Pande-reviews: 2009.0 (FSOL - EBS Vol.4)

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Pande-reviews: 2009.0 (FSOL - EBS Vol.4)

Post by Pandemonium »

1987.0
- Zeebox - Zeebox 84-87 Vol.1 [archived works 1984-87] (01.03.2007 Remaster)
- Zeebox - Zeebox 84-87 Vol.2 [archived works 1984-87] (04.03.2007 Remaster)
- Zeebox - Zeebox 84-87 Vol.3 [archived works 1984-87] (09.08.2009 Remaster)

1988.0
- Humanoid ‎- Stakker Humanoid [single] (1988)
1988.1
- Humanoid - Sessions 84-88 [archived works 1984-88] (10.02.2003 Remaster)
1988.2
- Humanoid - Peel Session [live mix] (15.11.1988)
1989.0
- Humanoid - Global [album] (1989)
1989.1
- Humanoid - Tonight [single] (1989)
- Humanoid - The Deep [single] (1989)
- Humanoid - Crystals (Back Together) [promo single] (1989)
- Humanoid - Slam [single] (1989)

1989.2
- Stakker - Eurotechno [video/audio acid project] (1989) (27.01.2003 Remaster)
1990.0
- Art Science Technology - AST [single] (1990)
- Yunie - I Can See for Miles [single] (1990)
- Mental Cube - Chile of The Bass Generation EP (1990)

1991.0
- Mental Cube - So This Is Love [single] (1991)
- Mental Cube - Q [single] (1991)
- Loleatta Holloway - Do That To Me (Set Me Free) (FSOL Remix) (1991)
- Candese - You Took My Love EP (1991)
- Aircut – Visual Attack [single] (1991)

1991.1
- VA - The Pulse EP1 (1991)
- VA - The Pulse EP2 (1991)
- VA - The Pulse EP3 (1991)
- Intelligent Communication ‎– Principles of Motion EP (1991)

1991.2
- FSOL - Papua New Guinea [single] (1991)
1991.3
- Smart Systems - The Tingler Remix [single] (1991)
- 100Hz - Progress (FSOL Mixes) (1991)

1991.4
- FSOL - Accelerator [album] (1991)
1992.0
- Yage - Fuzzy Logic EP (1992)
- VA - The Pulse EP4 (1992)
- VA - The Pulse EPs (1991-92) (05.05.2008 Digital Remaster)

1992.1
- FSOL - Papua New Guinea [single remixes] (11.05.1992)
- FSOL - Accelerator (Re-Releases with Remixes) (1992)

1992.2
- Humanoid - Stakker Humanoid [single remixes] Re-Releases & Remixes (1992)
1992.3
- Semi Real – People Livin' Today [single] (1992)
- Metropolis - Metropolis [single] (1992)
- Aircut - Visual Attack [single remixes] (1992)

1992.4
- VA - EarthBeat [compilation] (1992)
- VA - By Any Other Name [archived works 1991-92] (19.11.2007 Remaster)

1992.5 - The '92 Remixes:
- Unity – Unity (North / South Remixes) (1992)
- Nomad – Your Love Is Lifting Me [single remixes] (1992)
- Stereo MC's – Connected (FSOL Mix) [promo single] (1992)
- Prefab Sprout – If You Don't Love Me [single remixes] (1992)
- Inner City - Praise [single remixes] (1992)

1992.6
- FSOL - Kiss 100 FM Test Transmission 1 [radio mix] (14.09.1992)
- FSOL - Peel Session [live mix] (18.09.1992)

1992.7
- FSOL - Kiss 100 FM Test Transmission 2 [radio mix] (xx.10.1992)
1992.8
- FSOL - Kiss 100 FM Transmission 1 [radio mix] (26.12.1992)
1993.0
- FSOL - Kiss 100 FM Transmission 2 [radio mix] (19.05.1993)
1993.1
- AA - Tales of Ephidrina [album] (30.07.1993)
- AA - Liquid Insects EP (13.08.1993)
- Curve - Rising (Headspace Mix) [single remix] (23.08.1993)

1993.2
- FSOL - Cascade EP (22.10.1993)
- Bryan Ferry - I Put a Spell on You [single remixes] (xx.03.1993)
- The Shamen - Re:Iteration (FSOL Mix) (1993)

1993.3
- FSOL - Kiss 100 FM Transmission 3 [radio mix] (04.11.1993)
1993.4
- FSOL - Kiss 100 FM Transmission 4 [radio mix] (11.11.1993)
1993.5
- FSOL - Kiss 100 FM Transmission 5 [radio mix] (18.11.1993)
1993.6
- FSOL - Kiss 100 FM Transmission 6 [radio mix] (25.11.1993)
1993.7
- FSOL - BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix 1 [radio mix] (04.12.1993)
- David Sylvian & Robert Fripp - Darshana (Re-Constructed) [single remixes] (06.12.1993)

1994.0
- FSOL - Mixing It [live mix] (09.05.1994)
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 2 New York [live mix] (11.05.1994)
- FSOL - Essential Mix with Robert Fripp [live mix] (14.05.1994)
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 5 Rome [live mix] (16.05.1994)

1994.1
- FSOL - Lifeforms [album] (16.05.1994)
1994.2
- FSOL - Lifeforms Paths EP (28.07.1994)
- FSOL - Deep Into Your Subconscious I Slide [single track] (1994)
- FSOL - Bring Me Home & AA - Subliminal Aura [single tracks] (1994)
- FSOL - Expander EP (1994)

1994.3
- Apollo 440 - Liquid Cool (FSOL Remix) (07.09.1994)
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 4 VPRO Netherlands [live mix] (09.09.1994)
- FSOL - The 3D Headspace Tour [live mix] (1994)
- FSOL - Kiss FM '94 Transmission [live mix] (1994)

