Quigley & Roidl-Ward - Double Bubble
Miúin
- 1Double Bubble
- 2Memory Culture / Automatisms I
- 3Wolperdinger I
- 4Wolperdinger II
- 5Possum Trot
- 6Supper Club
- 7Memory Culture / Automatisms II
MIUIN014
•
Open edition
Double Bubble is an edited collection of intimate improvisations by Ben Roidl-Ward and Neil Quigley recorded in Evanston, Illinois between 2018 and 2019.
These improvisations took several different forms over the course of recording. At times the duo behave as a singular, integrated chimera-instrument through a complex feedback system of speakers, microphones and electronic processing. At other times, they improvise as two discrete instruments relating based on numerous constructed musical automatisms.
The sound world on the album is diverse, using amplified room tones, circular breathing multiphonics, digital clipping, AI trained text to speech glitches, the bassoon as a resonator/filter, etc.
Ben Roidl-Ward:
Named one of 23 artists who are “changing the sound of classical music” by the Washington Post, Ben Roidl-Ward has been praised for his “dazzling technique” (The Sydney Morning Herald), “breathless virtuosity” (Bandcamp Daily), and “astounding flexibility and range” (The Double Reed). He is the Assistant Professor of Bassoon at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and also holds positions as Principal Bassoonist of the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Illinois Symphony, and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, and Co-Principal Bassoonist of Sinfonia Da Camera. A devoted performer of contemporary music, Ben is the bassoonist of Chicago’s Ensemble Dal Niente and served as a Contemporary Leader for the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland from 2021-2024, where he continues to teach as a Bassoon Coach for the Lucerne Festival Academy. Ben’s dedication to working with and advocating for composers of his generation has led him to commission numerous works featuring the bassoon, and he has participated in the premieres of over 175 compositions to date.
Ben is an alum of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He received his DMA from Northwestern University, where he studied with David McGill and researched methods of notating the bassoon’s multiphonics. His previous teachers include Ben Kamins at Rice University, George Sakakeeny at the Oberlin Conservatory, and Francine Peterson in the Seattle area.
Neil Quigley:
Neil Quigley is a Composer and Artist from Ireland who is currently living between Kilkenny, Ireland and Glasgow, Scotland. He primarily makes solo work but is also in a duo with the composer Sam Scranton called Physique, a quartet with Bryn Davis, Nick Meryhew and Sam Scranton called The World’s Greatest Drum Programmer and an electroacoustic ensemble with Simon Wiens and Rachel Ní Chuinn called Network Music Glasgow.
His recent solo works centre on a speculative history of an audio research laboratory based in parochial Ireland in the late 20th century. This work is released as an ongoing anthology series entitled the "Kilkenny Electroacoustic Research Laboratory Anthology”. Other works focus on sonic representations of space, both real and virtual, and the interpersonal politics of the musical workspace, viewing the dynamics of music culture as a way of examining broader issues of labour and societal hierarchies.
His work has been described as “all very synthetic, even sometimes comical” and “very confident” by The Journal of Music, as “also rather beautiful” by Nialler9, as having a “dry and unpretentious wit” by Eoin Murray of the Quietus/DJ Mag, and he has been described as “the only one who truly appreciates Ireland for what it unfortunately is” by the renowned Cork musician and improviser Dan Walsh. His most recent work has been released on Amalgam Records (US), Miúin (Irl), Destiny Trax (US), The Department of Energy (Irl) and Moot Records (Irl).
Neil is currently represented by The Contemporary Music Centre Ireland.
These improvisations took several different forms over the course of recording. At times the duo behave as a singular, integrated chimera-instrument through a complex feedback system of speakers, microphones and electronic processing. At other times, they improvise as two discrete instruments relating based on numerous constructed musical automatisms.
The sound world on the album is diverse, using amplified room tones, circular breathing multiphonics, digital clipping, AI trained text to speech glitches, the bassoon as a resonator/filter, etc.
Ben Roidl-Ward:
Named one of 23 artists who are “changing the sound of classical music” by the Washington Post, Ben Roidl-Ward has been praised for his “dazzling technique” (The Sydney Morning Herald), “breathless virtuosity” (Bandcamp Daily), and “astounding flexibility and range” (The Double Reed). He is the Assistant Professor of Bassoon at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and also holds positions as Principal Bassoonist of the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Illinois Symphony, and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, and Co-Principal Bassoonist of Sinfonia Da Camera. A devoted performer of contemporary music, Ben is the bassoonist of Chicago’s Ensemble Dal Niente and served as a Contemporary Leader for the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland from 2021-2024, where he continues to teach as a Bassoon Coach for the Lucerne Festival Academy. Ben’s dedication to working with and advocating for composers of his generation has led him to commission numerous works featuring the bassoon, and he has participated in the premieres of over 175 compositions to date.
Ben is an alum of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He received his DMA from Northwestern University, where he studied with David McGill and researched methods of notating the bassoon’s multiphonics. His previous teachers include Ben Kamins at Rice University, George Sakakeeny at the Oberlin Conservatory, and Francine Peterson in the Seattle area.
Neil Quigley:
Neil Quigley is a Composer and Artist from Ireland who is currently living between Kilkenny, Ireland and Glasgow, Scotland. He primarily makes solo work but is also in a duo with the composer Sam Scranton called Physique, a quartet with Bryn Davis, Nick Meryhew and Sam Scranton called The World’s Greatest Drum Programmer and an electroacoustic ensemble with Simon Wiens and Rachel Ní Chuinn called Network Music Glasgow.
His recent solo works centre on a speculative history of an audio research laboratory based in parochial Ireland in the late 20th century. This work is released as an ongoing anthology series entitled the "Kilkenny Electroacoustic Research Laboratory Anthology”. Other works focus on sonic representations of space, both real and virtual, and the interpersonal politics of the musical workspace, viewing the dynamics of music culture as a way of examining broader issues of labour and societal hierarchies.
His work has been described as “all very synthetic, even sometimes comical” and “very confident” by The Journal of Music, as “also rather beautiful” by Nialler9, as having a “dry and unpretentious wit” by Eoin Murray of the Quietus/DJ Mag, and he has been described as “the only one who truly appreciates Ireland for what it unfortunately is” by the renowned Cork musician and improviser Dan Walsh. His most recent work has been released on Amalgam Records (US), Miúin (Irl), Destiny Trax (US), The Department of Energy (Irl) and Moot Records (Irl).
Neil is currently represented by The Contemporary Music Centre Ireland.
