Record Store Day 2023 - Tales of Ephidrina and Life in Moments expanded reissues

[Ross]

Tales of Ephidrina will be getting an overdue vinyl reissue, with a bonus 12" featuring four tracks. These will also feature on a CD reissue version.
Mountain Path (from Environment Six!)
Static Field (heard on one of the Touched Music nights)
Skyscraper (Extended)
Swab (Alt)

Life in Moments will be finally back in print. 1000 LPs featuring the Schubert Violin Sonata - originally expected to be on E7 - as a bonus track at the end of side A. I believe there's a further expanded CD edition on the way. New art:

Blurb reveals that there are only 250 copies of the original CD in existence!

[tengram]

This is awesome.

I had been hoping maybe we'd finally also get Environments 3 on LP. Have to keep hoping...

[Ross]

Environments 3 was one of three potentials mooted for the FSOLDigital release so it's not been forgotten about.

[Trigga Bo]

Amazing! How did I guess with 'Ephidrina' the most delicious as always - reissue, rarity & bonuses...
a couple of years ago I mentioned 'Ephidrina' we were heard and all releases in this year on RSD from FSOL are logical and correct...
RSD 2024 - 'ISDN', RSD 2025 - new Amorphous Androgynous, RSD 2026 - 'SEMTEX', RSD 2027 - 'Globular LP'
About 'Life in Moments' it was expected, a beautiful compilation + additions, changes + LP...
Well done! Everything was done according to beauty! B&G - Wonderful guys!

[mcbpete]

Nice, definitely gonna grab that Tales of Ephidrina CD !

[moxlox]

Tales of Ephidrina will be getting an overdue vinyl reissue, with a bonus 12" featuring four tracks. These will also feature on a CD reissue version.
Mountain Path (from Environment Six!)
Static Field (heard on one of the Touched Music nights)
Skyscraper (Extended)
Swab (Alt)

Is Tales of Ephidrina being re-released as an Amorphous Androgynous release or an FSOL release?

Any rationale for that combination of four tracks? Other than Swab not obviously connected to Ephidrina. Do they musically go together? (We might not know yet!)

[Ross]

Still Amorphous.

Mountain Path is an alt version of Mountain Goat, Skyscraper was a b-side from the Liquid Insects 12” so they’re clearly related to the album. Static Field is an outtake from the same era.

[Ross]

Life in Moments will be reissued on CD on 5th May. This version includes four bonus tracks: 'Sonata Andantino' as on the LP, as well as 'Fresseline', 'Held in Warmth' and 'Plant Life'.

1. Taken Leave of All Senses
2. Viewed from Across the Room
3. I Turn to Face the Sun
4. Bring
5. Sonata Andantino
6. Sea + LCD
7. Grindatone
8. A Somnambulant Drift
9. Talisman
10. Abandoned Housing Blocks of Prypiat
11. Triospheres
12. Fresseline
13. Held in Warmth
14. Plant Life
15. Falling Upwards Aria

Art will match the earlier CD release.

I believe 'Fresseline' is taken from the Lifeforms rework sessions. That and Sonata are Gaz-heavy, matching the bulk of the original release, I wonder if the remaining two tracks will be similar.

[tengram]

Life in Moments will be reissued on CD on 5th May. This version includes four bonus tracks: 'Sonata Andantino' as on the LP, as well as 'Fresseline', 'Held in Warmth' and 'Plant Life'.

I wonder if that means there'll also be a more general (non-numbered) LP pressing eventually, too, then?

[Ross]

Most of the RSD releases have had non-numbered vinyl repressings later on so I wouldn't be surprised. FSOLDigital is just about the only label that seems to do RSD well - an early, limited numbered release for collectors, but with CD and LP reissues later on for general fans.

[tengram]

Juno now has a page up to pre-order the CD version of Life in Moments

[Ross]

Some notes on the CD version:

Running order is definitely changed, Triospheres is pushed right back. Feels weird not to have it coming in after Bring.

Sonata Andantino is called Sonata Ackco on the CD version. This version doesn’t feature Morven Bryce on violin like the mix we heard on the Touched night. Beautiful piece.

Sea + LSD is renamed / misspelled as Sea + LCD.

Triospheres now features a new closing environment, synth bubbles and lo-fi strings.

Fresseline is indeed a track that was worked on for the Lifeforms reworking. Alisha Sufit vocals, electric guitars. Very Amorphous.

Held in Warmth - if the past few releases have been relatively low on surprises, it’s nice to know that something like this can still randomly pop up. String quartet loops, lo-fi reversed percussion, choir and jazz samples near the end. Utterly bizarre.

Plant Life - slow, bleepy synth arps. Very much a piece of the last few years, but has an oddly lo-fi sound that stops it from feeling like a retread.

Falling Upwards Aria feels a bit odd coming after a couple of gentle tracks. And there’s a hidden track! I can’t remember the last time I bought a new album with a hidden track, must be 15+ years. It’s just some odd gurgling noises so nothing to write home about. Still, another surprise.

Booklet features montages of old photos, as with the book the album originally accompanied. The spine uses the same font and layout as A Space of Partial Illumination, surprisingly.

It’s going to take a bit of getting used to, having listened to the first mix of the album so many times. All of the new tracks are worthwhile, but the structure feels so utterly different, despite comparatively few changes.

[808Spense]

Will it be possible to buy the new tracks individually from Bandcamp?

[Ross]

Looks like this is the case for albums already on there, so quite likely.

[mcbpete]

Will it be possible to buy the new tracks individually from Bandcamp?

Yep, now on Bandcamp - tracks can be individually grabbed for £1: https://fsol.bandcamp.com/album/life-in ... s-rsd-2023

So did the Ephidrina re-release happen or just Life in Moments ? (completely missed RSD this year)