1994.4
- Far-Out Son of Lung - Ramblings of a Madman (Smokin' Japanese Babe) Promo EP (1994)
- FSOL - Promo 500 EP (1994)

1994.5
- FSOL - ISDN [album] Black (05.12.1994), White (02.06.1995), Outtakes (xx.12.1994)
- FSOL - Far-Out Son of Lung and The Ramblings of a Madman VHS-EP (15.05.1995)

1995.0
- FSOL - BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix 2 (Fuct Up Soup) [radio mix] (04.06.1995)
- Jon Anderson - FSOL Deseo Reconstruction + Speed Deep Remix (1995)
- Osamu Sato - Face-Savers on Line (FSOL Mix) (1995)

1995.1
- FSOL - Peel Session [live mix] (29.09.1995)
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 14, Barcelona (Art Futura Festival) [live mix] (18-22.10.1995)
- Far-Out Son of Lung - Cow [single track] (31.10.1995)

1996.0
- Semtex - We Have Explosive [promo single] (15.09.1996)
- VA - wipEout 2097 aka Wipeout XL [soundtrack] (30.09.1996)
- Aircut - Visual Attack [single remixes] (1996)
- FSOL - Accelerator (19.03.1996) US re-release
- FSOL - Papua New Guinea (19.03.1996) US re-release

1996.1
- FSOL - My Kingdom EP (07.10.1996)
1996.2
- FSOL - Dead Cities [album] (18.10.1996)
1996.3
- FSOL - BBC Radio 1 Steve Lamacq Session [live mix] (26.10.1996)
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 3, Edinburgh (Forth FM) [live mix] (28.10.1996)

1996.4
- FSOL - BBC Radio Leicester [live mix] (01.11.1996)
- FSOL - BBC Radio Aire Leeds [live mix] (02.11.1996)
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 6, France (Fun Radio) [live mix] (05.11.1996)

1996.5
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 7, Manchester (Kiss 102 FM) [live mix] (06.11.1996)
- FSOL - VPRO Radio, Netherlands [live mix] (11.11.1996)
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 11, Berlin (Fritz Radio) [live mix] (06.12.1996)
- FSOL - Fritz Radio, Berlin [live mix] (06.12.1996)
- FSOL - London, UK [live mix] (1996)

1997.0
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 8, Los Angeles (Groove Radio) [live mix] (22.01.1997)
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 16, France (Fun Radio) [live mix] (27.02.1997)
- FSOL - ISDN Show [Promo CD] (1997)

1997.1
- FSOL - We Have Explosive [single + remixes] (17.03.1997)
1997.2 - The EBV releases
- Oil - Slight of Hand EP (1997)
- Headstone Lane - Knuckleduster EP (1997)

1997.3
- FSOL - ISDN Transmission 9, London (BBC Radio 3, Mixing It) [live mix] (25.03.1997)
- FSOL - Peel Session [live mix] (08.05.1997)
- FSOL – Fun Radio, France [live mix] (13.06.1997)

1997.4
- FSOL - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding in Your Mind Vol.1 (Kiss FM Manchester) [radio mix] (Aug.1997)
1998-2000
- The Silent Years / Bin Dogs Productions
2001.0
- Humanoid - Stakker Humanoid 2001 [single remixes]
- Robert Miles - Paths (FSOL 'Cosmic Jukebox' Remix) (16.07.2001)

2001.1
- FSOL - The Big Chill, Live Mix @ Lulworth Castle (18.08.2001)
2001.2
- FSOL - Papua New Guinea 2001 [single remixes]
- FSOL - Papua New Guinea Mix Anthology (17.09.2001)

2001.3
- FSOL - The Mello Hippo Disco Show, Ammocity [radio mix] (11.10.2001)
- FSOL - The Mello Hippo Disco Show, XFM [radio mix] (13.10.2001),
- FSOL - The Mello Hippo Disco Show, The Soundtrack [radio mix] (2001) (first release: 14.11.2008)

2001.4
- FSOL - Papua New Guinea Translations EP [re-imagined] (29.10.2001)
2001.5
- FSOL - The Winter Chill, Live Mix @ Lulworth Castle (08.12.2001)
2001.6
- FSOL - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding in Your Mind Vol.2 (BBC Radio 1) [radio mix] (23-28.12.2001)
2002.0
- AA - The Isness [album] (both versions) (05-13.08.2002)
2002.1
- Deadly Avenger - Day One (FSOL Cosmic Jukebox Mixes) (23.09.2002)
- AA - Radio Magnetic, Glasgow [promo mix] (07.10.2002)
- AA - The Mello Hippo Disco Show [single] (25.11.2002)

2002.2
- FSOL - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding in Your Mind Vol.3 (XFM, The Rinse) [radio mix] (27.12.2002)
2003.0
- FSOL - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding in Your Mind Vol.4 (Resonance FM) [radio mix] (28.01.2003)
2003.1
- FSOL - Papua New Guinea (Bootleg d'n'b Remixes) (08.09.2003)
2004.0
- AA - The Otherness [B-sides & remixes] (05.01.2004)
- AA - Divinity [single] (2004)

2004.1
- FSOL - BBC Radio 6 SixMix [radio mix] (02.05.2004)
- AA - Live at Avrika Festival, Sweden (15.07.2004)

2005.0
- FSOL - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding in Your Mind Vol.5 (XFM) [radio mix] (14.09.2005)
2005.1
- FSOL - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding in Your Mind Vol.6 (XFM) [radio mix] (21.09.2005)
- AA - Psychedelic Mini Mixes (BBC 6 Six Music Freak Zone) [radio mix] (25.09.2005)

