat in site; what “Afterglow” misses in beats however, it more than makes up for in incredible depth, subtlety, and vibrant emotional resonance.
This is music that navigates deep rivers, and the oh so human condition of transitioning from loss to redemption. The result is a richly nuanced melancholy musical treat that would (I believe) make ambient pioneers Brian Eno and Harold Budd proud.
A cd like this is not something you can simply slap on, skip through and listen to a song or two here and there. This is essentially one long song broken down into chapters; uninterrupted listening is essential, and it takes multiple plays before this diamond in the rough really starts to shine.
Floating drone sounds, simple piano lines, nostalgic guitar riffs and reverb drenched cello notes create an ethereal and enveloping perfume that connects the listener to their emotions, releases tension and acts as a soothing balm to the ears. Bob Holroyd and his studio musicians make it all seem so easy...but there is true genius at work here; and an acute understanding of the principle ‘less is more’.
It’s not often these days that you get to listen to music that is as much defined by the space between the notes as by the notes themselves. There’s so much room to breath and just be in these compositions that it literally calls out to the listener to be an active participant in the dialogue that is unfolding.
Make no mistake about it; this cd is quite a drastic and daring departure from the typical ambient world electronica, even for a producer who is continually proving his willingness to try the unexpected. And it has a definite melancholic mood that may not be to everyone’s tastes. But for those who believe that good music justifies investing oneself in the experience, this release is definitely for you.
Relax, take your shoes off, kick back, and get ready to take a trip to moonlit clouds under the most incredible star filled sky you have ever seen. “Afterglow” is the musical equivalent to a constellation shaped like a string of pearls hanging from the bosom of the milky way; it will guide you through the darkest of nights and whisk you back to the mists of dawn with each and every listen...
Derives
I have no other example in mind about such a drastic change of style for a musician. If the process was opened on his previous album, "Beachcombing", mostly with the opening track "Glow", on "Afterglow" we are decades, light-
"Afterglow" mixes ambient, minimalism and (neo-
What makes the differences is the absence of vocal samples and of drums and beats, two elements who had an unfocussing effect on me on his previous album. There are musicians playing cello, horns and acoustic guitars, but has been processed next, composed and constructed, in order to reach a very synthetic and personal, layered, perspective.
These 45 minutes nicely depicts the atmosphere of an afterglow during the first part of autumn, when the diminishing influence of summer is still like a comforting background ghost, masking the reddening colors of leaves and the expectation of no so distant frosted mornings.
I am so critical about the previous discography of Bob Holroyd that I'm utterly flabbergasted by the perfection of "Afterglow", not a weak track, not an hesitation, not a shortcut, no inconsiderate pretension. From the first note to the last hum, he is adopting a low and modest profile, and "Afterglow" is a successful proof of concept about his capacity to achieve a much more reflexive and ambitious form of expression.
DJ Nartak
" Beautiful music, the new album is a jewel box crossing borders to New Classics and Music for films. It is a pleasure to listen and to enjoy" -
"Very beautiful" -
"Another fine release'' -
"Simply beautiful -