28/11/14 - Artwork surprise! + Touched Two

If FSOL are good at anything (other than making electronic music, of course), it's surprising us. Hands up who thought the next release announced would be From the Archives Vol. 8. Me too. Instead, today we got a surprise through FSOLDigital: Artworks.

The site states: "36 page A5 full colour booklet depicting FSOL’s art from the last 7 years. Hand numbered and limited to 250 copies. Booklet comes with a free gift download of 4 tracks (320kbps mp3)."

The cover looks a bit like this:


The tracklist for the EP runs as so:
01. Cattle
02. Viewed From Across the Room
03. I Turn to Face the Sun
04. Neurotic

The version of 'I Turn to Face the Sun' is a different edit to that which comes as a bonus track with Environments II LP purchases through FSOLDigital. Furthermore, there's a rather nice Far-out Son of Lung poster on sale in limited quantities.

Turning away from FSOLDigital briefly, the second Macmillan-funding compilation, Touched Two, is available as of today, and features an alternate take of Outer Heaven (originally from Archive 7). And if that's not appealing enough, you can also find unreleased material from Autechre, Orbital, Ochre, Neotropic, Ceephax Acid Crew, B12, 808 State, not to mention the cream of the underground electronic, ambient and modern classical scenes. Grab this generous 255 track compilation here for a donation of £12 or more.

Oh, and the Environments 4 LP is out on Monday, just to keep you on your toes...

16/11/14 - covers'n'bubbles'n'stuff

So, there's some bonus stuff with the Environments LP packages. The Environments 4 LP will feature the previous digital bonus track Plough on the vinyl itself, interestingly. Purchases from FSOLDigital will feature a digital bonus track entitled 'Komagi'. Similarly, FSOLDigital orders of Environments 2 come with a digital bonus track 'I Turn to Face the Sun'. And now, have a look at what the E2 vinyl looks like:

On the same day, the Syd Arthur Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble vinyl EP is released, and it seems the release will be on Monstrous Bubble Records (another - finally!). That looks a little like this:

Digital listeners will be happy to hear MP3 and FLAC versions will also be available.

In other news, acclaimed drum'n'bass outfit Blu Mar Ten have announced the release of a mysterious release entitled FSOL. Rumour has it that this vinyl single, the fourth part of the band's Famous Lost Words Remixes series, will feature a track called Night Shift remixed by FSOL. It will be shipping from December - more news soon.

Elsewhere (this is a long update due to laziness throughout the week), the FSOL-soundtracked puzzle game Mushroom 11 is now available, and a deluxe edition comes with the soundtrack. All pieces are sourced from the band's Archives and Environments releases, edited down for use in the game. The tracklist, cover and discussion can be found here.

What else? Oh yes, a Zeebox track is appearing on a compilation of '80s industrial, which is a lovely turn of events. 'Laughing Box' appears on Label Noir Vol. 2, which is available now.

Finally, Gaz revealed on Facebook that the next Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble mix (probably the Australian one) will be released early in the new year.

That's probably enough for now. Who wants to buy all of this for me for Christmas?

09/11/14 - More Environment vinyl; Gallagher collab resurrection?

Following the vinyl release of Environments 2 on 24th November, an LP edition of Environments 4 will be released on 1st December. On the subject of Environments 2, it has been revealed that the 180g edition will be available exclusively from FSOLDigital.com, whilst other retailers will be stocking a standard weight edition (this is quite likely to be the case for 4, but nothing has been announced.) Futhermore, the band have teased this edition will contain 'something extra'. More news soon.

On the other end of the Dougans / Cobain spectrum, Noel Gallagher has been in the news lately, promoting his forthcoming second High Flying Birds record, Chasing Yesterday. In a recent interview, he described the record as an eclectic one, containing "space jazz" and "disco", and claims he's reworked two of his collaborative pieces with Amorphous for the album. Who knows how far from the 2012 versions they will be, but it seems that least some elements of those sessions will finally be released. Chasing Yesterday will be released on 2nd March 2015.

03/11/14 - Another 24/11 vinyl release!

Sitting alongside the Environments II vinyl (which, by the way, is rumoured to be a 180g double LP!) will be the long-awaited Amorphous Androgynous remix album of Syd Arthur material, entitled - imaginatively - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble. The press release reads:

Following their critically acclaimed remix/production work with Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, DJ Food, Pop Levi and their award winning compilation series "A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding In Your Mind", The Amorphous Androgynous now turn their attention to Canterbury psych-rock quartet Syd Arthur, who were recently named Breakthrough Artist of 2014 in the Prog Awards. Choosing five tracks from Syd Arthur's back catalogue to re-work, The Amorphous Androgynous have fed these tracks through the AA sonic blender, turning up the saturation of the psychedelic dimensions within the Syd Arthur universe. The resultant album is a seven track, 45 minute auditory delight with the controls set resolutely toward the heart of the sun. Syd Arthur is fresh from a two month tour of the STATES supporting YES and a headline UK tour of their own.

The tracklist runs as follows:
1. Morning's Recall
2. Black Planet Eyes-Paradise Lost
3. Edge Of The Universe
4. Ode-Summer Is Leaving Me Behind
5. Born To Live Born To Die-Dorothy
6. Edge Of The Cosmic Earth
7. Morning Reprise-Advertsydment

Currently looks to be released on vinyl only.

02/11/14 - FSOL on Touched Two

FSOL will be presenting a new track, alongside names like Autechre, Orbital, B12, 808 State, Plaid and a whole host of other names from the electronic, ambient and modern classical worlds, on the second compilation from Touched - Music for Macmillan Cancer Support. The album will be available from 28th November; in the meantime, check out the full list of 251 (!!!) artists on Facebook

01/11/14 - Environments 2 vinyl release

Environments 2 will be out on vinyl on 24th November through FSOLDigital. "Since the original release of the CD in 2008, and subsequent releases in the series to Environment 5 in 2014, there has been growing demand for vinyl and so for the first time this year we bring Environments 2 in that format."