evilchiliMay 18, 2024

Like so many of my formative listening experiences, I heard ISDN at @akajtg 's house first. I'm pretty sure I had heard Papua New Guinea already, but ISDN was the record that captured my attention and has held on ever since.

Unlike the singular, unified aesthetic of a record like Lifeforms, or the thematic development of the Lifeforms or Cascade singles, ISDN is a mess of clashing ideas. The record was assembled from livestreams done directly to radio stations (A ridiculous thing to attempt in 1994), and was sequenced to sound less like an album than a snapshot of what an FSOL live gig might sound like.

Track 2, The Far-Out Son of Lung and the Ramblings of a Madman is a kaleidoscope of industrial drums, On The Corner-era muted trumpet, guitars, and programming and it's groovy as fuck. It sets the tone for the whole record: surprising, a bit mad, beautiful and menacing and funky. I've had some of my best times laying in the dark with this record turned way up.

#FSOLTime

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETD0FAHQ4AQ

The Far Out Son Of Lung And The Ramblings Of A Madman

YouTube
Show threadevilchiliMay 18, 2024

The sequence of Eyes Pop - Skin Explodes - Everybody's Dead, It's My Mind That Works, Dirty Shadows, and Tired showcases FSOL's love for ambience and invites comparisons to the Orb. But if Live '93 is the LSD-in-the-grass summertime trip, this is the neo-noir cyberpunk 2am DMT freak-out. It's deeply unsettling.

The sampling goofiness continues, too, with multiple references to 90s B horror movie Reapo Man, and (of all things) the Northumberland pipes from Sting's Island of Souls. Robert Fripp makes another chopped and sampled appearance on Dirty Shadows.

By the time we get to Tired we have abandoned structure and tonality entirely, the textures and loops stretched out like a thin film over a choppy sea, before returning to more straightforward beats, nature samples and vocals on Egypt and the downright trip-hoppy Kai.

#FSOLTime

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After ISDN came 1996's cyberpunk wasteland soundtrack, the Run-DMC sampling Dead Cities, before a decade long gap in new music under the Future Sound of London moniker. I had sort of assumed that was it. Boy was I wrong.

In 2007 they returned with two series of records collecting material composed and recorded in the 90s, which they began releasing in parallel: the dance-oriented, breakbeat work in the From the Archives, and the more ambient, neoclassical experimentations of the Environments records.

I haven't listened to all the From the Archives records, of which there are currently 9 (!). But I have all the Environments albums through the mammoth, 3-part E7.

The first four Environments records are compilations of material composed and recorded throughout the 90s, so listening through them you'll hear a similar progression through neoclassical, ambience, industrial and trip hop that played out in that era. While the records were constructed, sequenced and mixed in the 2000s, only the last, Environments V, features all-new material. They're excellent but probably not essential for casual listeners.

While this was all ongoing, In 2017 the band started the Calendar project, which sees them release a new digital track every month to subscribers, with a 12-track album released at the end. There are 5 of these now and 2024 is going strong.

In total, not counting compilations and side projects, there have been thirty! five! 35! FSOL albums since 2007. I like this band a lot but that is too much even for me to get a handle on.

#FSOLTime

May 18, 2024 at 6:27pmWeb
Show threadevilchiliMay 18, 2024

So I will jump ahead now to one of my favourite FSOL records, Cascade 2020.

Cascade was the lead single from 1994's Lifeforms album, which we discussed previously. It got the album-length themes and variations treatment as a single in 1994; for reasons known only to the duo, they partnered with long-time collaborator Yage and did it again in 2020.

The result is a stunning electronica open world that pulls in everything I love about the Future Sound of London: disquieting, anxious sound design, ambience, swirling, recurring themes, snatches of prog psychedelia, beats, grooves, random acoustic instruments, and weird samples, all built around a familiar core.

Cascade 2020 also showcases their development as composers; its arc feels more directed, more intentional than (eg) the Environments records. Take Deep Sea Clouds, with its long sequences of minimalist rhythmic shapes that overlay atop one another, crashing and falling away over the serene synths, strings, and vocal samples floating formlessly beneath:

https://fsol.bandcamp.com/album/cascade-2020?t=9

This is followed immediately by the interlude of What Falls Away is Always, a very Switched On Bach, Terry Riley affair before giving way to Brief Silence in the Distance, a brokebeat-ambience thing that would sit comfortably beside both Aphex Twin and Lorraine James. Throughout, the sonic palette of the original Cascade persists, connecting past to present without ever feeling nostalgic.

#FSOLTime

Cascade 2020, by The Future Sound Of London

13 track album

THE FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON
Show threadevilchiliMay 18, 2024

I think that's it for #FSOLTime ! Thanks for sticking with me.

If you were only going to listen to one #FSOL record, I would probably recommend Cascade 2020, but there is so. much. music. and you can't really go wrong.

I'll leave you with this one anecdote: We saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in the theatre in 2018. When the Prowler is first introduced on screen, it has this terrifying and memorable audio queue, and when I heard it I immediately said "FSOL OMG." Turns out I was right: it was created by FSOL's Brian Dougan!

https://x.com/DANIELPEMBERTON/status/1075816351611142144

Daniel Pemberton (@DANIELPEMBERTON) on X

1. OK..<EPIC THREAD> on making the Prowler 'Elephant' noise for #Spiderverse and other ELECTRONIC NOISES. I did some sessions with a good friend of mine Brian Dougans who has an amazing collection of electronic gear. You might recognise this sound...

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