A few questions/comments

Reading through the Pande reviews the other day started me thinking about a few things FSOL.

Stakker Westworld that used to appear on MTV Chillout Zone at times - was this just the Stakker video production company?

At one point in the reviews the volume of fan Papua New Guinea mix is discussed. I seem to remember that Future Music magazine included samples from PnG on their cover CD and encouraged people to have a go at creating a remix. Don't think I have that CD anymore though

I know the reviews haven't reached The Otherness yet, but does anyone else have the single CD version of the Otherness which has been pressed with the Isness tracks? The first one I brought from HMV I took back only to be given a 2nd CD with exactly the same problem. In the end I brought the double CD (Isness/Otherness).

Not sure if anyone's mentioned this already - We Have Explosive features in Part 2 of The Wrong Mans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrong_Mans), during the scenes where they're attempting to steal some radioactive material.

Does anyone else think that the new Environments series releases are made up of off cuts from material that the guys have worked on lately rather than albums that they set out to create?

Reading through the Pande reviews the other day started me thinking about a few things FSOL.

that will tend to happen

welcome!



anyhoo about those PNG samples.....weird stuff dude i literally was thinking about these what.....YESTERDAY???!?
if not yesterday it was the day before

i have these on CD somewhere i believe though i would appreciate if someone could detail how many samples there were etc.
idk that i have all of them or what...only what was on the FTP server of legends past


you also taught me where those samples came from.....as this was part of what i was JUST pondering about them the other day

weird stuff man
fsol fans have weird otherwordly connections
epitome is my doppelganger for instance

I know the reviews haven't reached The Otherness yet

Doesn't seem to be anything mentioned about a mispress of the Otherness...
http://www.ilovecubus.co.uk/fsolboard/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=162&start=345#p8278

It's the same catalogue number PBZ 50412 ON Psychobaby. All of the packaging and Cd label is the Otherness but the Cd audio is the Isness tracks (exactly as per the Isness original album so not really that exciting)

[Ross]

Yes, there is a mispressing of it which I've read about a few times, I believe other copies have the proper tracklisting on too, so it's difficult to say. It's not a disc that many people have around here as I think most bought the Isness/Otherness 2CD set.

Westworld was just the visual side of Stakker, the music was by Aphex Twin (mostly SAWII material, if I remember correctly)

The Environments thing is an interesting question.
The first Environments album was a rough reconstruction of what was intended to be the original 1994 album, put together by Brain. Environments II contains two new recordings (widely believed to be Viewed From Above and Small Town) and twelve '90s tracks. I don't believe the album was originally intended to be put together but was rather assembled from tracks which were left off other albums because they all had a certain feel which didn't fit Lifeforms/ISDN/Dead Cities. Kind of tracing a link between a certain selection of pieces which previously didn't fit. 3 features some known archived material, a couple of reworked old pieces and a number of newly recorded tracks. 4 is generally regarded as being about 95% new material, with only elements of it based on old material. Five was promoted as entirely new, although it does feature snippets of Lifeforms era material at the end of 'In Solitude'.
It's not been made clear why they've decided to promote II, 3 and 4 as being 'lost album's from the '90s, other than the theory that they've gradually been adding in new material over the series to ease themselves back into the FSOL process, and also introduce fans to their new sound (i.e. more instrument/performance based than sample based) before dropping a proper new record on us. There will be a 'proper' new FSOL album at some point, outside of the Environments series, although how it'll differ remains to be seen.

Hey guys - I'll just drop a line - I'm really glad that new people appeared on the Board.

Thanks for the welcome guys!

I've been listening to FSOL since Lifeforms came out, and I think Brian and Gary are still putting out some amazing music - not everything they release, but there are some real gems from time to time. Ross, that was kind of what I was thinking although I didn't know the detail of what parts of the Environments releases were new. Good to hear that they are doing more live instrumentation too - I know they've released loads of AA material (much of which I love) but it would be interesting hear a more stripped down/live/raw release - Brian on drums, Gary on guitar, classic FSOL effects and atmospheres - I guess time will tell....

