Friday 21 May 2010

21/05/10 - Environments 3 shipping now

To finish off, FSOLDigital are shipping copies of Environments 3 and downloads are available now. All response so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

Saturday 15 May 2010

15/05/10 - Environments 3 pre-order

Environments 3 can now be pre-ordered direct from FSOLDigital.com - mp3, CD and mp3 + CD combination are all available!

15/05/10 - Forum back online

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're back!

15/05/10 - Environments 4?!

Almost two years ago to the day, we announced an update from FSOLDigital of Environments 2 and 3, and then joked of a forthcoming Environments 4. A joke no more, the album art to Environments 3 contains an advert for the other volumes in the series - 1, 2 and 4! Maybe 4 will be 'the new album'! Who knows. The front cover is a beautiful shot of some derelict looking buildings and a sunset that looks even more impressive than the current volume's sleeve. More news on that when we get it.

Here's a quick lowdown on volume 3 for those who haven't ordered from Juno:
01. Viewed From An Obscure Angle (3:10)
02. Summer's Dream (4:16)
03. Sunken Ships (3:40)
04. The Empty Land (5:40)
05. A Glitch In Cellular Memory (3:21)
06. Recollection (3:22)
07. Accompaniment For Melodious Expression (3:05)
08. Absolution (3:39)
09. The Oldest Lady (1:19)
10. A Diversionary Tactic (3:07)
11. The Silent Place (2:52)
12. Out Of Sync Child (2:00)
13. Hall Of Mirrors (1:34)
14. End Of The World (4:35)
15. Sense Of Being (1:50)
16. Surface Water (3:42)
17. Heart Sick Chord (8:10)
18. Repetition Is A Form Of Change (1:45)

Mood-wise, we can confirm what was long suspected (since the appearance of the cover back in '08): this is a very Dead Cities sounding record. Following Volume 2's epic spaciousness and possibly cold arctic sounds, this record is darker, more haunting and more sinister. The initial impression is 'the ruins of the Dead City' - that album's mood but more sombre and less violent. The warped/damaged photos of deserted architecture in the sleeve matches this.
On the whole the music is ambient, with a few of the group's recent neoclassical leanings (particularly the beautiful opening piece, and the astonishing string section in End Of The World); more percussion than the first two volumes but not so much to make it anything other than a true ambient record. All in all: utterly marvellous.

While the forum's down, feel free to use the comment button on this entry to discuss the record and volume 4!

Thursday 13 May 2010

14/05/10 - Environments 3 samples online now!

Check out the Juno shop page for Environments 3, where samples of all 18 tracks can be heard. Eagle eyed (eared?) among you will spot the gorgeous My Kingdom/In A State Of Permanent Abyss remix from the LA show as The Empty Land, Viewed From The Right officially turning up as the second part of Sunken Ships and elements of Womb appearing on the record, along with lots of lovely unheard material and some very moody sounding vibes. And lots of percussion! This is going to be very different to volumes 1 and 2, we're getting a Dead Cities feel to it all.

13/05/10 - Forum problems

The forum is currently offline due to a mysterious MySQL error. It's being worked on and should be back asap!

Wednesday 12 May 2010

12/05/10 - Pop Levi remix on its way

Have £80 to spare on an Amorphous Androgynous remix of Pop Levi? Ninja Tune have announced:

"On September 20th we release an all out, big-as-big-bollo*ks boxed set with stupendous artwork from none other than Ninja designer Openmind. The set will consist of three hardcover cases in a hardback box, all beautifully made and with foil-blocked text and loveliness. These cases will in turn contain the following material:

:: Case 1 - 6 CDs of music (2 CDs will be material only available in this box set)

:: Case 2 - 6 x 7" singles in a hardback book (all material only available in this box set) + an inner pocket with a Ninja family tree poster by Nigel Peake + Sleeve Cover Poster + Ninja Tune XX Sticker Sheet

:: Case 3 - Exclusive Hardback edition of Black Dog Publishing book 'NINJA TUNE: 20 Years of Beats & Pieces' by Stevie Chick (hardback edition only available in this box set)

It will include new exclusive tracks from: Amon Tobin, Roots Manuva, Kid Koala, Mr Scruff, The Bug, Jaga Jazzist, Bonobo, Toddla T, Blockhead, Daedelus, Dorian Concept, Two Fingers, Zomby, Luke Vibert, DJ Vadim, King Cannibal, Jammer, Shuttle, The Heavy, Yppah, zero dB and more to be announced. Plus a few choice overlooked favourites and rarities.

