FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

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Ross
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FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by Ross »

Something I've been meaning to do for a while, so now's as good a time as any. As the Future Sound of London name is 20 years old this year, I thought it would be a nice time to look back over their career and discuss what it is we love (and maybe even hate) about their past work. So I'll be starting one thread every couple of weeks, starting with Accelerator (+ singles) through to Dead Cities, then the Archives and Environments, as they're the FSOL releases we're celebrating.
If the threads are successful I'll do some for the early alias stuff and Amorphous afterwards. :)

Accelerator (1991, re-releases 1992, 1996, 2001), Papua New Guinea (1991, re-releases 1992, 1996, 2001, 2002 and bootlegs forever) and Expander (1994).

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Oh Accelerator, you album of many covers.

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Seriously.

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Before I bought it, I always used to go into the shop and change the sleeve around so this one was on the front as it felt the most 'FSOL' to me (probably the font).

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Hmmm.

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This is less impressive in real life than I was hoping.

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OK seriously, stop it now guys.

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Yeah.


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This era is, in some ways, very distinct from the other albums. When I got the Expander single, even my dad pointed out that it "just sounded like Orbital or something" and lacked the weirdness of their later material. It's certainly more synth-heavy in sound, and more dancey, than anything they've done since. Bizarrely at one point it was my favourite FSOL record (hmmm), but now it probably occupies the lower half of my 'albums in order of preference' list.
That said, there's not much to dislike here. I always preferred the remix of Expander, but the first half is a flawless run of tracks otherwise; I absolutely love While Others Cry and It's Not My Problem. The 6 minute mix of Papua is my favourite version of it as it incorporates the creepiness of the Dumb Child of Q mix into proceedings.

In terms of remixes, Papua has always suffered, I've thought. Journey to Pyramid is fun in a very dated way, the Qube Mix is a fun acidy version, and the Hamish McDonald version is a nice weird mix that's probably my favourite. In 2001, Blue States and Simian did decent jobs of reworking it, and Oil's version was fine. Otherwise, I'm not fond of the others, especially the hideous trance versions from 2001/2002, and Andy Weatherall's sci-fi nonsense. Oh, and the Monsoon Mix, which is barely recognisible from the original.
The song is one I can't actually judge anymore as I've heard it so many times, although occasionally I do get transported back to the time when I got the single simply because it said The Future Sound of London on the front. I'd only got My Kingdom and Dead Cities at this point so I didn't know what to expect. I thought it was brilliant, if incredibly different, and every now and then I can re-enter that world. Interestingly, I never found it a tropical, southern hemisphere sounding work, rather a slightly sinister piece soundtracking some isolated moorland - I'm not the only one, if the FutureShock video is anything to go by.


Anyway, please share your thoughts about this oft-ignored classic. :)
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Dennis
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by Dennis »

I remember having heard "Accelerator" on various occasions whith a techno-infected friend who played it over and over again somewhen in the late nineties. This was at a time when I was not at all into electronic music rather than some punk´n metal stuff (I slightly blush today when I remember some of that 'metal'-stuff today though, hehe). I remember the more ambient tracks grabbed me somehow, despite my general aversion towards "techno" music at that time. (Other with "Dead Cities", which hit me hard at first listening but later to that...)

Some years later when I already was into that ambient electronic stuff (guess that must´ve been around 99/2000 or so) "Accelerator" was the last album from them I bought around that time (I got the 2CD-version with all the Papua mixes). I remember that I wasn´t too fond of tracks based on simple 4-to the floor beats, I preferred the more ambience-texture based stuff or more "natural" sounding drum patterns (like that on "Far Son Of Lung" e.g.) but that went with the years, I learnt to appreciate the joys of the straight forward bass drum now.

What I like about Accelerator is the shiny optimistic atmosphere some tracks create, with "stolen documents", "while others cry" and "calcium" being my favourites.

All in all I would say that "Accelerator" is not so much a standalone album like FSOL´s later efforts are. There are quite a few albums that I would compare in style and atmosphere from that time like "Utd. State 90" from 808 state, or the first two Orbital albums. I even think some of the tracks from some ep´s from their "alias phase" are stronger than esp. the second half of the album, like the "Intelligent Communication" EP or the "Fuzzy Logic" EP.

Btw. That brings me to the idea of creating my own personal "best of early years" FSOL compilation, ha, I knew I had forgotten something...