2005.2
- АА - Alice in Ultraland [album] (26.09.2005)
- AA - The Witchfinder [promo single] (2005)

2005.3
- VA - The Sounds of Monsterism Island Vol.1 [compilation mix] (26.09.2005)
2005.4
- FSOL - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding in Your Mind Vol.7 (BBC SixMix) [radio mix] (30.10.2005)
2006.0
- FSOL - Teachings From The Electronic Brain (The Best of FSOL) [compilation] (09.11.2006)
- FSOL - Lifeforms / We Have Explosive (Remixes) (2006)
- FSOL - The Best of FSOL, Rare Tracks Edition EP (26.02.2007)

2006.1
- FSOL - Electric Brain Storms Vol.0,5 (BBC Radio 6 Mix) [radio mix] (10.10.2006)
2006.2
- FSOL @ Kinetica, Life Forms event (Nov.2006)
- FSOL - Stereo Sucks [documentary] (Dec.2006)

2007.0
- FSOL - A Gigantic Globular Burst of Antistatic EP (05.03.2007)
2007.1
- FSOL - From The Archives Vol.1 [archived works from the 90s] (06.03.2007)
2007.2
- FSOL - From The Archives Vol.2 [archived works from the 90s] (06.03.2007)
2007.3
- FSOL - From The Archives Vol.3 [archived works from the 90s] (06.03.2007)
2007.4
- Heads of Agreement - The San Monta Tapes [album / experimental project] (19.03.2007)
- Part-Sub-Merged - Four Forests (South of Frome) [album / experimental project] (19.03.2007)
- Polemical - Hand-Made Devices [album / experimental project] (19.03.2007)

2007.5 - The 2007 enhanced re-releases:
- FSOL & AA feat. Dianne Harris - A Tiny Point of Light [single] (19.03.2007)
- Metropolis - Metropolis [remastered single] (19.03.2007)
- FSOL - Papua New Guinea (Herd & White Remixes) [single remixes] (23.04.2007)
- Oil - Slight of Hand EP [remastered & expanded] (08.05.2007)
- Headstone Lane - Back in The Day [album, remastered & expanded] (08.05.2007)
- FSOL - Archived EP [promo for Archives series] (28.05.2007)
- FSOL - From The Archives LP [compiled selected tracks from the Archives 1/2/3] (28.05.2007)

2007.6
- FSOL - From The Archives Vol.4 [archived works from the 90s] (17.10.2007)
2007.7
- Humanoid - Your Body Robotic / Your Body Sub-Atomic [remix album] (05-19.11.2007)
2007.8
- FSOL - Environments [album] (19.11.2007)
2007.9 - Dougans/Cobain @ ExtremeMusic.com
- Dougans/Cobain @ Acid Breaks (Deep-Raved Ghetto-Tech Toxication) [library music] (2007)
- Dougans/Cobain @ Deep Chill (Submerged Drippiest Trippiest Psytronica) [library music] (2007)
- Dougans/Cobain @ Psychedelic Air (Heretical Kaleidoscopic Sci-Fidelic Soundfields) [library music] (2007)
- Dougans/Cobain @ Dark Trance (Sinister Electro-Slithered Guerrilla Scorefare) [library music] (2007)
- Dougans @ Chaos [library music] (2007)
- Dougans/Cobain @ Dirty Breaks [library music] (2008)

2008.0
- FSOL - FSOL Digital Mix [sampler] (13.02.2008)
2008.1
- AA - The Peppermint Tree & The Seeds of Superconsciousness [album] (20.02.2008)
2008.2
- Smart Systems - Tingler [single remixes] (07.04.2008)
- 6 Oscillators in Remmitance - Cloudscraper [single] (03.05.2008)

2008.3
- Yage - The Woodlands of Old [album] (11.05.2008)
2008.4
- FSOL - Electric Brain Storms Vol.1 (Proton Radio, Downtime Sessions) [radio mix] (16.06.2008)
2008.5
- FSOL - Environments II [album] (29.08.2008)
2008.6
- FSOL - From The Archives Vol.5 [archived works from the 90s] (29.08.2008)
2008.7
- FSOL - Electric Brain Storms Vol.2 (PBS Radio, The Pod Room) [radio mix] (15.11.2008)
2008.8
- FSOL - Electric Brain Storms Vol.3 (Frisky Radio, The Genre Show) [radio mix] (26.09.2008)
2008.9
- AA - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding in Your Mind Vol.1 (Cosmic Space Music) [comp. mix] (24.11.2008)
2009.0
- FSOL - Electric Brain Storms Vol.4 (The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water) [web mix] (01.01.2009)

...more coming soon...
Last edited by Pandemonium on Mon Mar 06, 2017 2:24 am, edited 196 times in total.
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Re: Pandemonium reviews - Zeebox

Post by mcbpete »

Good write up man - I really got to hear this trilogy again properly again. I think I've only heard the 1st one twice, and no.2 & no.3 probably only once. Which is completely ridiculous as I'd been wanting a full version of Zeebox ever since there was a message board on the the official FSOL site - which is god knows how long ago !

Pandemonium - If you like this stuff, especially the more experimental pieces you might want to check out some early Hafler Trio albums (e.g. "BANG" - An Open Letter, Seven Hours Sleep & Kill The King ) though it can be quite a tough listen so you may need to be in the right mood for them.
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Re: Pandemonium reviews - Zeebox

Post by Pandemonium »

EDIT: The Zeebox collections were reviewed in the OP, but moved down here (for better visibility) later when the OP got expanded into dozens of links.

Zeebox - Zeebox 84-87 Vol.1
[archived works 1984-87] (01.03.2007 Remaster)

fsoldigital.com – no catalog number

Image

When this was first released I didn't pay much attention, mostly because FSOLDigital released shit-load of material at once and this was not on the top of my list at the time.

