Nothing released, but a few updates from the band on future releases...
Buggy G. Riphead is currently working on the artwork for Environments 5, so things are moving smoothly there, and we should still be expecting a release later in the year. This one seems to have taken longer to complete as it's going to be a much longer album than 4. The band are also considering related stuff to coincide with the release, and although nothing is confirmed yet, this could include a box set, a vinyl release or even a single. More news later in the year.
It has been confirmed the soundtrack to the game Mushroom 11 is just selections from the Archives & Environments series.
Broadcast of Variants mini album to come this year. Expected title to be City of Regrets. BoV is the project of Russian musicians Vladislav Isaev and Elena Isaeva.
New singles and EPs from EMS : Piano, Blackhill Transmitter, The Amorphous Androgynous and Seafar. We imagine this'll probably be another batch release like the last lot of EPs. The Amorphous single will be called Mother.
A single called Open Window. Whether this will be as FSOL or under the Open Window name is not currently known, but as the track was listed in the EBS3 tracklist as 'From the Jazz Mags', it is probable that this will be the eventual release of those sessions.
Electric Brain Storms 9 is due later in the year and might take a slightly different approach to the previous ones.
Digital album from Sturmazdale entitled Document #2 due soon. Sturmazdale is form of Ross Baker and Craig Gillman.
And probably other stuff too. We'll keep you updated.
Saturday 29 March 2014
Wednesday 19 March 2014
19/03/14 - Prime World soundtrack
Well, as we're covering one computer game, why not let's cover another (or: thanks to Dell for being bored enough at work to do some research). The full soundtrack to last year's Prime World game is actually on YouTube, recorded by a player. There are seven tracks, and we're pretty sure parts 2 and 7 aren't FSOL, as they sound very different. The rest of it is in the form of a long, morphing extension of the ambient bits of Environments 4 - particularly The Wheel of Life, Fibrillation and The Clear Light of Reality. In an age when singles no longer really exist, it's a fascinating opportunity to have a listen to some drastically different versions of FSOL tracks...
19/03/14 - Some more Mushroom 11 info
Some more notes on FSOL's soundtrack to the upcoming Mushroom 11 game. Some more gameplay footage, featuring a slightly different mix of A Corner, can be found here:
And from the developer's blog, a bit of info about how the collaboration came about:
"I’ve been a huge fan of British electronic music duo The Future Sound of London (FSOL) since the 90s. Their experiments in various musical sub-genres have inspired me for decades, with masterpieces like ISDN, Dead Cities and my personal favorite, Lifeforms.
When coming up with the original designs for Mushroom 11, I used to listen to FSOL while designing its dark, desolate world. The pace, story and even the mechanics were highly influenced by their unique ambience.
Around a year ago I decided to try and get FSOL on board with the production of Mushroom 11. I believed it would be a near impossible task for me—an indie developer with no PR or funds, nor with a compelling product at the time—to convince this supergroup to join forces. I was thoroughly surprised at how helpful and accommodating they were, and how much they had believed in the game, even when all I had to show for it was interesting mechanics, programmer art, and some grandiose ideas. They provided me with tips, ideas and a huge selection of beautiful, electrifying music, which really helped me define Mushroom 11 and set its style and direction.
So, I couldn’t be prouder to announce the collaboration between Mushroom 11 and The Future Sound of London. Also remember that Mushroom 11 is up for the prestigious IGF 2014 Excellence in Design Award, so if you’d like to play the latest build, come by the IGF Pavilion at the GDC Expo, San Francisco, March 19-21. Hope to see you there! Itay (@itayke)"
A wonderful example of the guys working hand in hand with the independent, DIY world once more. Oh, and here's a poster:
And from the developer's blog, a bit of info about how the collaboration came about:
"I’ve been a huge fan of British electronic music duo The Future Sound of London (FSOL) since the 90s. Their experiments in various musical sub-genres have inspired me for decades, with masterpieces like ISDN, Dead Cities and my personal favorite, Lifeforms.
