The Future Sound Of London – Environment Five

In mid 2014, Gaz Cobain took to Facebook to announce the forthcoming FSOL album Environment Five. A couple of years earlier, he was more vocal about Environments 4 than he had been any other FSOL material since 2001. He spoke about how proud he was of this new album, and how he regretted leaving FSOL behind for so many years to focus on The Amorphous Androgynous (this was confirmation of fan suspicion that earlier FSOLDigital releases were more the project of Brian Dougans than Gaz). And he mentioned that this was an album consisting entirely of new material. Any fan who'd heard the previous volume knew that it was about 95% new material anyway, but it was great to finally be getting an album that was promoted as such. Cobain did also suggest that this wasn't 'the new album', as such, and this has some logic in the sense of the ongoing Environments series being created by Dougans to simply document new FSOL material without the spectacle of new conceptual albums, something that seems to appeal to him a lot less than Cobain.

And so, to Environment Five. As can be expected from FSOL, it feels like a natural continuation from the previous volume. Here, the Amorphous Androgynous elements are stronger (unsurprisingly), but also the electronic elements are stronger. 'In Solitude We Are Least Alone' could fit comfortably on an Amorphous album, while the analogue electronics of 'Machines of the Subconscious' are the most straight-up electronica released as FSOL since 1996. The rest of the album falls somewhere in between: 'Image of the Past' reimagines the Amorphous spy film soundtrack The Cartel as moody ambience, the opening and closing pieces are dramatic post-rock, 'Somatosensory' and 'Dying While Being Held' are epic chugging electronics. Between these larger scale pieces, the band return to the modern classical approach of Environments 2 and 3.

The track titles, for once, feel a lot more literal than the band's often bizarre and psychedelic imagery. The album was recorded around the time of Dougans's father's death, and that seems to have heavily swayed the direction of the music. It's an incredibly melancholic one, often sounding emotional and personal, which is not something one would normally expect from an FSOL album. This is another element in the band's music that had been gradually growing over the previous few years, and Environment Five is arguably the pinnacle of this side of FSOL.

As with Environments 4, anyone who wants straight-up bizarre electronica might find comparatively little to enjoy here. But those who always appreciated the incorporation of live instrumentation into FSOL's '90s music, and especially those who enjoy deeply emotional electronic music, will find a lot to love here.

i love part 5 so much, one of the best releases by fsol in my opinion and a very special one...
there is only 1 classic fsol track, machines of subconscious, which is brilliant, while most tracks are made by organic instruments. it is a listening album, but no 0815 ambient record, more like neoclassic with ethnic infusions, or something like that.

there is no other fsol album that sounds like this and for me it stands out.

the mood is often melancholic and thought provoking for me.

fans of classic fsol like lifeforms, dead cities etc. should check it out before buying a copy.
part 5 was given to me as a present years ago and it was the reason, that i put my focus on these masters again, there was/is so much new output i did not know....
their body of work is so gigantic and diverse, beside the electronic music i like also their psychedelic music by their band....impressive to say the least. also the music released under different names like synth a is worth to give it a try. from experimental to melodic, it is all there.

beside sampling they became more and more involved in modular synths and electronic sound design, which has been part of their music from the beginning and they developed toegether with digitana a analog synth, which based on the legendary ems synth from the early 70s, which was made famous by b.eno with roxy music and was used heavily by the band gong...perfect for scifi sounds and experimentation.

beside BoC and (dave) tipper fsol are my favourite electroinc.musicians, pioneers, who pushed and still push the boundaries of electronic music .
they are real masters, who are still curious for new sounds and music and everything is possible with a new fsol release.

I enjoyed especially the third part of the series. This fifth one is similar as the the forth enjoyable, but no real innovation and too much overly intellectual song structures. Some of the track are quite meaningful others don't touch me at all. Not a comparison to their nineties works. There is no real deepness, no bursting compositions. More like a recorded jam session. I prefer the latest Subheim release, which transfers more emotions i.m.o..

I´ve been waiting long for this album. Thank you FSOL. Five Points. ;-)

bullfinchart brilliantly reviews this album below, all I can say is this is for me the most accomplished coherant album from FSOL for some time - Up there with their classics, a real journey for the listener with plenty of twists and turns to keep the listener attentive - Lovely tunes and a firm favourite soundtrack to my daily commute - FSOL are back and I can't wait for the next installment.

Over the course of the first four Environments releases, Dougans and Cobain gradually tipped the balance of old and new material in the favour of the latter, so perhaps it comes as no surprise that for the fifth volume, the band have recorded an album of entirely new material. Expanding on the wealth of new ideas and sounds found on the previous volume, Environment Five is the strongest release in the series to date.

The album, much like Environments 4, sees the band redefining their sound from ambient electronica to a more organic blend of acoustic instrumentation, psychedelia and classical-infused ambience; this time, however, the scale of the album is much more epic. Fittingly titled opener 'Point of Departure' builds up, almost post-rock like, from subtle beginnings to a rousing mix of violin, electric guitar textures and clattering drums, finished off with the classic FSOL staple of wordless female vocals. At the other end of the album, 'Moments of Isolation' is equally as impressive, based around a haunting piano motif, and reprising the violin melody from the opening track. Both pieces are among the best the group have ever written, and leave a lasting impression long after the album has finished.

Between these we find a typically diverse range of pieces, alternating between the sombre classical ambience found throughout the Environments series (with Neotropic's Riz Maslen on vocals and beautiful piano work from Dan Pemberton) and a range of new directions for the group. 'Images of the Past' recalls the spy film themes of last year's 'Cartel' side-project filtered through a melancholy ambience; 'Dying While Being Held' is full-on sci-fi soundtrack material; strangest of all is 'In Solitude We Are Least Alone', in which the band take what sounds like one of the mellower pieces from their Amorphous Androgynous psych-rock project and gradually feed it through an electronic blender, climaxing in a growling, writhing monster of sound. Throw in a choral breakbeat piece ('Somatasensory') and an avant-jazz interlude ('The Dust Settles') near the end and you have the full range of FSOL styles in one package.

What makes the album hold together so well, and what sets it apart from much of their back catalogue, is the sense of melody throughout. In recent interviews, Gaz Cobain has talked of the "euphoric sadness" that exists in FSOL's music, and nowhere is it more obvious than on Environment Five. The previous Environments series has definitely been pushing in the direction of emotional ambience (as opposed to the faceless '3D Headspace' of their '90s sound), and this album seems to be the culmination of that. For once, the album feels not like a soundtrack to some exotic location, but to a mindset outside of the physical realm - which fits the theme of the album exploring "the space / time / dimension that exists when we die."

Through the Environments series, FSOL have been allowed to reappear and reassess their sound, gradually and under the radar. With Environment Five, the band are triumphant in the final step of this: an entirely new album. A beautiful, haunting record that sounds nothing like their previous works, yet sounds completely FSOL, through and through.