Anyway, looking back now, the Zeebox project is amazing. It's a solo project by Dougans who then was in his late teens and early adulthood (19 to 22 years old!) or we can say he was just a kid. But this kid oozes with talent and originality, and the ability to meld tracks in his environmental fashion remains his signature in the history of electronic music (only few people do this, but none as original if you ask me). I mean look at the time period, 1984-1987, one of the worst periods for popular music, the house/dance underground parties were just starting, and following the underground electro/industrial/kraut scene was a hard thing to do.

Listening to this release, I wonder who were his heroes... I would say the industrial bands like Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle and Front 242 are the obvious candidates, local programs from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, maybe some kraut stuff (Kluster/Cluster, Stockhausen, Kraftwerk) or maybe even some American minimalism.

I also wonder if the cover is Brian, as a little kid. :)

EDIT: Now we're almost certain it's him (picture below taken from Brian's FB)
Image

Bearing in mind that most of these pieces are unfinished, the concept varies from track to track, this is still a beautiful release. So let's see what we can... see...

01 - Conc 3 [2:39]
02 - Gas Stove [0:05]


03. Mind Procet [3:53]
04. Piano in Kitchen [3:10]
05. Scarsdale Road [2:50]
06. Are You Gonna Die [1:41]
07. TV Dinner Part 2 [1:31]

- Very ambient driven tracks, some industrial influences, paranoid, creepy, beatless, drug pieces. This whole chunk works together very well.

08. Nano Plura [3:54] - beat experiments, very advanced structures for its time (what kind of hardware was he working with...)
09. Car Hotknives [0:09]
10. Pepi de Vince [5:25] - industrial beat, Aphex Twin similarities (Dougans and James always were similar for me in these early periods, too bad they never joined forces back then)

11. Cough [3:48] - experimental lands again
12. Telephone Dial [0:06]

13. Ear Out [4:06] - some early sounds that will later define FSOL, the starting sample is used in some well-known FSOL track and ISDN transmissions, but I can't remember which one...
EDIT: - this track was also known as May 2nd and later appeared on the Far-Out Son of Lung promo EP as Zeebox.
- Also, the starting sample is used as ending segue on the The Far Out Son of Lung and The Ramblings of a Madman on the ISDN album.

14. The Old Mop In The Garden [5:22] - industrial again

15. 7000 Years [1:32] - beautiful ambient piece, too bad it's kinda unfinished, this would easily fit on E2 or something sci-fi-like...
EDIT: Holy shit it's used on Little Brother (circa 2:30) on Lifeforms! ...everything is connected...
16. Wait [0:27]
17. Pots and Pans [0:12]


18. Racheals Sex [4:12] - totally paranoid piece, repetitive pieces and just... creepy
19. Pans and Pots [0:22]

20. Chik Hosie [2:30] - sounds like something he recorded with The New Consciousness band, some slow-down bass lines there...
21. Into The Sun [0:04]

22. Laughing Box [6:08] - the longlest track here, it's the track that fits the time period completely (1984-87), resembling the underground electronic sound of the '80s.
23. Lights On [1:27]
24. Land of Ash [0:38]


25. Crunchy Edit 1 [1:50] - noisy piece that again feels like FSOL on some moments (same goes for 30. My Glass Is Here)
26. Bong [0:22]
27. Clap [0:05]
28. Birds [0:15]


29. Lights Off [4:36] - again, very FSOL-ish ambient, I think some background samples from here were later used in the legendary FSOL albums. Amazing how old some of these samples are...
30. My Glass Is Full [1:53]
31. Bak Off [0:04]


32. Are You Gonna Die 2 [4:11] - excellent ambient drive, again some strange original thinking...
33. Engaged in Violence [0:08]
34. We Are Leaving Tomorrow [1:57]


35. When Doors Close [1:50] - nice closing with some dark creepiness :)

Total Play: 73 min 39 sec

=======================================================================================================

Zeebox - Zeebox 84-87 Vol.2
[archived works 1984-87] (04.03.2007 Remaster)

fsoldigital.com – no catalog number

Image

01. Arseholed (5:22)
02. Ehh (0:05)
03. Clut And Handle (6:04)
04. 7 Horns (0:12)
05. Hemphill (4:40)
- particularly trippy track
- again, the first chunk of tracks works like a whole through here, ambient driven tracks.

06. Cathode Tubes (0:34)
07. May 2nd (1:42) - some experiments with tribal beat over some background darkness.
08. Paint This Town Red (0:12)
09. Disturbed Child (0:31)


10. Our Own Generation (2:31)
11. I Don't Need Your Gasoline (3:00)
12. I'm Confused You See (5:16)

- another good working chunk of dirty ambient breaks

13. Will Be Our Judge (2:34) - breaks surprise piece, and again, looking back, this was at least a few years ahead of its time.

14. Where Two Railways Cross (3:12)
15. Throwy (5:08)
16. 16 Rokenglen Park (1:26)
- Used in the opening of Room 208 on Lifeforms!
- third chunk of ambient/industrial - Zeebox 2 really looks more compact, but the pieces are a little less interesting that Zeebox 1.

17. She (3:20) - another track that fits its time (1984-87) but sticks out in this list.

18. Still Carole (1:50)
19. P Art Installation (1:34)
20. Lunch Box (0:26)
21. Skreatch (0:33)
22. Lights Repeat 8 (1:25)
23. Bad Acid (0:13)
24. Never Get To America (2:26)
25. 1 O'clock In The Morning Pissed Out Ma Face (2:47)

26. Well Meaning (3:10) - I gotta say, this track KICKS ASS
27. Sewage Works (2:00)
28. Oh Its A Girl (2:05)

- the last big working chunk of ambient/industrial tracks, it ends with birthing moans, creepy as usual :)

Total Play: 64 min 31 sec

=======================================================================================================

Zeebox - Zeebox 84-87 Vol.3
[archived works 1984-87] (09.08.2009 Remaster)

fsoldigital.com – no catalog number

Image

Subtitled: Heavily Involved In Drugs
This third part came out a two years after the first two. The cover is very creepy.
Comes with extensive artwork, a picture for every track.

