The Future Sound of London - 1994 - Lifeforms (2-CD) [TQMP]

____________________________________________________________________________
| |
| The Future Sound of London - 1994 - Lifeforms (2-CD) |::
| |::
| Ripped w/EAC v1.0b2 (Secure) :: Encoded w/FLAC v1.2.1 -8 -V |::
|____________________________________________________________________________|::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

+--------------+
+------+ Pack / Files +--------------------------------------------------------+
| +--------------+ |
| No. of Files / Size _____ 37 files / 484.53MB (508,068,308 bytes) |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+--------------+
+------+ Audio Source +--------------------------------------------------------+
| +--------------+ |
| Type / Quantity _________ CD (Compact Disc) (* 2) |
| Date Released ___________ 26th of May, 1994 |
| User Rating _____________ 4.3/5 (67 ratings) |
| Genre(s) ________________ Electronic / Ambient |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+--------+
+------+ Review +--------------------------------------------------------------+
| +--------+ |
| Despite all the efforts of British duo Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans |
| (read: no less than thirty albums under twenty-five different aliases), |
| the electronica they envisioned as London's future sound over the past |
| twenty-one years never exactly transitioned into the city's present |
| sound. But it's been a fantastic run all the same, even if the duo has |
| been focusing more on their psychedelic, progressive material as of |
| late. With that said, the most impressive works in The Future Sound of |
| London's back catalogue are some of the duo's earliest studio albums. |
| The production of Lifeforms was well underway as Cobain and Dougans |
| released Tales of Ephindrina under the Amorphous Androgynous banner in |
| 1993. Accordingly, whereas Tales of Ephindrina did a great job in |
| combining the techno of the duo's earliest writings and the ambience of |
| their later works, Lifeforms takes on a more complex, experimental |
| structure. In doing this, The Future Sound of London not only cemented |
| their status as one of the scene's top acts, but also crafted one of the |
| genre's top records. |
| |
| If Lifeforms was held back by anything at all, it would certainly be its |
| large volume of tracks. There are longer electronic albums from that |
| era, of course; case in point, The Orb's Adventures Beyond the |
| Ultraworld exceeds it by nearly twenty minutes. But with ninety-two |
| minutes of material spread over nineteen songs on two discs, Lifeforms |
| can make for quite the daunting listen nevertheless. That isn't to say |
| that it's tedious, just a bit dense on the first few listens. |
| Contributing to the album's arguably inaccessible aura is the |
| experimental direction taken by Cobain and Dougans. Album opener |
| "Cascade", for example, opens with a minute and a half of alien sounding |
| overtures and spacey samples, before transitioning into a melting pot of |
| said samples, a subtle, synthesized ambience, and light beats. And |
| though much of the double album is spent experimenting with a delicate |
| sound built on sweeping samples and shrouds of electric noise, it would |
| be a mistake to pigeonhole Lifeforms into having nineteen different |
| versions of "Cascade". One of the album's most impeccable aspects is its |
| subtle format; there's just so much going on in nearly every song that |
| you'll hear something new on each listen. |
| |
| The album's antithesis, then, is its title track. A hit single in the |
| UK, "Lifeforms" abandons the soft, discreet textures so predominately |
| featured throughout the double album in favour of heavier ambient house |
| influences. The song is owns one of Lifeforms' heaviest rhythm sections, |
| making it one of the record's more in-your-face-type tracks, and |
| certainly the catchiest. Parts of "Among Myselves" also echo the title |
| track's dancier moments, but not without applying the oddities heard in |
| virtually every other track. And despite standing out as two of the few |
| truly danceable tracks on a primarily ambient album, both "Lifeforms" |
| and "Among Myselves" hardly sound out of place. |
| |
| But as notable as the likes of "Lifeforms", the driving "Flak" (which |
| incidentally features guitarist Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame), and |
| the almost frightening "Spineless Jelly" may be, the sheer scope of |
| Lifeforms prevents it from being anything other than brilliant. Falling |
| victim to the old quality vs. quantity debate, double albums tend to |
| taper off the longer they go on. With Lifeforms, however, The Future |
| Sound of London build off and improve on each subsequent track; |
| consequently, to pinpoint a highlight is virtually impossible as nearly |
| every song could make a case for such an honour. But such talk is moot |
| in the end as Lifeforms is just such a rewarding record to listen to. |
| It's dense. It's expansive. It's relaxing, engaging, intimate, strange, |
| perhaps pretentious at times, and an assortment of other positive |
| adjectives. But above all else, Lifeforms is a blast to listen to and |
| ranks up with the Boards of Canadas, the Shpongles, The Orbs as for as |
| 90s electronic music is concerned. [Mike Stagno, sputnikmusic] |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------+
+------+ Track List +----------------------------------------------------------+
| +------------+ |
| No. | Title | Duration |
| ----+--------------------------------------------------------+---------- |
| 001 | Cascade .............................................. | 00h06m00s |
| 002 | Ill Flower ........................................... | 00h03m25s |
| 003 | Flak ................................................. | 00h04m54s |
| 004 | Bird Wings ........................................... | 00h01m30s |
| 005 | Dead Skin Cells ...................................... | 00h06m51s |
| 006 | Lifeforms ............................................ | 00h05m18s |
| 007 | Eggshell ............................................. | 00h06m46s |
| 008 | Among Myselves ....................................... | 00h05m53s |
| 009 | Domain ............................................... | 00h02m48s |
| 010 | Spineless Jelly ...................................... | 00h04m42s |
| 011 | Interstat ............................................ | 00h00m55s |
| 012 | Vertical Pig ......................................... | 00h06m45s |
| 013 | Cerebral ............................................. | 00h03m31s |
| 014 | Life Form Ends ....................................... | 00h05m03s |
| 015 | Vit .................................................. | 00h06m48s |
| 016 | Omnipresence ......................................... | 00h06m39s |
| 017 | Room 208 ............................................. | 00h06m13s |
| 018 | Elaborate Burn ....................................... | 00h03m16s |
| 019 | Little Brother ....................................... | 00h05m13s |
| ----+--------------------------------------------------------+---------- |
| |
| Total Length ____________ 01h32m30s |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------+
+------+ Audio Rip +-----------------------------------------------------------+
| +-----------+ |
| Ripped with _____________ EAC v1.0b2 [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de] |
| Encoded with ____________ FLAC v1.2.1 [http://flac.sourceforge.net] |
| Encoding Stats __________ 1411kbps / 44.1kHz / CBR / 16-bit / Stereo |
| Tag(s) __________________ Vorbis |
| Includes Artwork? _______ Yes |
| Includes Rip .LOG? ______ Yes |
| Includes Rip .CUE? ______ Yes |
| Includes Playlist? ______ Yes |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

rainfo v0.2 [2011/06/23 @ 22:22:59]