Review: The first of two EPs leading up to The Future Sound of London's much anticipated 2025 album only serves to build anticipated cause they're as good as you would hope. Side A is a dark ambient odyssey that drifts through ethereal choirs into ritualistic rhythms before landing in a surreal suburban dreamscape. It's immersive, haunting and unpredictably brilliant. Side B begins with a more introspective tone but gradually shifts into unease with baroque minimalism with modular synths, breakbeats and drum machines coming totters with ambient field recordings and meticulously curated samples. It's as intricate as you would expect of this pair and is a masterclass in an atmosphere full of depth and surprise.
Review: FSOL continue to be a prolific force in the sonic universe of their own making. The Environments series they started in 2007 has come to a head with a trio of albums over the past year and this is the last of them. There's a pointed callback at work on Environment 7.003, the cover explicitly referencing seminal early album ISDN, and the album is scattered with subtle nods to those mid 90s glory days. But The Future Sound Of London has always been about pushing forwards and that's precisely what Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain do on this resplendent suite of electronica, sure to satisfy the die hard fans without lazily rehashing old ideas.
Review: Tracing The Future Sound of London's back catalogue right back to 1988, when 'Stakker Humanoid' blew minds with a blueprint that would go on to define the standard formulas for British electro and breakbeat before either had been drawn, you quickly realise the journey back to where we are today involves passing landmark after landmark. It's hard not to consider Rituals as another. Marking a return of the outfit's Environments series, which already had six innovative instalments preceding this, hit play on opening number 'Hopiate' and you're immediately transported to every great morning after a night of amazing hedonism before. Pretty, reflective refrains and warm, Earthly details parting for a moment of silence before unifying rolling drums kick in - soundtrack to the best rave at 9AM you've either been to or not. Cue another 12 tracks that are equally transportive and explain so much about why, decades after these tones first hypnotised youth, we're still lining up for more.
Review: The Future Sound Of London are well-known for their intense sectioning-off of various albums into sagas. Conceived as far back as the late 1990s, the 'Environments' album series has been routinely topped up on a slow but steady basis, and has thus far manifested as a grand total of seven psychedelectronic odysseys. 'Environments Seven', which came out earlier in 2022, is testament to the duo's madcap penchant for sagaizing; indeed, this seventh instalment in the LP is split into a trilogy, and 'Environments 7.02' is the second in said trilogy.
Review: To say that The Future Sound Of London are legendary would be an understatement. Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain continue to stupefy and amaze with this fifth chapter in the Environments series, this time allegedly exploring the space and dimensions after death. That might sound a little gloomy, but the music itself is actually surprisingly funky and upbeat. The opener itself, "Point Of Departure", is a gorgeous slap-bass beat track backed with some stupendous female vocal chops. There's a bit of everything across the thirteen tracks, such as the eerie soundscapes of "Beings Of Light", or the break-ridden lo-fi jam that is "Somatosensory". These guys have never stopped and they still mean business. Recommended.
Review: The legendary Future Sound Of London have finally started dropping their Environments series on vinyl format, which will no doubt please the countless numbers of FSOL junkies out there! These sessions, the present title being the penultimate in a series of five, have been long sought after and they have been pivotal in shaping the sound of today's electronic dance music. Fifteen tracks in total here and the interesting thing about this album is the fact that it can be heard either as single tracks or as one developing and morphing wall of sound. All but one of these tracks, "Murmurations", are from way back and haven't seen the light of day, so get listening and indulge yourself in some pioneering sounds!
Review: The Future Sound Of London are well-known for their intense sectioning-off of various albums into sagas. Conceived as far back as the late 1990s, the 'Environments' album series has been routinely topped up on a slow but steady basis, and has thus far manifested as a grand total of seven psychedelectronic odysseys. 'Environments Seven', which came out earlier in 2022, is testament to the duo's madcap penchant for sagaizing; indeed, this seventh instalment in the LP is split into a trilogy, and 'Environments 7.02' is the second in said trilogy.
Review: Legend has it that around 1997, The Future Sound of London decided to make an album that combined the electronic and broken trance-inducing acid the outfit were already renowned for, and progressive rock. As work continued, a decision was made to go full psyche rock, and the result was The Isness by The Amorphous Androgynous. Had the original idea come to fruition, the hybrid sounds therein might be similar to Life In Moments. Originally released in 2015, this record is one of those very special instances in which you're presented with something that genuinely sounds new. Of course, there's plenty owed, too, with moments definitely nodding to the likes of Sabres of Paradise, slow mo dark room chug and other leftfield dance. On the whole, though, the combination of late night jazz, otherworldly electronica, tripped-out space rock, ambient and movie-esque scores is pretty incomparable.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.