Yesterday evening I took a hard look at my vinyl library and was alarmed by how many classic LPs I've purchased but never spun. I promptly set myself a resolution to get to know my music better.
I quickly assembled a list of an initial 70 critically-acclaimed records in my catalog which I myself am not well-acquainted. I built a reference Google Sheet of the pressings and catalog numbers and scheduled listening sessions on Google Keep for the next 30 days to check those titles off my list.
November evenings will be spent immersed in music education. What good are records if you don't take time to enjoy them?
First on my list was a record which never fails to surface on avant garde electronic lists of the 90s - The Future Sounds of London's Lifeforms LP.
The Future Sounds of London is the work of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans, both of Manchester. Brian Dougan's father was involved with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop which was a heavy influence in the almost music concrete feel to the Lifeforms LP.
Written and produced by Cobain and Dougans, Lifeforms also involved a number of contributors including legends like Robert Fripp, Klaus Schulze, and Elizabeth Fraser as well as sparse sampling from sources like Ozric Tentacles and Cronenberg's Scanners.
The result is an incredibly rewarding listening experience - a cerebral ambient soundscape which never quite settles into 4/4 dance territory. Instead the focus is ever-shifting as elements drift toward and away from the center of the listening space, and each track moves seamlessly into the next.
I'm truly glad I made time to take in this recording in a dedicated listening session, and it warrants repeated play. The critical acclaim is well-deserved - this is a record for the books.