21/11/08 - some articles, EBS3 gets a second outing

Have a read of a couple of articles promoting the Psych Bubble CD (out in all good retailers on Monday). First up we have Gaz talking about psychedelia - the opening stuff is from the CD booklet, but it features a nice list of recommended albums. Secondly, Gaz again talks about music - this time the most important 36 albums to him. You can download these as image files here and here (note: big files!). The album itself is getting some rave reviews so far.

And for the pointless news completists out there, the Electric Brainstorms 3 sessions (premiered on Frisky Radio a few weeks ago and available in all good Pod Rooms) was played on Proton Radio on the 17th, and thus will be available to download and stream from their on-demand service.

15/11/08 - Opening of The Pod Room

Last night saw the opening of The Pod Room, FSOL's online transmission site. Available for puchase and download now are all of the band's Kiss FM mixes, Electric Brainstorm sessions, Essential Mixes and Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble shows. Included among these is the now infamous Electric Brainstorms 3, the three hour show originally intended for broadcast on PBS radio. This show features new FSOL recordings (as opposed to archives), along with some unreleased EMS:Piano and Zeebox material.
Check out the Podroom at FSOLDigital.com now!

12/11/08 - Pod room and shows, Zed Storm?

Our friendly FSOL-friend Mason Bentley, on the boards, has given us a tracklist for the second Electric Brainstorm mix (the postponed three hour show), which runs a little like this:

01. The Future Sound of London - Heart Sick

02. 801 - Brocken Head

03. Fizzarum - Phut Of Plex

04. Pierre Henry - Erotica

05. Pauline Oliveros - Processions

06. Luc Ferrari - Presque Rien

07. The Advisory Circle - Hocusing For Beginners

08. Nurse With Wound - Russolo

09. Herbert Elmert - Klangstudie II

10. EMS:PIANO - The Suitcase

11. The Future Sound of London - Environments 2

12. Focus - Anonymous Two

13. Ennio Morricone - Ninna Per Adulteri

14. Brian Eno & David Byrne - Two Against Three

15. Bruce Haack - Electric To Me Turn

16. Throbbing Gristle - Lyre Liar

17. Morton Feldham - Voice + Cello

18. Andy Fairley - Jack The Biscuit

19. The Supsonic - Mach 2.2

20. EMS:PIANO - The Vessel

21. The Future Sound of London - Somewhere (Archived)

22. The Future Sound of London - Tudor Oak (Manor Farm)

23. Mary St John - Angular Reflectance Characteristics

24. Zeebox - Clik Clik

25. 90˚ South - Citroen DS

26. Malcolm Clarke - Bath Time

27. Cevinkey - Blotter

28. Twilight Circus Dub Sound System - Carosel

29. To Rococo Rot - Eisfeld

30. Clyde Port Authority - Dredgers

31. Bernard Parmegiani - ?

32. Zeebox - Open Head Surgery

33. The Future Sound of London - Environments 2

34. Mordant Music - Ghost Ship

35. Robin Saville - Colin The Lazy Cormorant Part 1

36. FS Blumm - Binsen And Bast

37. Yage - Til We Meet Again

38. John Cage - Imaginary Landscape No 1

39. Focus Group - Leaving Through

40. Jazkamer - Live @ Super

41. Matmos - Rainbow Flag

42. Monstrance - I Lovely Cosmonaut

43. Vashti Bunyan - Pink Sugar Elephants

44. Delia Derbyshire - Mattchin

45. Faust & Nurse with Wound - Lass Mich

46. Zeebox - Minimal Wave

47. Nel Mondo de Lavoro - Calcolatore Electtronico

48. The Coma Lillies - 4

49. Pan Sonic - Fugal Force

50. Proem - Cold Water

51. Belbury Poly - New Mobility

52. Second Thought - Street

53. Funckarma - Atmodion Drake

54. The Future Sound of London - A Corner

55. Land Of Nod - The Land Of Nod (Sunrise)

56. Neu - emusik

57. Sunburned Hand of the Man - Nice Butterfly Mask

58. Clyde Port Authority - Stand Still

59. The Future Sound of London - Distant Nebulus

60. The Future Sound of London - Environments 2

61. The Future Sound of London - Turned

62. Monsterism Music Library

63. Daniel Pemberton - ?

64. The Future Sound of London - Yage (Bejing)

65. Zeebox - Heavily Involved With Drugs

So, what can we say about this tracklist? Well, it was promised to contain some new FSOL material, and it's highly likely the opening track is newly recorded - Turned is also a title new to us, so it's possible unheard material. There are also unreleased Zeebox tracks from Heavily Involved With Drugs) and EMS:Piano tracks, which are curiously credited to Dougans/Cobain, despite the project initially seeming to be a Dougans solo work.

The tracks labelled simply as Environments 2 suggest the set was most likely constructed while the album was intended to be '3 parts - 59 minutes' as opposed to the 14 track version we're familiar with now. Although this means A Corner wasn't originally intended for the album... confusion once more. Elsewhere we have Somewhere (Archived), again suggest From The Archives Vol 6, even though only five were planned. These tracks just keep appearing! 1997 track Tudor Oak has resurfaced too, although it is currently unknown whether the manor farm suffix refers to a sub-title or an album it's from. Time will (may) tell. Yage (Bejing) is another mytsery track, whether this will be a remix of Yage or a new track or a Yage track remains to be seen - and speaking of Yage, there's an unreleased track, probably from the Woodlands of Old sessions, called Til We Meet Again. Monsterism Music Library is likely to be FSOL-related (or Dougans, at least), with the link to Pete Fowler's Monsterism cartoon and possible soundtrack to the forthcoming series. The final tracks to watch are the Clyde Port Authority, which are credited to A W Dougans (possibly Alan Dougans), the CPA name has appeared in mailings to our site from Brian himself!

