The Future Sounds Of London: With an inventive, fascinating aural experience!

We at Permafrost enjoy to write about most types of rhythmical music, although our main focus is prog and metal. We therefore serve today some ambient experimental techno music from the nineties. The Future Sounds Of London from January 1st 1994 with the song Lifeforms.

1994 Virgin Records Ltd. released on: 1994-01-01.

Producer: The Future Sound Of London

Studio  Personnel, Engineer: Yage

Associated  Performer, Music  Production: Garry Cobain

Associated  Performer, Music  Production: Brian Dougans

Composer: Elizabeth Fraser

Composer: Garry Cobain

Composer: Brian Dougans

The Future Sound of London began work on the album around the same time as they were finishing Tales of Ephidrina, and the more complex, ambient direction they were taking resulted in Lifeforms. The artwork also progressed from previous works, with soon-to-be familiar images of the Witch Girl Sheuneen Ta and the Spike computer model having been previously used on the group’s Cascade EP.

Lifeforms achieved commercial success and produced hit singles such as Cascad and Lifeforms. The album was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for over 60,000 units sold.

AllMusic called it «one of the best experimental techno releases of the ’90s and an inventive, fascinating aural experience, as rich and detailed as the Orb’s best work».

The Swedish band Carbon Based Lifeforms got the idea of its name partly from this album.

By 1994, when Future Sound Of London released Lifeforms as mentioned above, the overlap between sub-scenes was still substantial. Just look at ’94 footage from Megadog or Megatripolis, the UK hubs of psychedelic voyaging. Far from being crusty-fests, you’ll see every flavour of raver partying among the giant inflatable aliens, with everyone from Carl Cox to Autechre to junglists like DJ Rap and Nicky Blackmarket on the lineups.