Environments Vol. 2 [Import]

Future Sound of London | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 10, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Jumpin & Pumpin/Groove
• ASIN: B001KFIGJQ
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,330 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

When a follow-up to the first Environments record was announced, it was initially believed to featuremore material from the band's 1994 ambient radio sessions. What came, however, was considerablydifferent - and even better. Environments II is the band's first foray into more cinematic ambientmusic. Beginning with the almost classical string-based Viewed From Above, and moving on to the first of the dreamy, lightly percussive Glacier tracks, the record is vastly different to anything heard by the band before (it's not surprising to see Max Richter and Robert Fripp on the credits list).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this album is excellent. some of future sounds best.., March 18, 2009

By 

J. M. Cousins "gran turismo junky" (pittsburgh) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Environments Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

this is my first review. and i'll start off to say i'm a little bit of a future sound collector at over 20 albums. close to 30 if you count amorphous androgynous stuff (which doesn't quite amaze me like the future sound). and this album is instantly one of my favorite. although a little on the short side at 57 minutes. the future sound of london may be my favorite artists completely. and this i tell you. is a very good one which i know will hit the spot for some other true future sound fans. imagine if lifeforms repopulated the dead cities, and then everything froze over. i think i even recognized some samples from both lifeforms and dead cities in the track "colour blind" yet it was a completely new and refreshing melody... i never minded the future sound's occasional recycling of samples. it usually makes something new and beautiful all the same. but samples aside i'm saying the moodscape of this album felt to me like a wonderful arctic iced over lifeforms.

and of course the sound quality is out of this world as always. this album must be heard on a good home stereo or headphones or earbuds (the best thing you have). all i'm saying is you dont quite get the full range with desktop dime speakers. if you're into future sound you know what i mean. it's like digital liquid for your ears. only in this case crystalized.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't get enough, April 13, 2010

By 

Aaron A. Rose - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Environments Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

Simply wonderful; a vast, expansive journey through the farthest reaches of humanity's industrial uprising. There are sounds on here that not even "Lifeforms" could fathom. Whereas that was more of an organic affair, Environments II is the result of flora melding with cold steel. Journies through overgrown establishments and ancient outposts long-forgotten, yet still rife with faint, flowing energy and the dreams of slumbering Artificial Intelligences. It even brings about melodies and samples previously encountered through works past; "Ice Formed", in particular has a distinct, crystallized "Calcium"-esque synth providing much of the draw to the former's composition. Think of this as a fusion of their entire back-catalogue, yet re-worked and shaped into a sound never before encountered from this dynamic duo.

This is not to be missed by anyone -- even those outside the current FSOL fanbase. Kick back and let the music take you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, October 5, 2009

By 

Stevie Bee (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Environments Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

This album slots into the period between Tales of Ephidrina, Lifeforms and ISDN, although I suspect it's been more recently significantly played with because it is far and away better than Environments 1, not that the latter is a bad album. It just sounds like something the boys would compose now. It's easily one of the best pieces of ambient electronica in a good while. (I don't much like the label, though.) Pick a superlative. It's also sharp as a tack sound-wise, a pleasure to listen to. This is food for the ears and the mind's well-being. Lie in the middle of the loungeroom and imagine you're in field in warm spring sunshine. Don't wait a moment longer.