The rest of the show features a lot of early experimental electronic and avant-garde artists alongside some more contemporary industrial and ambient, with a few trademark psych and prog tracks, and some stuff we've not heard of.

This show is only coming to The Pod Room. If you're as excited by the tracklist as we are, you'll be happy to hear this won't be long - The Pod Room is in the process of being transferred and will be with is in the very near future. Watch this space!

RONXTO on our forum has spoken to someone who has heard what is rumoured to be new FSOL material. Only the name Zed Storm has appeared, and we are told features an acid bassline and breakbeats. Zed Storm may be a song title or a new alias, maybe we shall see!

Right, I've wasted enough office time, back to work...

11/11/08 - Release dates and links

CDs are, apparently, in the post, but here's some release dates for you:

Environments II and From The Archives 5 are available in the shops from 5th January 2009. Of possible mild interest is the artwork: Environments II seems to feature the identical cover to the one on FSOLDigital (with the different font the normal), while Archive 5's cover seems to have reverted its writing to mixed font, making it out of place with the other archive releases, but fitting with the Freeze Magazine CD and Envrionments 1, perhaps a sign of artwork to come?

Those who haven't spotted the first volume of A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble under AA or FSOL, this may be because it's listed on some sites as Various Artists (annoyingly), but a search for the title should give results.

The Royal Mail seem to have mislaid our copy of the latter for the moment, but word from the forum reveals a five page ramble from Mr. Cobain in the booklet, which goes on to mention him arriving at the end of his voyage of discovery at the end of last year - which seems to have gone some of the way towards the re-emergence of the FSOL moniker. With every revelation it really does seem a new Future Sound of London album is hurtling in our direction (albeit a relatively slow hurtle...). We'll post some more snippets from the booklet if anything else interesting turns up!

06/11/08 - Out now and coming soon!

Just a quickie - according to FSOLdigital, A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble is now available for puchase, priced at £11.50. Furthermore, expect those other new CD releases (Environments II and Archive 5) pre-ordered from the site to arrive in the next week or so. And to finish up, The Pod Room is nearly upon us - keep your eyes open for that!

27/10/08 - Environments II, Archives 5 CDs, tour?

After six CDs already this year and the first Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble CD in a few weeks, we've been spoiled. So what better to follow this up than with two more CD releases? Environments II (CDTOT62) and From The Archives Vol. 5 (CDTOT63) are available for pre-order on FSOLDigital.com, with a 'mid November' release date there, so we're probably looking at December for full shop sales (we'll confirm once we know!). Promos are floating around on eBay already.

More excitingly, Mason Bentley says simply "FSOL World Tour: standby for announcement". We'll keep you informed...

17/10/08 - Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble 1 tracklist

Here you go:

Tracklist
CD1
01. Donovan - Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)
02. Chiitra Neogy - The Perfumed Garden - The Encouragement of the Lusty Wife
03. Heaven And Earth - Feel the Spirit
04. Osibisa - Blank Ant
05. Pop Levi - Blue Honey
06. Yellow Moon Band - Entangled
07. The Earlies - Breaking Point
08. Betty Davis - If I'm in Luck (I Might Get Picked Up)
09. Mountain Machine - Mountain Machine
10. Henry Roland - After All
11. Paul Giovanni - Maypole
12. Ian Neal - Kingdom of the Birds
13. The Amorphous Androgynous - Light Beyond Sound
14. Bob Downes - Tunnels Electronic
15. Can - Flow Motion
16. The Cosmic Wizards’ Club Band - Musashi
17. Espers - Mansfield and Cyclops
18. Cranium Pie - There It Is Part 2
19. Miles Davis - Rated X
20. Psychonauts - Circles
21. Pentangle - Light Flight
22. Friends Of Dean Martinez - Wichita Lineman
23. The Amorphous Androgynous - The Lovers
24. The Amorphous Androgynous - Opus of the Black Sun

CD2
01. Tommy Graham - Sahajiya
02. Cranium Pie - Awakening of the Birds
03. Cranium Pie - Drying in the Sun
04. Nick Nicely - 49 Cigars
05. Chiitra Neogy - The Perfumed Garden - The Encouragement of the Lusty Wife
06. Donovan - Riki Tiki Tavi
07. Devendra Banhart - Lazy Butterfly
08. Mahavishnu Orchestra - You Know, You Know
09. Hariprasad Chaurasia - Manzh Khamaz Teental
10. Tim Buckley - I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain
11. The Emperor Machine - Roller Daddy
12. Mahagon - Dívka s Jablky
13. Lord Sitar - I Am the Walrus
14. Wizards of Ooze - Helga
15. Tommy James and The Shondells - Cellophane Symphony
16. Hawkwind - Silver Machine
17. Magic Carpet - The Phoenix
18. David Axelrod - The Mental Traveler
19. Werkraum - Queen Mab
20. Shweta Javeri - Heart of Darkness