01. Edney (2:50) - surprise opening with a dubby funky bassline track, I like this one a lot!

02. Heavily Involved In Drugs (4:44) - wonderful ambient piece, again, defining sounds of what will later become FSOL

03. Yowr (0:55)
04. Hydro Gem (0:26)
05. Conceal Them (1:57)


06. Lanes (2:27) - this would also easily fit on the Environments series

07. Hill Peoples (4:30) - another tribal beat experiment, not as good as the previous one...

08. Self Pity (3:38) - again we have some samples that will finish on FSOL tracks, amazing...

09. Bell Trap 7 (1:02)
10. A Dog That Learns (2:09)


11. Its To Late (4:04)
12. Tiki Smith (0:40)
13. The Tape Recorder (1:11)
14. Push Them Into Here (2:12)

- some heavy experimenting here, the subtitle says it all :)

15. Salford Adelphi Building (0:52) - wonderful effects here

16. She (1:57) - a version of the Zeebox 2 She track

17. Deserve To Be Alive (3:21) - a dark claustrophobic piece that would fit on ISDN.
18. Piano In Kitchen 3 (2:15)

19. Lucy Said (3:07) - another funky bass experiment, wonderful harmony, like!
20. Bells Trap 5 (1:05)

21. Spearhead (4:05)
- read subtitle.
22. When (0:13)

23. Counting Pleasures (6:38)
- as usual, the longest tracks feels finished and fits the period, and I like this one.

24. Small Mechanical Hands (0:22)
25. Throwys Friend (0:39)
26. Hill Peoples 2 (1:05)
27. Rusholme (4:55)
28. Transmission Gallery (0:51)
29. Dirty Piano Constant (3:04)

- heavy experimenting again, with the creepiest end.

Total Play: 67 min 15 sec

Seems like Zeebox 3 is the most interesting release with most of the tracks finished, Zeebox 1 is right behind it and Zeebox 2 is the most compact one.




Brian Dougans wrote:I had a portable 4 track cassette recorder and some mics. I used to take it everywhere and record on 1 track - room conversations, sewage works, rivers, cars, banging bits of metal in the forest etc etc. Later I would bring it all to my fathers studio and mix it through his desk and FX, then re-piece and overdub to form the ZEEBOX tracks. ZEEBOX was about art as sound, music concrete, situationist - in other words the art / sound reflected the situation / environment I was in / at.
The Zeebox 4 track:
Image
Last edited by Pandemonium on Sun May 13, 2018 9:01 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Pandemonium reviews - Zeebox

Post by mcbpete »

N.B Early Hafler (when it was Andrew McKenzie and Chris Watson) is quite different to latter day (post-2000ish and just Andrew McKenzie): The first is a mixture of crazy field recordings, dialogue from and about who-knows-what, clonky industrial dark ambience and basically the sound of mad men escaping from an asylum. The latter is mainly just a set of droney sounds seemingly PaulStretched over the course of an hour.

Interestingly there's an EP/Single that seems completely at odds from any of their releases - The subtlety titled "Fuck". This is very much in the industrial style of early 80s composers and is surprisingly dance-y (though what kind of mental club would play it I have no idea !)
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Re: Pandemonium reviews - Zeebox

Post by Dennis »

Great to have the forum back. I already feared it might have ceased to exist, gone to meet its maker, etc....

Great also to read some proper reviews of the zeebox stuff at last.(don't actually know if ross did some on his site, will have a look immidiately)
I must say that I still haven't gone into all that experimental stuff from brian. Think I should start with zeebox. I still know only the pieces from the EBS mixes, that one on EBS5 still scares the shit out of me.

Pandemonium, will you now work yourself through the whole stuff of the guys starting with the early 80ies? That would be quite a job to do...but I'm curious.
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Re: Pandemonium reviews - Zeebox

Post by Pandemonium »

Dennis wrote:Pandemonium, will you now work yourself through the whole stuff of the guys starting with the early 80ies? That would be quite a job to do...but I'm curious.
Yeah, I'm planning to :) (listening to Humanoid stuff right now)
If you guys would read it, I'll write it :)

Also, I wouldn't call them proper reviews, because I don't do research and I don't even bother to make them look official, I just write my thoughts on them :)
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Re: Pandemonium reviews - Zeebox

Post by Ross »

Don't have the tracks with me at the minute, but my favourite was always the one with the vocals - are you concealed? or something, I think it featured on EBS2 with a different title.
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Pande-reviews: 1988.1 (Stakker Humanoid)

Post by Pandemonium »

Humanoid - Stakker Humanoid [single] (1988)
Westside Records – WSRT 12 / WSR 12 / CDWSR 12

Image

A1 - Stakker Humanoid | 4:59
A2 - Stakker Humanoid (Radio Edit) | 3:40
B1 - Stakker Humanoid (The Omen Mix) | 7:50

B - Stakker Humanoid (Part 2) | 4:00

4 - Stakker Humanoid | 4:04


Stakker Humanoid, the track that launched Brian into the mainstream charts and the lands of certain popularity and acknowledgement.

The project was called STAKKER, a brave video project about Eurotechno that was a brainchild of Buggy G (Marc McClean) and Colin Scott. These video artists needed a musical background, so Brian stepped in.

