DOYLE, ROGER - Babel

A gigantic 5CD conceptual release by legendary Irish experimental composer Roger Doyle (previous albums on Christoph Heemanns DOM label; Doyle also recorded as Operating Theatre -- reissued on CD by United Dairies). Babel is a large-scale musical structure making use of many technologies and music languages, with each piece of music being thought of as a room or place within an enormous tower city. In the main section are 3 CDs where each track corresponds to a virtual architecture. The pieces are divided into two kinds: aural representations of actual spaces (e.g. The Dressing Room, The Stairwell, Mr. Bradys Room), and internalized dream spaces (e.g. The Room of Rhetoric, Mall Fountain, the Spirit Levels, the Mansard childhood memory room). Listeners can navigate their way differently through this CD building at each hearing if they so wish. The instrumental solos in some of these chamber musics evolved in collaboration with the musicians and would not have been possible without the unique approach and talent of each performer. As a Babel supplement are the 2 CDs of KBBL -- the Towers fictitious radio station. Each of its 4 shows has its own style and atmosphere. Collaborating with DJs, actors, writers and singers, KBBL is made to sound like a real radio station with ads, traffic reports, phone-ins etc. There are also live circus and nightclub recordings associated with KBBL in this supplement and in the main section. Other than these connections, and others not mentioned, Babel celebrates language (a slight variation on the Biblical morality tale) and musical expression in all its variety." -Silverdoor.