Following on from their legendary and award winning (MOJO magazine compilation of the year) "A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble (Exploding In Your Mind)" DJ series, The Amorphous Androgynous have started a parallel series called Monstrou Bubble Soundtracks which aims to explore groovy sub genres of the MPB concept, but rather than DJ/compile, they write and produce all the material themselves in a classic soundtrack vein. The first one is The Cartel which is a study of psychsploitation (where psychedelia meets blaxploitation) and traces the lineage from Lalo Schifrin, Quincy Jones, Curtis Mayfield, John Barry, Ennio Morricone through to Oceans 12.
Aided and abetted by a stellar cast including Noel Gallagher himself on bass and guitar plus Raven Bush (of fast upcoming Canterbury folk psych band Syd Arthur) on violin plus the Amorphous Androgynous themselves…
The Amorphous Androgynous return with the symphonic, 40-minute prog space-rock concept album ‘We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal’. The album contains 5 epic parts, featuring the legendary Peter Hammill (the Van Der Graaf Generator) on vocals alongside a host of musicians including: Paul Weller (piano and guitar), Ray Fenwick (Spencer Davis Group/Ian Gillan) on lead guitar, Brian Hopper (Caravan/Soft Machine) on sax. The Chesterfield Philharmonic Choir and a 25-piece live orchestral string section round out this sumptuously-recorded album.
One year before Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans released Lifeforms, their breakthrough album as Future Sound of London, the duo recorded Tales of Ephidrena as Amorphous Androgynous. Charting an intriguing fusion of industrial techno with the free-form organic passages that would become the norm in ambient techno several years later, Tales of Ephidrena was the first hint of what was to become the trademark sound of FSOL.
The Amorphous Androgynous return with symphonic 41 minute 'We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal' in 6 epic parts. Featuring the legendary Peter Hammill (the Van Der Graaf Generator) on vocals alongside a host of musicians including Paul Weller (piano and guitar) Ray Fenwick (Spencer Davis Group / Ian Gillan Band) lead guitar, Brian Hopper (Caravan / Soft Machine) on sax and many others including the 50 piece Chesterfield Philharmonic Choir and a 25 piece sumptuously recorded live orchestral string section…
An antipodean cosmic space music odyssey from 1966 to now! Featuring Russell Morris, Tame Impala, Cybotron, Sons of the Vegetal Mother and more. After two years of extensive crate-digging and foraging, UK psychedelic DJ duo the Amorphous Androgynous return with the latest installment in their award winning series 'A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble (Exploding In Your Mind) - The Wizards Of Oz'. As the title suggests, 'The Wizards Of Oz' is devoted exclusively to the rich heritage of cosmic space music from Australia and New Zealand. In keeping with previous volumes of this acclaimed series, it traces the lineage from the sixties to the present day, re-appraising the meaning of the term 'psychedelic' along the way, The tracks are expertly woven and mashed together to form a trip as enjoyable as it is both enlightening and educational.
Since the late 90s, Amorphous Androgynmous AKA The Future Sound Of London AKA Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans have been weaving together two-hour broadcasts of their favourite records that could be loosely classed as 'Cosmic Space Music'. After ten years of messing with our heads via the wireless, they now pick their choicest mind-melting moments on what promises to be a fine series of double CDs. It's a collection that perfectly runs the gauntlet from kitsch (Lord Sitar's I Am The Walrus) to uber cool (Miles Davis or Can). Donovan, Osibisa, Can, Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Hawkwind and many more.
Beyond Saturn is a collection of cosmic tunes that wilfully cut across time, space and, indeed, genres. 15 mindblowing cosmic tracks approved personally by Paul Weller, including Panda Bear, TOY, Public Service Broadcasting, Neu!, Charles Mingus, Ryley Walker, Syd Arthur and more.
The second volume in Virgin's priceless Ambient series is a bit of a retread from the first, alternating classics from Virgin's rich back catalog with the new school of ambient electronica (of which, the label's store is much harder to come by). The result is an Orb remix (of the Grid) instead of a normal Orb track; the only other contemporary acts are the Future Sound of London project Amorphous Androgynous, William Orbit's Bass-O-Matic, Tony Thorpe's Voyager, and such intriguing but obviously label-centric acts as Verve and U2's The Edge. As far as classic ambient tracks go, Virgin is tops – Eno, Sakamoto, Robert Fripp, David Sylvian, Phil Manzanera, Klaus Schulze – though the lack of more up-to-date acts can be frustrating.
Although it seemed to arrive out of nowhere in the early '90s, ambient music actually has a long and varied history, leading back to Brian Eno and Kraftwerk's electronic experiments in the 1970s, right up to Aphex Twin's textural techno soundscapes. As an introduction and history lesson, the two-disc A Brief History of Ambient Music can't be beat; it shows that the ambient-techno trend has roots that most fans wouldn't even realize existed.