The whole thing was supported by Morgan Khan, a music mogul known in the UK during the '80s, who provided the use of TB-303s and TR-808s, and one of the first Acid House tracks was made in the UK (and the world, acid/house/techno were still infant genres in 1988). The Evil Otto sample “Humanoid” from the Berzerk videogame provided the name of the track.

Some sort of dispute came out between the people involved, even before the very first release of the track, but Buggy G and Brian D continued their collaborations on other projects (such as FSOL artwork) for many decades.

The track itself is a classic in the world of acid techno. It starts kinda slow and old, but in the next minute we hear sounds that defy the tooth of time - this track sounds fresh today, 24 years later - still pumpin' with energy and a guarantee dancefloor killer.

In the 1988-1989 period only, this single had about 14 successful releases,
and about 27 re-releases and remixes in 1992, 2001 & 2007 (we'll talk about them later) :)

PS - and let's not forget that this sound was made by a 23 years old Dougans.



Lots of the bleeps and effects as well as the legendary robotic voice originate from this Berzerk game from 1980:
Last edited by Pandemonium on Sun Oct 09, 2016 9:03 pm, edited 13 times in total.
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Pande-reviews: 1988.2 (Humanoid Sessions 84-88)

Post by Pandemonium »

Humanoid - Sessions 84-88
[archived works 1984-88] (10.02.2003 Remaster)

Rephlex – CAT 130 CD/LP

Image

When this was released for the first time in 2003 by Rephlex records, it still sounded fucking fresh & awesome! Why no-one released this back in 1988 I really have no idea... it's a mystery of the universe... I can't help but wonder if Brian met AFX, in 2003 (because AFX is co-owner of Rephlex) - did they exchanged a few words? - what da fuck did they say to each other...? I'd give my left sack to see/hear those moments...

[EDIT: years later I got the answers, they can be read at the end of the Stakker - Eurotechno post.]

This release is acid-house-techno-hard-core in its purest form. Analog glitches, proto-industrial drums and robotic voices. Again, some pieces are not finished, and again, lets bear in mind that this was produced by Dougans at age 19 to 23. ACID everywhere, 303 & 808 classics - this release should be played loud.

01. Stakker Humanoid (Snowman Mix) (4:47) - the original is better, but this is a bang-on mix too.
02. Positive Electron (2:37) - this track BLOWS my mind every time, my favorite track by far - this is, in my ears, the best hard-core acid ever recorded! Please play LOUD!
03. Negative Electron (2:42)
04. Rotation (2:34) - very close to track 2, this is another legendary production.
05. Your Body Robotic (0:54) - this short unfinished piece bursts with original samples (that are used on many Humanoid tracks)
06. Swamp Amp (1:24)
07. Interlude Whistle (0:05)
08. Delay Decay (0:53) - another short but brilliant piece.
09. Motion Static (3:28) - nice ride, you can see here that Brian on his fastest albums still manages to sneak in a ambi-ride.
10. E Prom Contact (2:37)
11. Hulme Slipway (1:38)
12. Pulsar (2:16) - probably the oldest track here, you can feel the foolin' around with the equipment.
13. Small Cluid (2:33)
14. Jet Stream Tokyo (3:34) - the track that made it to the Peel Session, the beat is a slowed down Stakker Humanoid.
15. Cry Baby (4:53) - the most danceable tune here, the beginning is kinda watered down and dumb, but later the acid kicks in.
16. Piano In Litchen (3:09) - a Zeebox track, wonderful ambient, this would fit in the Environments series like a charm.
17. Laughing Box (4:24)
18. Fx Dial (0:06)
19. Nano Plura (3:54) - the crazy track!
20. Well Meaning (3:09) - typical Brian beat-development, from the trance department.
21. Land Of Ash (0:38)
22. Zeebox (TV Dinner Part 1) (3:24) - the Zeebox paranoia track, samples used in countless ISDN transmissions.
23. 2nd Of May (1:23) - some tribal beats for the end - but it just didn't seem appropriate to end like this...

Like I said, this is a must-have release for all the acid lovers, they will bring memories back from all those warehouse parties in the late 80's / early 90's :D

Last edited by Pandemonium on Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:11 am, edited 14 times in total.
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Pande-reviews: 1988.3 (Humanoid - Peel Session)

Post by Pandemonium »

Humanoid - Peel Session [live mix] (15.11.1988) - unreleased / bootleg

Image

A three track Peel Session, John Peel had a vision that Brian will become a legend, and he was right (as usual).
The tracks are not hard-core like the Sessions 84-88, instead they are slower and more danceable. (and not in a good way)

This marks the beginning of the end of the Humanoid - in 1989 Dougans releases the Global album with it's many singles, all house/dance in structure, but hey, that's for another post...

1. Orbital (Feeling) - nice acid/techno track.
2. Slam - stripped down version, it gets boring really fast.
3. Jet Stream Tokyo - better version than the album one - in my opinion.

PS - this was available on the Disenchanted FTP, the quality is poor, but this release is an important collectors' item.
PPS - all 3 tracks were released in 2007 on the Humanoid's Your Body Robotic remix album.

Last edited by Pandemonium on Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:39 am, edited 10 times in total.
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Re: Pandemonium reviews - Humanoid Sessions 84-88

Post by mcbpete »

Really love Orbital (Feeling) - For ages I just assumed I had it mislabelled and that it was a track called 'Feeling' that was by Orbital !
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Re: Pandemonium reviews - Humanoid Sessions 84-88

Post by Ross »

The Peel Session is available on the CD edition of Your Body Robotic. It's probably my favourite Humanoid stuff.
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Pande-reviews - 1989 (Humanoid - Global)

Post by Pandemonium »

Humanoid - Global [album] (1989) Westside Records – CD HUM 1989

Image

This was the first, the last and the only official Humanoid album. And thank god for that... what got into Brian's mind? I don't know and I don't want to know (...turns out I DID want to know and found out the truth 2,5 years later - read about this at the end of the post)... the important thing is - he got over it.

