Pulse Five is not just a retrospective on the wonders of FSOL, it is a celebration, a point of return and new beginnings for listeners to experience the intrepid audio endeavors of these sonic sculptors.
Innovative cross pollination of styles
There was a time when The Future Sound of London was a household name. The pairing of Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain changed the course of electronic music history with their innovative cross pollination of styles, their admiration of ambient and their love of the dancefloor combined to produce a truly remarkable sound. Following the global success of tracks like “Papua New Guinea” and albums like Lifeforms, the partnership sought artistic independence with their FSOLdigital platform; a space where archival works and new projects could be shared via MP3 and WAV.
The wealth of music, as well as the myriad monikers, attributed to Dougans and Cobain is beyond staggering. In reality, you could give up on other musicians for a few years and still not have covered the breadth of their output. Helping introduce these trailblazers to a new generation, and bring some welcome sounds to seasoned listeners, are De:tuned; a label that has more than proven its mettle as the torchbearer of the halcyon days of electronic music.
Pulse Five comes thirty two years after Pulse Four and thirty three after Pulse One. These first single vinyl compilations were released on Jumpin’ and Pumpin’ in the early 90s. They were part of a time where British electronics was forging its own sound, where the influences of Detroit were blending with trance, tribalism with burgeoning IDM to create something truly unheard. This latest addition to the series, the fifth, comes from DAT recordings created more than three decades ago.
A crossover of styles is immediately apparent in “Honesty.” New age wind instruments and birdsong glide above textured drum patterns, the fizz and hiss of the jungle floor dawning to the computer age. Beats are crunched in “Dialectics,” a fertile shale bed from which scaling chords climb and bruises of bass blossom. The track has all the trappings of electronica, a glitched industrial plain of future possibilities. The third, and finale, piece by The Future Sound of London is “Reasonable Aquiries,” and at more than nine minutes it is the longest offering. Pared back, a steady kick gives way to floating keys. A work of understated ambient techno of timeless depths.
Echoing thump is washed in silken strings ::
We move into the mysterious non de plumes of Dougans and Cobain as Yage arrives with “Sun Risen.” Echoing thump is washed in silken strings that swim towards the stratosphere. Samples arrive as the dust begins to settle on the factory floor and a low slung techno affair unfolds. Yage closes the compilation with the dub scented slow burning “Man Shall Be Conditioned.” Crystalline chords cruise above telephone snippets steeped in delay in this heady brew.
The remaining tracks belong to Mental Cube, Smart Systems and Indo Tribe; all reimagined grouping of Dougans and Cobain. Mental Cube were best known for their anthem “Q.” They disappeared in 1992 only to briefly resurface in 2020 with archival material. For Pulse Five the gift is playful “Big Lies.” The melody is daring, stabbing keys sidestepping skittering rhythms and devil-may-care breaks. We’re still in glow sticks mode with “Nu Generation” by Smart Systems. Processed hollers and whoops are swiped by rinses of distortion in this hi-octane, early morning banger. Elements of bleep circulate the double LP compilation and come to the fore in the thrust and parry of “Obstinta” by Indo Tribe. Breathy snippets, eerie scales and cracked percussion bend and bulge in this cerebral workout.
Despite the limitations of their machines, the expression and variation of The Future Sound of London seems to be boundless. The ability of Dougans and Cobain to explore a range of styles in a single track still, to this day, astounds. Their knack of squeezing the break to change the focus and shift direction is a joy to hear. Pulse Five is not just a retrospective on the wonders of FSOL, it is a celebration, a point of return and new beginnings for listeners to experience the intrepid audio endeavors of these sonic sculptors.
Presents Pulse Five is available on De:tuned. [Bandcamp]