(Question: what was the very first release under the FSOL-moniker? Was it the first Pulse ep?)
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Ross
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by Ross »

The first FSOL tracks were Hardhead (Frothin' at the Mouth Mix) and Pulse State on Pulse 1, yeah. The name first appeared in the production role on the Candese - You Took My Love 12" a few months before.
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dell1972
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by dell1972 »

Accelerator is actually probably the least listened to album of the main ones for me. My entry point to the world of FSOL was the Lifeforms album and single, and for some reason I only ever got round to listening to it in the last three years or so. I can't really explain why I've not listened to it much other than that it's a download only for me and with a million and one remixes tacked on the end it's a bit of a daunting prospect to get through.

There's nothing in particular I dislike about it though, though I generally go for their more out there stuff that came after. The great thing about threads like this is that it does prompt you to get the moogic out again and give it another listen. I really enjoyed it, I should give it more plays along Earthbeat. I find Pulse a bit too much to listen to in one go. I agree that there's probably a better album to be had from those three albums compiled together.

I should really upgrade to a physical copy of this sometime.
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Tito Lozano
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by Tito Lozano »

Is the great reference and influence album,and was my second album that listen from Fsol.I initial listen on National radio program,more hard rock infuenced(very ozric tentacles fan)when he adored and take lifeforms for stream of new electronica ,in 1994.
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Ross
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by Ross »

dell1972 wrote: Diversion time, anyone spotted the "Demand It" petition to get fsol to play london, at the top right of their myspace page?
Eh what?

It's weird thinking that there are actually four pre-Virgin albums if you count By Any Other Name... but that's for another thread. There are definitely a couple of Yage tracks and the whole Intelligent Communication EP which I prefer to Moscow, 1 In 8 and Central Industrial, but then the album would have a very different feel...
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by Pandemonium »

Accelerator is legend!
I remember it was the 3-rd or 4-th album that I heard from FSOL... somewhere in 1998...
I remember trippin out to Expander, it was a main theme on a computer-geek-show that I watched long before I knew what track that was...
I remember liking Central Industrial and Calcium a lot...

I still like Expander a lot... PNG takes me back in time in a nice way :)
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darktrain
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by darktrain »

accelerator is definitely a classic ...favourites expander,calcium,moscow but the standout for me is pulse state...detroit sensibilities and sounds fresh today just lovely...
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by RazorJack »

As a "new" fan (I started getting into FSOL about 3 years ago at most) I don't get any nostalgic feelings listening to this album. Of all official FSOL studio albums I've heard, I'd say it's my least favorite. To me, some tracks sound like fillers but overall it's a good album and I like to listen to it every once in a while.
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LooseLink
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by LooseLink »

My first album would be ISDN really. Back when I heard about FSOL the first tracks I found were Study Of Six Guitars and Dirty Shadows. I eventually came to Accelerator and was quite taken about how different it was at first listen. I do like some of the tracks and their tech like matter did sound familiar to their later work, like Central Industrial and Its Not My Problem. I enjoyed Papua and understood later why everyone loved it so much, but its to me not the best track on there. I think Expander blows it out of the water, hearing and dancing to Expander in a club back in the day would of been quite an experience!

There's one great thing about FSOL, all the eras are measured by their albums, and each era is a world of its own with hours upon hours to dive into. With Accelerator it would be among all their alias releases '90-92 plus the Kiss mixes. Thats over one good day's worth! There's one other unique thing I do miss from this era, for some reason: Yage and Cyberface...
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by Choralone »

I liked the tracks that didn't have a standard dance beat running through them the entire time (Expander, PNG, Central Industrial). To me, the album can be fun, but a lot of it kinda runs together. I haven't given it a listen in a long time though, maybe I should.
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Pinyaka
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by Pinyaka »

Calcium is how I "discovered" FSOL. I went to a Best Buy back in 97 to find some techno. They used to have listening stations set up and lumped everything electronic into the techno category, IIRC. Anyway, they had a sampler album called "Excursions in Ambiance" available and so I listened to that. It had Calcium on it and I really liked how it had a good beat but wasn't too dancey so I went over to the FSOL section to see if they had the album that that song was on. Fortunately a) they only had Dead Cities and Lifeforms and b) I was high, so I thought it was reasonable to buy an album based on how much I liked one song from a different album by the same artist. I went home with Dead Cities and was naturally blown away.

Today, I think Calcium is a fine piece but off that album my favs are PNG, While Others Cry, and 1 in 8.
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Re: FSOL @ 20 - Accelerator

Post by Mr Royale »

I came to FSOL via Cascade, then PNG, then Accelerator. I have always loved Calcium and It's not my Problem. The album isn't great, but I still enjoy it every now and then.
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