This is the opposite of the 'Sessions 84-88' release. Stakker Humanoid was/is one of the best acid tracks that ever appeared on the face of the Earth, and Humanoid became somewhat popular, so in 1989 Brian tried to do some commercial house music and watered down acid - and the result was/is the worst record with Brian's signature...

I really don't like this record - so I'll try to give the most positive opinions about it, considering that, in 1989 this release was as good as any commercial house release - it was that awful '80s sound with synths and horrible drum snare/kicks that I hate so much...

01. Humanoid
- better known as Stakker Humanoid, which we all know and love, we talked about it a few posts up - this is the only good track on the entire release!

02. Tonight // Vocals - Sharon Benson // Vocals [Additional Chorus] - Janet Cofie
- vocal house, awful, the only decent thing in this track are the last 50 seconds of piano improvisations.

03. Dream
- the bassline is barely decent, again some piano improv, everything else is horrible, like a cheap '80s movie...

04. Technoid
- every track that starts with 'BABY!!!' should be erased from history!

05. Cry Baby
- same as above, but with some decent acid loops.

06. Sunshine & Brick // Vocals - Garry Cobain
- this seems to be the first official evidence of B&G working together! If we don't count track 1, this is the best track on the album. A little scary and dark, even something like dance/industrial - looks like something clicked between B&G here, and the Future was born.

07. The Deep // Mixed By - Peter Black // Rap - Ben Ofoedu
- horrible, sounds to me like a eastern pop song that went wrong...

08. Slam // Vocals - Lisa Millett
- sounds like a distant cousin to Stakker Humanoid, some nice acid and effects, but the vocals destroy it totally...

09. Crystals
- reminds me of Orbital in the same period, the keyboard color is the same. Again, I am reminded of cheesy movies of the '80s...

10. Don't Stop // Rap - Ben Ofoedu
- and I am totally out of borderline-nice things to say about this release...

What can we say... maybe... every brilliant composer has one shitty album in his history... ...and Brian was only 23 or 24... and it all goes upwards from here.

- An edited version of Sunshine & Brick appeared on Deep Heat 5 compilation, under the name Homeboy:


EDIT:
It turns out a GREAT movie-like story is behind the smelly sound of Global:
Brian Dougans wrote: Humanoid - Global. Now there's a story never told. In short, some tracks are not written by me - I never finished the album I was working on. I lived in a rat infested squat with drug addicts and prostitutes. The record company (West Side / Street Sounds) were FUKIN me - £££ and stitched me right up in contracts. I got very ill - legal stuff - rats - and had to escape. I returned to Glasgow and hid and got well.

In the mean time the record company brought in PETER BLACK who completed the album and wrote several tracks. He was paid off - simultaneously I was arming myself with a lawyer and took West Side to court. In the end I won and own Humanoid and catalogue - but that's why it doesn't sound like either STAKKER Humanoid / FSOL / ZEEBOX.

I worked on Stakker Humanoid / Tonight / Slam / Crystals / Sunshine and Brick - The rest of the tracks are by PETER BLACK.

Interestingly, TONIGHT (The Original) had Gaz singing - it was much better, sounded like THE BELOVED - The Sun Rising - but they (Street Sounds) changed it to some dodgy female...

Some final points:
- All lyrics are actually by Gaz.
- The drums on Crystals are by Dave Ruffy of THE RUTS.
- Sunshine and Brick was theme music to a BBC youth programme and released (illegally under the name HOMEBOY).
- Sunshine and Brick is taken from "Bacteria from a Baboons Stomach" by Twitch - there is also a video for this track.

There's a lot more to that story including Stakker Communication, a separate company, also not playing ball - very messy time.
Explanation about TWITCH:
- Is the very first band that Dougans and Cobain formed, called Twitch. It happened in Manchester in 1986/7. The band consisted of three people, the third member was Ian McArthur, a Scottish guy who played bass. The release they recorded was called Bacteria from a Baboons Stomach, they even sold a few cassettes in Manchester, but this ultra-rare release has never surfaced on the net, yet... I can only assume this band played some hybrid of industrial experimental electronic stuff. Also a few videos from those sessions are in existence. Twitch soon fell out, McArthur left and Dougans/Cobain moved to London - and the rest, as they say, is history.

- I'm really somewhat relieved that I gave Global a bad review :)

PS - links and technical text editing done by me.
Last edited by Pandemonium on Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:41 am, edited 13 times in total.
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Pande-reviews: 1989.1 (Humanoid - Tonight / The Deep / Slam)

Post by Pandemonium »

The only bad record that Brian released managed to spawn 3-and-a-half singles (or 3 singles and 1 promo).
Most of them are as bad as the Global album itself, - and there is a good explanation for that - so please read the ending of the previous post.
- But let's see what we can... see... about them, in short:

Humanoid - Tonight [single] (1989) Westside Records – HUMT 1

Image

12"
A1 - Tonight (Club Version) [5:16] - a more danceable version, for clubs, as the title says, it's better than the album version and it has more piano improv, and a few badass moments.

B1 - Tonight (Radical Mix) [6:40] - probably the best version, with most acid synths and piano improvisations.

B2 - Tonight (Acid Jam) [3:45] - same as B1, the title says it should have more acid, but it doesn't.

7"
A - Tonight (Radio Mix) [3:50] - actually an edit of the album version.

The credits say Garry was responsible for vocal rearrangements - and I must say they do sound better, as horrible as they are.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Humanoid - The Deep [single] (1989) Westside Records – HUMT 2

Image

A1 - The Deep (Into The Abyss Mix) [5:45] - a better mix, the effects on the beginning are good and the track goes good until the rap starts, ...