Plus new exclusive remixes from: Switch, Henrik Schwarz, Autechre, Modeselektor, Matthew Herbert, Zomby, Toddla T, Cut Chemist, Roots Manuva, Gold Panda, Mark Pritchard, Amorphous Androgynous, Rustie, Actress, Tom Middleton, Micachu, Metronomy, Gaslamp Killer, Kronos Quartet, Tunng, Mala, El-P (and EL-B) and more to be announced.

The material not exclusive to the box will also be available on download stores and ordinary CDs in the shops.

The Box Set can be pre-ordered for a limited period at an 'early bird' price from today from the Ninjashop."

Gaz has previously stated they're working on a remix for Pop Levi, who's signed to the label, so it's easy to work out what this is. On the other hand, if it's exclusive to the box then the only way to get it is to shell out an extortionate amount of money. Unless you fancy buying the record anyway, then it's probably a reasonable price. Hmmm...

Monday 10 May 2010

10/05/10 - Monstrous Bubble Records

Gaz writes on the Monstrous Psychedelic Bloggle:
"A Monstrous Psychedlic Bubble Exploding in Your Mind Vol 2- Pagan Love Vibrations has been nominated for best compilation album of the year in MOJO magazine.
To see the other nominations in this category or to vote for best act/ best album/ best song:

http://www.mojo4music.com/honours2010/categories.shtml

Vol 3 of the Monstrous series meanwhile is in the works and will be released mid 2010 on the newly established MONSTROUS BUBBLE records which has been set-up as a thoroughfare not only for all MONSTROUS activities but also as a means for signing and spearheading the new psychedelia as foretold in the MPB sonic manifestos !!

On a sadder note Platipus Records who had the vision and commitment to release both Vol 1 and Vol 2 of the Monstrous series has become the latest victim of Pinnacle distribution folding last year which literally saddled hundreds of indie labels with insurmountable losses ( both financial and stock- remember all the Xmas problems getting hold of Vol 1 ! ) .

Temporarily this means that Vol 1 & 2 of MPB are unavailable but we are trying to pick-up the licenses to continue Vol 1 & 2 on MONSTROUS BUBBLE RECORDS so will update on that !!
Since Platipus' 2 album license of Monstrous effectively ended with the release of Vol 2 anyway Monstrous Bubble Records had already been set-up last year with the express purpose of releasing Vol 3 with the same distribution/ PR team as per VOL 2. So with all licensing well in hand on Vol 3, to all intents and purpose its all MONSTROUS as per normal but our thoughts and gratitude do however go out to Platipus for all their vision, support and tenacity !!

OVER-OUTWARD-INWARD"

It is very likely that forthcoming Amorphous Androgynous records (how many are we expecting now? We can think of at least seven here) may be released through the imprint. Plus other psychedelic excursions from other artists - the band stretching their psychedelic toes in the same manner as FSOLdigital's increased outside artist output.
Is MPB3 going to be mixed by FSOL? We don't know yet.

Thursday 6 May 2010

06/05/10 - Environments 3 out in June, tracklist.

1. Viewed From An Obscure Angle
2. Summer's Dream
3. Sunken Ships
4. The Empty Land
5. A Glitch In Cellular Memory
6. Recollection
7. Accompaniment For Melodious Expression
8. Absolution
9. The Oldest Lady
10. A Diversionary Tactic
11. The Silent Place
12. Out of Sync Child
13. Hall of Mirrors
14. End Of The World
15. Sense of Being
16. Surface Water
17. Heart Sick Chord
18. Repetition Is A Form Of Change

Full release on 7th June 2010. Perhaps a FSOLDigital version will appear sooner as before. We'll keep you posted.

Wednesday 5 May 2010

05/05/10 - R.I.P. Platipus Records

Bit of a late one this. 'As of March 9th 2010, Platipus has ceased trading'.
Well, that's terrible news. For a label like Platipus who focus largely on the trancier end of dance stuff to get behind the very leftfield bizarre MPB albums so enthusiastically showed their decency, and the amount of information Rich sent me personally or gave to our forums showed his understanding of the importance of fans. It's a real shame to see a label of such integrity closing down.
This, of course, draws into question where Gaz and Brian are going to release the forthcoming Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble mix CDs, and what will happen to the remaining stock of the two available editions. We're hoping they don't go out of print!

And, typically, the second volume of A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble, 'Pagan Love Vibrations', has just been nominated for a Mojo award for compilation of the year. Winner will be announced on June 10th.