Roger Doyle: Passades, Vol. 2

Personnel: Roger Doyle (electronics); Paul Dutton, Kevin O'Connell (vocals).
Liner Note Author: Roger Doyle.
Roughly a year after the release of Passades, Vol. 1 came this second volume (which is also Vol. 3 in Roger Doyle's His Master's Noise series for the Dutch label Bvhaast). The music for both albums was developed simultaneously, using the same methods. First, Doyle took four-second samples from his past works and used computer software that allowed him to time-freeze each sample and move back and forth into them (a "passade" is an equestrian term for a back-and-forth figure), thus creating strange new sounds. Second, he combined these new cells, crossfading and overlaying them. This second volume consists of five mid-duration pieces in that vein, three shorter "Link/Separator" segments that introduce contrasting material, and the 25-minute "Virdissa," a composition from 2000 that uses the same techniques, but focuses on voice and has stronger electro-acoustic and theatrical elements. Doyle's music has never been an easy listen -- his cut-ups and electro-acoustic pieces always seem to follow an inner logic that requires several listens to hack into. Passades, Vol. 2 is no different. The small array of techniques used on this album produces pieces that, without all sounding the same, do share strong similarities, particularly in the stuttering textures resulting from time-freezing samples. It will annoy some listeners on the long run. Luckily, Doyle is quite creative at assembling them and creating a whole greater than its parts -- witness the striking "The Opening" and the utterly fascinating "Virdissa," which at times feels like a hörspiel in an alien, highly fragmented tongue. ~ François Couture