Environment 7 trilogy

[fsolish]

Yes, Morning mist of obscurity is there, also in different versions

http://groove-musicsearch-v2-sv5.godd.j ... ack/197764

All the tracks from the The Research Remixed album have different versions...

http://groove-musicsearch-v2-sv5.godd.j ... album/5552 Click on the trackname -> Other version

[Ross]

Yeah, it feels like they were specifically made with licensing in mind, hence the various versions, unlike some of the earlier library collections which were simply unreleased tracks they thought might be suitable.

An alternate version called Morning Mist was on the 2016 Touched Music show.

[nanio tine]

Yeah, I think FSOL isn't in organic ambient mode at the moment.

I think the word organic might be a good way of describing what I'm talking about. the current music sounds the opposite, it sounds really rigid. there are no real grooves or much warmth. I listened to it again earlier and followed it with lifeforms and lifeforms sounds so alive in comparison, the beats have flow and grooves, the segues are all brimming with gurgles and nature sounds and flutes and it just sounds really as you say organic. I've seen people say loads of times over the years that they can't imagine how two people made such mind-blowing music and that is the case. whereas with the recent stuff its very rigid and just sounds like a guy with a drum machine and some synths. which can be good and there are great tracks but it doesn't have the unique otherworldness of the best 90s material and early environments like 4.

[Vandit89]

Music has become more aggressive but no less beautiful.

[moxlox]

Can we only get a copy of this on Bandcamp at the moment?

I foolishly thought it would be out in an HMV shop this coming weekend! I see Amazon says their pre-order date for vinyl is 18 November and for the CD is 25 November…

Good price for the vinyl on Amazon by the way at £20.24 including UK postage.

[Ross]

A few online stores seem to have it - Juno and the likes - but Amazon’s date is much later. Someone on Discogs claims shops will have it from November 4th. My recommendation would be just to get it from Bandcamp. More money goes to the band that way too.

[gabo86]

A few online stores seem to have it - Juno and the likes - but Amazon’s date is much later. Someone on Discogs claims shops will have it from November 4th. My recommendation would be just to get it from Bandcamp. More money goes to the band that way too.

I haven't heard the album yet, so I cannot talk about it, but I don't understand why it is not available on FSOLdigital, which is owned and managed by them and so there are no "bandcamp fees" (which are way lower than other stores', but there are still). If they are dismantling it, why is it still online? And if it's still online, why can't we buy E7.002 from there?

(ok, it's a very stupid question, but still, waiting for E7.002, I thought about it)

[Ross]

I would guess it's still online because people have downloads remaining in their accounts, plus certain releases aren't on Bandcamp (especially those by other artists), and as a way to do the calendar albums via email. There are now 11 releases in the two years since the launch of the Bandcamp page that haven't been included on FSOLDigital. My guess is that Bandcamp has received the vast majority of the sales since it launched so there hasn't been much reason to add them to FSOLDigital.

Not a stupid question at all, I've thought about it myself. Nothing really makes much sense in FSOL world, though.

[moxlox]

Purchased CD on Bandcamp. Wished I’d ordered it a few weeks ago now though as it says 8 days to deliver for some reason. Too many other things been going on for me so didn’t get a chance before now hence hoping just to pop down to a real shop (!) when I had a moment. Also pre-ordered the vinyl on Amazon because I can wait for that, and seemed like a good price to me.

Was next going to ask the what’s happened to FSOLdigital question! So not stupid at all. I assume the admin is less hassle for them on Bandcamp compared to running their own site, plus it has wider audience exposure. So those two things offset the fees to Bandcamp.

[darktrain]

Yeah, I think FSOL isn't in organic ambient mode at the moment.

I think the word organic might be a good way of describing what I'm talking about. the current music sounds the opposite, it sounds really rigid. there are no real grooves or much warmth. I listened to it again earlier and followed it with lifeforms and lifeforms sounds so alive in comparison, the beats have flow and grooves, the segues are all brimming with gurgles and nature sounds and flutes and it just sounds really as you say organic. I've seen people say loads of times over the years that they can't imagine how two people made such mind-blowing music and that is the case. whereas with the recent stuff its very rigid and just sounds like a guy with a drum machine and some synths. which can be good and there are great tracks but it doesn't have the unique otherworldness of the best 90s material and early environments like 4.

This has a feeling of just brian at work here,gaz always seems to bring more warmth to the mix,i could be wrong but it's just a feeling i get from the music? Loving the album though ,it has a nice flow to it and the fact they've been using their own made synths is cool too.

[Ross]

The two Amorphousy tracks - In Solitude and All This Has Happened Before - definitely have Gaz’s DNA in them.

[nanio tine]

I suppose that makes sense, i think my favourite fsol is where they're working together, but then I do like some of the earlier environments which are still mostly Brian. it seems with the rearrival of humanoid on the scene that it seems to have marked a move towards a more aggressive and colder idm sound, obviously Brian is just in that headspace at the minute but its a shame for me as I definitely prefer as ross says the organic/ambient approach of fsol much more than this

[mcbpete]

Listened to this for the first time this week along with the alt version of Biosphere - Substrata (https://biosphere.bandcamp.com/album/su ... e-versions). Had both queued up on my phone playlist and thought they'd got jumbled up when it reached the end bit of Temporarily Aliasing ... that's definitely from Kobresia right ?!

[Ross]

Haha, wow, I hadn’t spotted that! Definitely the same chords, although it switches back to the first quicker and is a bit sharper in sound so possibly just a coincidence rather than a sample. Nice spot though.

[moxlox]

So my vinyl copy of this has arrived but it has a skip near the end of Embodied Cognition. Anyone else have that problem or do I just have an unlucky copy?

Had the CD version for a while, and I love it (unsurprisingly). Pretty much on repeat all the time at the moment. First off I didn't think it was anywhere close to Rituals in quality but it soon grew on me. Favourite tracks are All this has Happened Before, In Solitude We Are At Least Alone (for which I had never heard the mind maps version) and ironically Embodied Cognition. This is probably not surprising as Environment Five is my favourite FSOL since Dead Cities.

Have listened to Rituals and A Space of Partial Illumination together in one sitting and they go well together. Like Ross said, they are closer in style than anticipated. However nothing on Space beats Hopiate or Far Seeker from Rituals for me. I also think the E7s to date are stronger than the Environment 6 albums - not that there was anything wrong with them.

Much enjoyment being had with A Space of Partial Illumination - thanks once again FSOL