When coming up with the original designs for Mushroom 11, I used to listen to FSOL while designing its dark, desolate world. The pace, story and even the mechanics were highly influenced by their unique ambience.
Around a year ago I decided to try and get FSOL on board with the production of Mushroom 11. I believed it would be a near impossible task for me—an indie developer with no PR or funds, nor with a compelling product at the time—to convince this supergroup to join forces. I was thoroughly surprised at how helpful and accommodating they were, and how much they had believed in the game, even when all I had to show for it was interesting mechanics, programmer art, and some grandiose ideas. They provided me with tips, ideas and a huge selection of beautiful, electrifying music, which really helped me define Mushroom 11 and set its style and direction.
So, I couldn’t be prouder to announce the collaboration between Mushroom 11 and The Future Sound of London. Also remember that Mushroom 11 is up for the prestigious IGF 2014 Excellence in Design Award, so if you’d like to play the latest build, come by the IGF Pavilion at the GDC Expo, San Francisco, March 19-21. Hope to see you there! Itay (@itayke)"
A wonderful example of the guys working hand in hand with the independent, DIY world once more. Oh, and here's a poster:
Tuesday 18 March 2014
18/03/14 - Mushroom 11 Soundtrack
Following the group's work on Prime World, the announced-and-immediately-forgotten Russian computer game, FSOL have now contributed music to the forthcoming independent platform game Mushroom 11. From here...
Indie developer Untame is announcing that their upcoming puzzle platformer Mushroom 11 will feature an ambient soundtrack by supergroup The Future Sound of London (FSOL), who pioneered electronic dance music in the 1990s.
The licensed music can be heard in-game this Wednesday, March 19 through Friday, March 21 during hands-on demos at the Game Developers' Conference in San Francisco, where Mushroom 11 is an Independent Game Festival finalist for the prestigious Excellence in Design award. A public demo will follow at PAX East in Boston, April 11-13
Mushroom 11 is a game about destruction. In an empty, desolate world, you are an amorphous organism that can only move by destroying its own cells. Removed cells immediately regrow elsewhere on the organism, so you can move, reshape, and even split yourself freely. This cerebral gameplay challenges players' logic skills as well as their reflexes, set to ten beautiful and electrifying tracks licensed from FSOL.
"As a fan of The Future Sound of London growing up in the 90s, it is an honor for me to announce this cooperation," says Itay Keren, Mushroom 11's designer. "FSOL's music is a true inspiration for the entirety of my work, including the dark, desolate world of Mushroom 11. I couldn't be prouder about incorporating their music in my game."
Mushroom 11 is under development for PC/Mac as well as multiple console and handheld platforms.
The video features an alternate mix of Field of Flowers, so it remains to be seen whether this will be archived material or new tracks.
Indie developer Untame is announcing that their upcoming puzzle platformer Mushroom 11 will feature an ambient soundtrack by supergroup The Future Sound of London (FSOL), who pioneered electronic dance music in the 1990s.
The licensed music can be heard in-game this Wednesday, March 19 through Friday, March 21 during hands-on demos at the Game Developers' Conference in San Francisco, where Mushroom 11 is an Independent Game Festival finalist for the prestigious Excellence in Design award. A public demo will follow at PAX East in Boston, April 11-13
Mushroom 11 is a game about destruction. In an empty, desolate world, you are an amorphous organism that can only move by destroying its own cells. Removed cells immediately regrow elsewhere on the organism, so you can move, reshape, and even split yourself freely. This cerebral gameplay challenges players' logic skills as well as their reflexes, set to ten beautiful and electrifying tracks licensed from FSOL.
"As a fan of The Future Sound of London growing up in the 90s, it is an honor for me to announce this cooperation," says Itay Keren, Mushroom 11's designer. "FSOL's music is a true inspiration for the entirety of my work, including the dark, desolate world of Mushroom 11. I couldn't be prouder about incorporating their music in my game."
