Psychic Space Invasion / Ian Holloway Reviews
Where have we been in the world today?
Where Have We Been In The World Today? is instead a full-length opus that I found beneficial on the psyche at a moderate playback level (OK, make that “ambient”) rather than by listening too alertly to it. The content here is definitely more variegated from one track to the next, ranging from broad-minded explorations of the galaxies of low frequency – the initial “Froodles” comes to mind - to unsympathetically discordant superimpositions of permanent keyboard clusters, as it happens in “Alpha Riddle”, often travelling through infinite repeats of hypnotic patterns and quivering waves ransacking our misrepresentation of a regular Saturday evening. In general, this is a less-uniform-than-usual record by Holloway, psychedelic to a degree; it doesn’t look for eminence in its relative poverty of compositional means, yet manages to appear as a bizarre embodiment of disguised fears right in the middle of an apparently calm setting. A piece such as “Wherewithall” (sic) might turn out to be a panacea for obsolescent babblers in need of a well-deserved rest, and the conclusive, wonderful “Jute” puts many self-professed shamans of artificial drone to shame. As constantly occurring in this man’s presentations, honesty can literally be smelled: this is the main reason of my appreciation and support. - Massimo Ricci, Temporary Fault
Ian Holloway's solo disc is not about making new moves in music, but at least it sounds a lot more interesting. His music is divided in eight pieces, which is kinda unusual for him, and in some pieces, like 'Summertime Violet' there is a small similarity to the music he did with Tate on 'Wet Rat Year', but throughout this is much more gentle playing of drone related music. Electronic by all accounts, maybe on real synthesizers or perhaps digital versions thereof, but flowing, elegant and perhaps not entirely new, it seems to me that this worked out better, less randomly improvised. Quite nice. - rans de Waard, Vital
One of three new releases from the Quiet World label, focusing on soft drone, tempered field recording, and quizzical ambience, and it comes by way of the figurehead of the label, Ian Holloway. Where Have We Been In The World Today? follows up his Summerland collaboration with Banks Bailey and Darren Tate as well as his exceptional solo album In A Lonely Place. The dark slumbering drones that open the album allude to much of the same sounds from that aforementioned solo project, yet the second track breaks into a curious electronic shimmer. Here, a seasick rhythm tapped out on something like a metallophone and laced with occasional static emerges out of thin air only to disappear next to apparitions of squelchy synthetic noises. Such electronics are more Heldon and Schnzitler than the Chalk and Colin Potter references of his other work, but certainly no less interesting. Throughout the rest of the album, Holloway grounds much of his crystal powered synthesis upon hypnotic, low-end vibrations whose radiant ambience glows from within. Brighter tones shimmer and sparkle against the curtains of subharmonics with some
choice moments from dissonant surges of distorted guitars agitating the background. The final cut is a reprise of the first with those tectonic frequencies slowly crawling to a just conclusion. Limited to a mere 75 copies. - Jim Haynes, Aquarius Records
