Great Lp for Easter-egg sample spotting. Few mentioned below but many many other film and musician clips too

This wrecked-in many, many heads back in the day and probably keeps doing so. Something of an apex in the 'sample the living sh*t out of everything and process it' approach to production of the early-mid 1990s. Captures the post-Cold War early-internet head space very well; as though you are peering into a mad laboratory of EMS engineers on a LSD-drenched post-MKUltra freakout (the 2003 German documentary 'The Net' is a perfect visual companion to this) . It also sounds as cinematic, and more 'Blade Runner' than just about any other ambient-techno record you'll ever find. VERY Essential.

Great album to relax to at the end of a long day at work. Just put your headphones on or put the CD in and let Dougans and Cobain take you through their world of twisty sounds, surreal landscapes, intelligent melodies, and at times bliss. Dead Cities is their best album but this comes in at a close second with Lifeforms coming in at a close third.

Such a shame its the worst sounding LP in my collection! It's so quiet and flat sounding, I so badly wish they had got this right...

Just A F*ckin Idiot contain's samples from the old Disney sci-fi movie The Black Hole. Not sure of the "Stop flashing your lights" bit at the start, sounds like Stone Roses Ian Brown, can anyone confirm that???

What evidence do you have for that though? Other sources say Joy Division, not New Order. This would make more sense, given Ian Curtis had epilepsy which would explain the request to 'leave the lights alone'.

"Could you leave the lights alone, please? Stop flashing the fucking lights." is Bernard Sumner of New Order, taken from a New Order live bootleg.

ISDN desperately needs a reissue on 180 gram vinyl. Come on Virgin!

Why is this not available on vinyl still? I don't want to buy a bootleg. I want the real deal.

It is available officially on vinyl. Check the listings more closely.

I played both this and original at the same time to compare: very decent bootleg, not QUITE as good as the original, it is more quiet and not as full. To match the original it only needed slight tweaking with mid, high and gain. Definitely worth it considering price difference. The "Virgin" label is a little more dull in color from the original and has the song titles on it where the original does not.

This album got me hooked on FSOL. I discovered it in november 1997 in Berlin, whilst being on excursion (I was 27 back then). I remember me prelistening to it in a second hand shop on headphones. When returning from Berlin, I must have listened to the CD all weekend. It's a milestone in my discography, gave me new perspectives on listening & making music.

one of my favorites.jealously guarded.

The superiority of fsol is becoming painfully obvious as even I myself listen to this some twenty years on and genuinely wonder is there any other artist who even comes close to achieving the depth and intricacy that these guys did all those years ago.I think not.Today,only are the likes of 'the caretaker' aka James Leyland Kirby or perhaps Keith Fullerton Whitman doing such forward thinking material.I would say that James Ferraro also deserves a distinct mention.I realise there may be more who deserve to be cited here,in such cases,please forgive my absent-mindedness.

Hmmm...part of it seems that people can only follow a trailblazer "so far" before they inevitably will get lost in the wiilderness. As for their 'superiority'... your opinion is fair enough and certainly is supported by obvious reasons - but the "depth" and "intricacy" is (partly) an (technical) illusion. There are paradoxes at play: 'less is more' can be one of them. Another thing is that we gravitate to what we are (culturally and genetically) pre-disposed to be more readily familiar to, and not necessarily what is 'superior'. It is difficult to justify/prove that some music is objectively superior to another, but for that one inhabits a particular context better than another - and even THEN it is still partly intuitive and subjective. I say this with a pretty high degree of confidence because I've been also making (several hundred+) tracks myself for over 20 years....naturally, ymmv!

I came across your comment whilst searching for a vinyl copy of 'Lifeforms' that i could justifiably afford. Couldn't agree with your statement more. It's a shame that a lot of people only seem to know them through Papua New Guinea and ignore the rest of their amazing soundscapes. Nothing else seems to touch the quality of their output. Will be checking out the other artists mentioned in your comment however.

Very well pressed for a bootleg just as good quality as the official release.

excellent ambient house of the 90s, out there w Mixmaster Morris,The Orb,Aphex Twin & Orbital..Other samples used are 'Everybody online-looking good!'from Aliens & some crunching sounds from Terminator I or II(when the exoskeletons crush real skeletons in the future scenes..).

Ambient house??? :/ You have to re-listen for it maybe....

ISDN, the cover is black and white, sparse yet clean and inviting, The music is as you would expect from FSOL, it is a journey between black and white, released as a collection of recordings made from their live 'ISDN' studio broadcasts it's hardly going to be like anything you ever heard before because you won't ever have! Well not back in 1995! Some of the tracks on here are far more cross over than other FSOL works I am thinking of Snake Hips & Smokin Japanese Babe in the first instance. I think overall it hangs together better than Dead Cites and Lifeforms but they are all very much their own albums the 'sister' album to this would be Tales of ephidrina which hangs closer to Lifeforms . 8/10 Well worth checking out!