Mushroom 11 is under development for PC/Mac as well as multiple console and handheld platforms.
The video features an alternate mix of Field of Flowers, so it remains to be seen whether this will be archived material or new tracks.
Thursday 13 March 2014
13/03/14 - An end of sorts
Look at that! A FSOL pun title! And it works!
As you may have noticed, the fully fleshed out website version of The Galaxial Pharmaceutical has gone offline. It's been around for twelve years, in which time the internet has changed significantly. With the rise of sites like Wikipedia and Discogs, the need for fansites has diminished drastically. And whilst FSOL have a long, convoluted, occasionally strange and densely confusing history, it still remains that the news page and forums have formed the main activity on the site for the last few years, according to our stats. Web 2.0 and all that. On the plus side, no Frames.
This doesn't mean, however, that the content is gone. Not at all. Instead, you'll find on the right here, links to sub-forums on the FSOLBoard, which contain threads for every release, every ISDN transmission, live show and mix, and all known interviews. Not only can you read about the group, but now you can discuss particulars in-thread. So join the board and tell us which is your favourite version of Papua New Guinea from the 2001 re-release, and explain why it's not the Simian Remix (it really should be the Simian Remix). Some of the pages need an update, and that's going ahead slowly but surely - but the bulk of the information is there.
There are various other reasons for this, including excessively expensive webhosting and the need to edit the site on the go, which will also be addressed by this move. The Second Thought domain will exist for a short while yet, but in general it's best to bookmark fsolnews.blogspot.co.uk for all your future FSOL needs.
In other news, we can confirm the double LP version of The Cartel + Remixes is a Record Store Day release. So go and buy yours in April if you can get through the crowds alive.
As you may have noticed, the fully fleshed out website version of The Galaxial Pharmaceutical has gone offline. It's been around for twelve years, in which time the internet has changed significantly. With the rise of sites like Wikipedia and Discogs, the need for fansites has diminished drastically. And whilst FSOL have a long, convoluted, occasionally strange and densely confusing history, it still remains that the news page and forums have formed the main activity on the site for the last few years, according to our stats. Web 2.0 and all that. On the plus side, no Frames.
This doesn't mean, however, that the content is gone. Not at all. Instead, you'll find on the right here, links to sub-forums on the FSOLBoard, which contain threads for every release, every ISDN transmission, live show and mix, and all known interviews. Not only can you read about the group, but now you can discuss particulars in-thread. So join the board and tell us which is your favourite version of Papua New Guinea from the 2001 re-release, and explain why it's not the Simian Remix (it really should be the Simian Remix). Some of the pages need an update, and that's going ahead slowly but surely - but the bulk of the information is there.
There are various other reasons for this, including excessively expensive webhosting and the need to edit the site on the go, which will also be addressed by this move. The Second Thought domain will exist for a short while yet, but in general it's best to bookmark fsolnews.blogspot.co.uk for all your future FSOL needs.
In other news, we can confirm the double LP version of The Cartel + Remixes is a Record Store Day release. So go and buy yours in April if you can get through the crowds alive.
Monday 10 March 2014
10/03/14 - Environments 5 mini update
'ENVIRONMENTS FIVE soon come'. So read a not-very-cryptic status update on a certain FSOL member's Facebook this morning, along with a photo of an interesting setup, featuring the EMS Synthi and a bunch of effects. Obviously most people's idea of 'soon' (a few weeks, perhaps) is usually at odds with that of FSOL's (a few months to a year), but we're reckoning a late spring/early summer release at the moment.
In the meantime, you can revisit the first half of the legendary first ever Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble transmission on the FSOL Digital Soundcloud page, which - with its Pro Account status - looks like it might be acting as a work-in-progress replacement for The Pod Room. That can be found here.
In the meantime, you can revisit the first half of the legendary first ever Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble transmission on the FSOL Digital Soundcloud page, which - with its Pro Account status - looks like it might be acting as a work-in-progress replacement for The Pod Room. That can be found here.
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