A2 - The Deep (Extended LP Version) [4:30] - there is nothing extended here... move along...

B1 - Cry Baby (Extended LP Version) [4:30] - this one is extended, but when you extend a horrible track, you only get a more horrible track.

B2 - The Deep (W5 Mix) [5:07] - a smoother version, again, when the rap starts, it all goes to ...



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Humanoid - Crystals (Back Together) [promo single] (1989)
Westside Records – PROMO HUMT 3

Image

A - Crystals (Back Together) (Extended Mix) - the so-called extended mix is 35 seconds shorter than the album version :) As I said, the keyboard bassline really reminds me of early Orbital ... and cheesy movies from the '80s...

B - Crystals (Back Together) (Extended Mix) -- see above

DJ Limited edition - same track on both sides.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Humanoid - Slam [single] (1989) Westside Records – CDWSR14

Image

1 - Slam (Club Mix) [6:34] - a more danceable version with more acid...

2 - Slam (Radio Edit) [3:54] - a distant Stakker Humanoid cousin with bad vocals...

3 - Bass Invaders [3:21] - an exclusive track - some nice patterns, but the YEAH / BABY sampling vocals fuck it up completely...

4 - Slam (Hip House Mix) [3:54] - dance-dance-dance, I feel stupider just by listening to this track more than 3 times. Now I get why RONTXO sent me a 12" gratis of this single when we exchanged a few items a few years back.

This single even got a CD release (all the others were 12" only) with an exclusive track (Bass Invaders).



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...and after these singles we come to the year 1990 and it really all goes upwards :)
Last edited by Pandemonium on Mon Nov 30, 2015 12:21 am, edited 10 times in total.
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Pande-reviews: 1989.2 (Stakker - Eurotechno)

Post by Pandemonium »

I almost forgot this one, and it's one of the most important ones.
Before we go to 1990, we have one more 1989 recording, and it should've been a few posts up, before Global, somewhere with the Humanoid Sessions 84-88.

Stakker - Eurotechno
[video/audio acid project] (1989) (27.01.2003 Remaster)

[1st VHS limited release: 1989] / Virgin Music Video – VVC570
[1st audio release: 2003] / Rephlex – CAT 129 CD/LP

Image

Eurotechno (Parts 1 to 21) (25:29)
- it should be considered as a one whole track, but for some reason (and we'll find out the reason a few years later, read the Edits at the end of the post) they chopped it up on 21 short pieces...

A timeless acid piece that inspired the opening of the legendary Rephlex records (owned by Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin and Grant Wilson-Claridge) - and for tribute, they re-released the audio in 2003. This was the same deal package with Humanoid Sessions 84-88, and again, I wonder if Brian and AFX met and what they talked about. [edit: these questions were answered years later when I started interviewing Dougans, read the excerpt at the end of the post]

The Stakker project was more than just Brian solo work, though the audio is all Brian's work. It was a legendary audio/video project - Colin Scott, Mark McLean (aka Buggy G. Riphead) and Marek Pytel (as an executive producer) participated in the making of the video. Considering it was 1989, imagine what kind of graphic software and analog hardware they used to make this incredible piece. The video is very advanced for its time and it completely represents a good acid trip [see clip below].

The acid BPMs in the beginning are off the charts, the connection cut-offs between the short sketches are forming a weird and unique experience. It's very sci-fi. It gets a little slower towards the end, or it might be just that I got used to the speed/trip.



EDIT: 25 years later and exactly 12 years after the remaster came out (early 2015), Dougans shed some additional light on this project.

They actually did about 20 stings for MTV back in 1988/89. The stings were 10 seconds / 30 seconds / 1 minute long.
"MTV - Your TV - Blows Your Screen" - they ran these from 1988 till 1994 (maybe beyond), basically they were MTV station logos done by Stakker.

Stakker Communication was the name for Marc McLean (aka Buggy G Riphead) & Colin Scott which was basically the video guys (without Dougans). They worked on a few more (acid) video projects. The one called Ultratech was a longform piece made for MTV. And of course The Evil Acid Baron, which was made for Rhythm King Records (Baby Ford etc etc). Buggy and Colin went to college together. Dougans met them in The Haçienda in Manchester, where they decided to team up as Stakker visuals, with Dougans on sound for the Eurotechno project.

And here's what Dougans had to say about his AFX experience back in 2003:
Pandemonium wrote: Well, how did the 2003 Rephlex re-releases (of Stakker Eurotechno & Humanoid Sessions 84-88) happened? Did you meet Aphex Twin? Have you ever talked to him?
Brian Dougans wrote: He (RDJ) phoned me and said he wants to talk about Stakker. How much of an influence on him and Grant it had been, and could he put it out on Rephlex. Of course 'Yes' was the reply.

I spent several weeks pulling on old reels of tape. The whole track at one point was hanging of my wall on pieces of tape - about 300-400 little pieces of 1/4 inch tape; which we then randomly grabbed and re-pieced together - that's why it keeps changing mad frantic cuts!

I sent everything to Grant and him, and Richard formed the Stakker session album. Then they also licensed the EUROTECHNO soundtrack from MGM in USA. When it came to mastering and cutting the album I met with Richard and Grant in south London. We spent several hours mastering, and then Richard said: I live around the corner, lets go back for some recreational activities. He at that point lived in a 5 store office block, the basement was flooded, the ground floor was like a building site. He lived at the top, in between were his studios - piano room - synths - etc - very cool. I spent the rest of the day with Richard and Grant, indulging... Lovely guy, very serious, lives for ART...
Last edited by Pandemonium on Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:48 am, edited 9 times in total.
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