ISDN (album) explained

ISDN
Type:Live album
Artist:The Future Sound of London
Border:yes
Caption:Second edition cover
Released:5 December 1994 (limited)
2 June 1995 (second)
Recorded:Earthbeat Studios
Genre:Ambient, techno, experimental
Length:74:57 (limited)
75:27 (second)
Label:Virgin
Prev Title:Lifeforms
Prev Year:1994
Next Title:Dead Cities
Next Year:1996

ISDN is a music album by experimental electronica artists The Future Sound of London which was released in two different versions in 1994 and 1995. The music on the album is edited together from various live broadcasts that the band had transmitted to radio stations all over the world using ISDN networking. At the time ISDN was a relatively new technology that had the bandwidth to carry high-quality digital audio. The band repeated the format in 1997 with the limited edition ISDN Show, another live album of ISDN broadcasts.

The album

Stylistically, the record features some of the ambience of their previous work, but brings in elements of trip hop, acid jazz and Middle Eastern music.[1]

The two released versions have different track listings and cover art. The limited edition, a 10,000-copy pressing released in December 1994, has a black cover. The later release, which first appeared in June 1995, has a white cover with black writing, and a different track listing.

The album contains numerous references to several films such as Repo Man in "Eyes Pop - Skin Explodes - Everybody Dead" is a line spoken by the character J. Frank Parnell, and the track "It's My Mind That Works" samples Miller saying "you know the way everybody's into weirdness right now?" and "it's all part of a cosmic unconsciousness." There are also samples from the sci-fi epic movie Aliens in the track "Far Out Son Of Lung And The Ramblings Of A Madman", along with robotic sounds and laser-fire from the film The Black Hole in the track "Just a Fuckin Idiot", and samples from films Escape from New York, Predator and scattered throughout the record.

Track listing

Limited edition

  1. "Just a Fuckin Idiot" – 5:39
  2. "The Far out Son of Lung and the Ramblings of a Madman" – 4:29
  3. "Appendage" – 2:26
  4. "Slider" – 7:22
  5. "Smokin Japanese Babe" – 4:59
  6. "You're Creeping Me Out" – 6:32
  7. "Eyes Pop - Skin Explodes - Everybody Dead" – 3:45
  8. "It's My Mind That Works" – 3:25
  9. "Dirty Shadows" – 6:15
  10. "Tired" – 6:32
  11. "Egypt" – 4:11
  12. "Are They Fightin Us" – 6:23
  13. "Hot Knives" – 3:20
  14. "A Study of Six Guitars" – 4:13
  15. "An End of Sorts" – 5:26

Second edition

  1. "Just a Fuckin Idiot" – 5:39
  2. "The Far out Son of Lung and the Ramblings of a Madman" – 4:29
  3. "Appendage" – 2:26
  4. "Slider" – 7:22
  5. "Smokin Japanese Babe" – 4:59
  6. "You're Creeping Me Out" – 6:32
  7. "Eyes Pop - Skin Explodes - Everybody Dead" – 3:45
  8. "It's My Mind That Works" – 3:25
  9. "Dirty Shadows" – 6:15
  10. "Tired" – 6:32
  11. "Egypt" – 4:11
  12. "Kai" – 4:24
  13. "Amoeba" – 5:21
  14. "A Study of Six Guitars" – 4:13
  15. "Snake Hips" – 5:52

Vinyl edition

  1. "Just a Fuckin Idiot" – 5:39
  2. "The Far out Son of Lung and the Ramblings of a Madman" – 4:29
  3. "Appendage" – 2:26
  4. "Slider" – 7:22
  5. "Smokin Japanese Babe" – 4:59
  6. "You're Creeping Me Out" – 6:32
  7. "Eyes Pop - Skin Explodes - Everybody Dead" – 3:45
  8. "It's My Mind That Works" – 3:25
  9. "Dirty Shadows" – 6:15
  10. "Tired" – 6:32
  11. "Egypt" – 4:11
  12. "Are They Fightin Us" – 6:23
  13. "Kai" – 4:24
  14. "Amoeba" – 5:21
  15. "A Study of Six Guitars" – 4:13
  16. "Snake Hips" – 5:52

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. http://www.secondthought.co.uk/fsol/ The Future Sound of London: Welcome to the Galaxial Pharmaceutical

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