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Just got the details for this via email. Whilst I have ordered the vinyl, I do wish there had been a cd option. I don't have a record deck anymore, went for the vinyl because I prefer having something physical and also because it states limited edition.

Do we know anything else about it?

It's the sequel to the Captures EP. 9 tracks. Listed as pre 8 - 2 so 2nd in the Environments 8 series. While Captures was an EP, this looks like a mini album?
Not sure how I feel about the artwork though. It's, odd.

1. Askance
2. Hauqil
3. Improvisation 1
4. C*Lab-Anim
5. Elided
6. Kuttin
7. Set of Leaf
8. Uttion
9. Northern Point

OffLand wrote: Sun May 04, 2025 4:53 pm Not sure how I feel about the artwork though. It's, odd.

A rough 3d scan (gaussian splat) of a Nagra IV maybe - https://www.nagraaudio.com/wp-content/u ... 0x1080.jpg

Looks like it’s blurring the boundaries between EP and album. Those titles are looking decidedly Humanoidesque.

Interesting to see Northern Point on there, that was previewed on FB for E7… it shares a lot of its DNA with ‘Trichome’.

Nine tracks is a lot for an EP, but if they’re all three minutes then it won’t be much longer than Captures. I suppose we’ll see in a couple of days!

mcbpete wrote: Sun May 04, 2025 5:12 pm A rough 3d scan (gaussian splat) of a Nagra IV maybe - https://www.nagraaudio.com/wp-content/u ... 0x1080.jpg

You're right, it does look like a rough 3d scan. That makes a little more sense. From the song names and album title it looks like the theme for this one is "Process", thus the rougher look to the album cover?

Looks like the digital version is now released. Fairly short tracks, except Northern Point which clocks in at nearly 6 minutes.

Yeah, 29 minutes, so not much longer than Captures.

Askance - Ok, properly into Humanoid territory here. Very dark punchy IDM.
Hauqil - A bit lighter, some bright chords in the middle, but the same echo-chamber IDM percussion and brooding synths.
Improvisation 1 - Was wondering what this title would suggest. Piano improv, apparently, with a ton of textures on top. Very 'Views'. Beautiful stuff.
C*Lab-Anim - Oh, mangled trip-hop time. Double bass, chunky lo-fi drums. That bass riff is really reminding me of 'NY State of Mind' by Nas, haha. Piano notes. Dark stuff again.
Elided - Humanoid returns, tinny drum machine clattering.
Kuttin - Bit of spoken word to start. Thought this would go into chunky ISDN beats again but they're chopped up, triggered, glitched and scratched, 303 comes in and we're back to Humanoid style again. Melancholic pads coming in near the end.
Set of Leaf - More IDM beats with textures and subtle pads. Quite a fast one, lots of reverby sounds.
Uttion - Haha what? High pitch, tuned rattling and an old organ rhythm, some warm chords that take me back to old '90s ambient house synths. God, I wish this were longer, this is very strange.
Northern Point - As heard on the video a few years back. Wasn't taken with it back then but it works pretty well at the end of this EP.

So overall, this reminds me most of Music for 3 Books, actually - it's rhythm-forward, very dark, and really thickly textured. Field recordings and crackling / crumbling sounds all over - but a version of that album produced by Humanoid. Maybe a cross between that and Built by Humanoid. It's very different to Captures, which had a much brighter, cleaner sound and seemed to be heading into an urban environment, this is back into the undergrowth.

Pros - it's very good, all the tracks here are solid and there are some I'm going to really enjoy coming back to. It has a consistent atmosphere throughout.
Cons - it's not offering much new. Uttion is definitely different, albeit short, but otherwise this is all ploughing the same territory as the last few albums. I said in the Calendar thread that it feels a little like the weirder and more experimental pieces are being syphoned off to those albums these days and I'm worried that's having a detrimental affect on the major releases, and that still stands: tracks like '600 o ix' and 'Clear Mass 4' have that proper WTF vibe of great FSOL, and the mainline releases seem to be largely lacking that these days.

First listen gives me a 7/10: solid, and if it had come out in 2017 it would have blown me away, but I'm just aching for something really different.

I agree with your assessment, Imogen. I really liked Captures. Multiple Angle Distortions is fine, but no standouts for me. After a first listen, I'm still under the impression that this is a "Window into the Process" themed release, featuring some beats and sketches that will be reworked and sampled for E8 proper. Then again, could be wrong. I guess we'll see!

I'm liking it so far--only listened to it once, but about to go in for a second round....

Been listening to the two EPs as a pair quite a bit recently and enjoying them more, they're definitely growers for me, a bit like the Ramblings EPs/Music for 3 Books. Captures really is beautiful, and this is enjoyably murky and aggressive, two sides of the same coin - the actual sounds are of similar palettes on both EPs, but the tone is incredibly different.

I was chatting to Brian recently and he hinted that Environment Eight won't actually sound much like the EPs at all, with just slight hints of where things are going here, I think that might have helped ease my mind a little, as the combined EPs still basically sound like Environment 7.004, which is still my real issue.

Also the art doesn't help, there's not even a hint of atmosphere or place anything in the two cover images. To be honest, I think the cover art has struggled a lot since Buggy departed, being mostly very abstract and just not very evocative. Last artwork I really liked was inside the Cascade 2020 booklet.

"Also the art doesn't help, there's not even a hint of atmosphere or place anything in the two cover images. To be honest, I think the cover art has struggled a lot since Buggy departed, being mostly very abstract and just not very evocative. Last artwork I really liked was inside the Cascade 2020 booklet."

Tell him I'm available if he needs me!

Just noticed 'Kuttin' was first played during the seventh Touched Mixlr night in 2022.

fsol has finally become humanoid after many years heading in that direction. its not bad but its so far away from fsol that i really dont recognise what the name stands for anymore.