I'm kind of surprised that the Monstrous Bubble mixes didn't pull more people into the FSOLboard - a lot of the people who post on here seem to be fans from the older material. Another thing I wonder about is how easy it is for bands to actually sell/make money from the music they're making now and get it across to reach an audience.

Anyway I'm going to try and post the odd thing now and again on here. In terms of the back catalogue you guys already have a whole encyclopedia, and it's great to read people's thoughts/posts/ramblings about the music.

[Ross]

It's interesting to hear how the Amorphous stuff has seeped into FSOL. With AA continuing to head into groove/rhythm based music, the Environments albums seem to be picking up the moodier, more atmospheric end of their psych stuff. A track like Moments of Isolation would fit pretty well on The Isness; Point of Departure isn't far off something from Alice in Ultraland; tracks like High Tide on the Sea of Flesh and The Wicker Doll would fit seamlessly onto an Environments record. Environment Five is certainly the least electronic/sample-based FSOL record to date. From a nerdy fanboy perspective, it's a really fascinating evolution of their sound.

I really like the idea of that stripped down / live release - Brian and Gaz jamming in the studio with some friends and presenting it relatively as it. Maybe it'll be the next step in the Environments series!

The MPB mixes seemed to get a lot of attention - I've come across a lot of people who like them but aren't too familiar with the band in generally - but I dunno how much crossover they have with the fandom. Not only does the psychedelic stuff only cover a tiny proportion of the band's sound, but I'd imagine a lot of people listening didn't give that much thought to the people compiling. That said, a lot of people here seem to have gotten into the group in the late '90s / early '00s rather than their '90s material. The old discussion mailing list (the FSOLLIST) back in the day was full of people who'd been obsessive fans since Ephidrina / Lifeforms. That was a whole other level of discussion, people describing their experiences of listening to the band while on acid...

That said, a lot of people here seem to have gotten into the group in the late '90s / early '00s rather than their '90s material. The old discussion mailing list (the FSOLLIST) back in the day was full of people who'd been obsessive fans since Ephidrina / Lifeforms. That was a whole other level of discussion, people describing their experiences of listening to the band while on acid...

Oh man, do I have stories .. around the age of 15 when I ate, slept, and breathed Lifeforms + ISDN .. and psychedelics were always available ...

goddang....i can't imagine listening to fsol at 15....and surely not psychedelics omg!!!!


15 years old i was banging my head to metal and hardcore....sober as all



PS - NMESH!
are you a daddy yet??!?? my terrible memory says it was march or april?

[Ross]

I was 12 when I got Lifeforms... spent many, many hours alone in my bedroom mapping out this imaginary world in my head. Such a strikingly visual record from first listen.

I was also 14/15 (in 1997) when I got into the Virgin albums, but in the weirdest order
- first ISDN, then Dead Cities, then Lifeforms

When I think about it, Lifeforms delivers always the same awesome result under any kind of influence (at least to me) - it's like - Lifeforms is a drug on it's own.

ISDN is groovier and 'happier?' and more tripped-out under the influence, and Dead Cities is mostly scary as shit while also delivering the euphoric sadness (tm) element

geez.....am i coming to terms with being the oldest f'n geezer on this board?!??!!

i'll be 40 in July

please.....someone step up and admit you are older! haha

[Ross]

Dead Cities was my first album, after the My Kingdom and Papua singles. I picked up most of the back catalogue over the summer of 1997.

Never thought of ISDN as happy, some really paranoid, claustrophobic sounding shit on there.

geez.....am i coming to terms with being the oldest f'n geezer on this board?!??!!

i'll be 40 in July

please.....someone step up and admit you are older! haha

Nope I've got the edge on you, I'm 43. I've got t-shirts older than half the people on here!

I first heard the Lifeforms EP and then the album in my third year of Art College in a chemically enhanced state of mind. Some time after I got Far Out Son of Lung as it came out... on cassette single! I didn't hear Tales, ISDN and Accelerator until about the year 2000 for some reason, the rest was bought as it was released.