An attack on your senses and your well being. You have to be very demented to own and like this album. A very intense journey. want to listen to armagedon? Listen to track 7 and then to 8. Fsol were known for being a little eccentric and at times psychedelic. Well this will be the pinnacle of their creativity in both. Less techno than Accelerator, pkays better through than Lifeforms and doesnt included Electronika sound of Dead Cities. All very good but ISDN is where its at

What a mindtrip! FSOL blends jazzy influences and tribal notes to produce mysterious moods, swamp atmospheres or frenetic urban soundscapes in one sitting. Yep, this is a great album -- in fact it probably only works as an album, not really as a collection of individual tracks.What was going through Virgin's mind, though? Why release 75 minutes of music on _one_ slab of vinyl? This is likely the worst pressing you will ever come across, quiet and fragile. The subsequent 2xLP is bound to be just about better (still pushing nearly 20 minutes per side), but the tracklisting is different. Ah! well, the CD is probably where it is at; and it makes a lot of sense, since it should be heard as a unique piece, rather than several.This one? For collectors only.

Mine is exactly the same - its quiet and flat - glad it wasnt just mine then...! I ran through Lifeforms straight after and it was bright and full. Such a shame these albums were produced when digital technology was at its infancy, they do lack in fidelity in the modern world.

This is one album, that can be very dark, and it can create an atmosphere that (to me at least),usually comes from one continuous piece rather than 15 tracks,but taken in isolation, the cuts on here are well stuctured,nice interplay of individual instrumentation, and its good to chill to, maybe not their best, but not their worst,,,7/10 Tim99.

It's one of those albums in which every track is a masterpiece, but, as said, its a real challenge to listen to. Kind of reminds me of Venetian Snares in its brooding and dark nature, except this music is much more slow paced, and this album is for the most part devoid of the normal breakbeat style. Not my favorite Future Sound of London release, that's for sure, but it's worth the money. Now, about that dark room idea...

While this CD is usually considered FSOL's 3rd album... Its not an actual studio album. These 15 tracks are actually tracks that FSOL played over an ISDN internet hook-up throughout 1993 and 1994. So this isn't exactly an album with a theme or story to tell.. as most tracks were recorded days, weeks and months apart. Still though.. there is some good music on here. Most of these songs have a lot more drum work in them then FSOL fans were used to. Also is the inclusion of jazz influence in a couple tracks. The outcome works well though and this is a compilation of dark tracks. My personally favorite is Amoeba.. almost an alien sounding drum beat.

Probably the least accessible piece of music I've ever listened to in my entire life. Completely devoid of anything resembling hooks or catchy elements, this record is a right challenge to listen to, let alone like. The sheer darkness and aural pandemonium contained on this album is so disturbing and intricate that I still can't get my head around it. Still, I think there's some real dynamite between the lines here if the listener just has the patience to keep on listening long enough. Good luck.

ISDN is not just a high-speed internet connection, it’s a compilation of live recordings that the Future Sound of London did, merged seamlessly into one another. It’s futuristic in the best way possible with sounds and textures and sonic images floating in and out of cyberspace. There’s the super-futuristic jazz of “The Far Out Son of Lung and the Ramblings of a Madman” (led in by a sample from Aliens) and “Smokin’ Japanese Babe.” “Slider” is as dark funk as any I’ve heard, while “Eyes Pop – Skin Explodes – Everyone Dead” sounds like electronic Baroque music. “Tired” starting with a delicate guitar before going into some chugging beats, then some icy synths. That’s what’s so wonderful about this album: it’s a journey in the best sense, with new things to hear and see around every corner. “Egypt” goes for ethnic electro, while “A Study of Six Guitars” has the guitars, definitely, but also some industrial percussion too. Plug in to ISDN today.

the pictures provided here are only of the front and back of the inner cd sleeve--the outer sleeve is not pictured here (as of 12/2003). the inner sleeve is itself wrapped in a folded cardboard outer sleeve (basically a tri-fold type of sleeve) which is held shut with velcro tabs. the inside of this sleeve is a panaramic of slick 3d graphics, with a glossy finish, while the outside of the sleeve is a tougher laminate type of finish to protect the cardboard. "FSOL ISDN" is embossed in large letters across the center of the front cover, with a sticker affixed along the top indicating "a limited edition of 10,000 copies". by today's standards, this release will probably seem very cheesy and dated to many listeners. it's worth checking out if you haven't ever heard it: this was an important release for FSOL, and FSOL were very influential artists at that time (early 90's). to understand where "electronic listening music" (or ambient, or idm) is today, one needs to be familiar with the work of FSOL.

This album, with its esoteric artwork and sleeve notes and track titles that explain so little, is often looked at the outcast of the FSOL catalogue. A lot of people say that this album is "creepy", or "evil", or that there is very little musically to grab onto (in stark contrast to their early work). I personally feel, however, that ISDN is the pinnacle of their work: a complete vision of the new and flavorful patchwork that these two guys wanted to bring at the height of their career.No one song on this album jumps out at you and grabs you, instead the album just slinks by in a flurry of bizarre vocal snippets, jagged drum loops, keyboard splotches, guitar stabs, muted horns and unsettling moments of clattering ambience. However, with repeated listens I find that this album really molds itself around you and demonstrates a stunning breadth of skill. "Smokin' Japanese Babe" holds up a broken mirror to Portishead and Massive Attack, "It's My Mind That Works" and "Dirty Shadows" walk a finer line than any track on the "Lifeforms" album, and tracks like "Kai" and "The Far Out Son..." interlock wildly disparate parts into a kind of gritty future hip-hop. All the tracks work splendidly together, and the best ones stand on their own as true gems of improvisation. Truly essential listening for people who want to know how far electronic music can really stretch itself.