Isdn [Import]

Future Sound of London | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Virgin Int'l
• ASIN: B000024I5E
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,914 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"They're so antisocial," said Mixmaster Morris of the reclusive Future Sound of London. "They won't even go to parties anymore--they do all their gigs over the telephone." After the success of their majestic "Papua New Guinea" single and the Accelerator album from which it was taken, FSOL retreated to the studio and never left. Their only communication with the outside world was through their music, an increasingly abstract Dadaist collage of overdubbed beats and noises that defied genres and stymied trend-happy journalists. While some of the material on ISDN was previously released under the pseudonym Far Out Son of Lung (the worst-kept secret in dance music), the bulk of the album was taped from performances delivered via digital telephone links to radio stations throughout Europe. Naturally, the ubiquitous and intrusive medium of radio encourages challenging and elaborate environmental music. So unlike their previous album, Lifeforms, whose closest earthly relation was techno, ISDN is the distant cousin of jazz, both in its blatant sampling of sax and drums and its freeform, exploratory nature. --Matthew Corwine

Product Description

2006 release by this ground-breaking electronic/dance duo, recorded under their druggy, psychedelic Amorphous Androgynous pseudonym.. Featuring the single 'Alice In Ultraland', this release collects out-takes from The Isness sessions, several previously unreleased tracks, a song from the original U.K. vinyl version of the album, and a handful of remixes from associated singles and EPs. Future Sounds. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FSOL's Best, June 3, 2002

By 

Blackout9 (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Isdn (Audio CD)

This record is usually overlooked in discussions of FSOL's work because it's considered a "live album" and hence different from their studio productions (which, it seems to me, is completely wrongheaded given the nature of the medium - how exactly is an album of remixes different from a real time dj set, especially if it's transmitted direct from a recording studio?) Another reason might be its lack of snappy album graphics. Too bad, because it's far more sophisticated than Accelerator (a basically competent trance record) and much more consistant than the self-indulgent Life Forms, whose length should have been halved. The only other FSOL record that's at the same level is Dead Cities. FSOL's strong suit is its ability to layer several strata of sound, creating dense aural environments which reward attentive listening, preferably on headphones. Unlike other composers, FSOL often avoid the pat maneuver of building tracks on top of rhythms; this lends some of their compositions a uniquely organic or formless quality (think of an audio version of Abstract Expressionism or something). These are typically bridged by beat-oriented passages which are described elsewhere as jazz- or hip hop-inflected. The latter impose structure on the former, creating a complex yet legible whole that transcends arty preciousness or heterogeneous chaos. It's a tightrope act and FSOL got it exactly right on this album - ISDN is basically perfect in every respect and I've yet to find anything as completely satisfying.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best FSOL album yet, November 24, 1999

By 

B. Allen-Trick "Meatrace" (Madison, Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Isdn (Audio CD)

the first time i heard FSOL was on the Wipeout XL soundtrack. The only CD i could find of theirs was Accelerator. THat was okay, but not exactly to my fancy. I looked 'em up on the ol' AMG and they recommended Lifeforms. Lifeforms was great, but only if i was trying to meditate or fall asleep, it was too sparse for normal listening. I was reluctant to get ISDN, but after seeing it at Circuit City for 10 bucks, i said "what they hey" i must admit i was pleasantly surprised! what they seem to have done is boil down the innovations from Lifeforms (yes i know Lifeforms was made AFTER ISDN, so sue me) into tangable, dancable even, songs. ISDN is simply a feat of modern music, encompassing every genre of music imaginable (though shying away from the FSOL maligned 'rock & roll') but concentrating on mostly techno, ambient and 'trip-hop'. A great buy to techno ambient and 'trip-hop' fans as well as anyone interested in progressive electronic music or free jazz. Magnificent!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ISDN sends you to pure euphoria, April 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Isdn (Audio CD)

This was the first Future Sound Of London album I bought. I absolutely love it. I'm not a huge fan of electronic music, but this cd is defintely an exception. FSOL has such unique sounds that no one else can seem to capture the way they have done. The shining works of art on this cd are: The Far Out Son Of Lung And The Ramblings Of A Madman, Smoking Japanese Babe, Amoeba, A Study Of Six Guitars, Snake Hips, and It's My Mind That Works. If you are a fan of almost any genre of music, then you will be able to appreciate this album.