Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Cascade
2. Ill Flower
3. Flak
4. Bird Wings
5. Dead Skin Cells
6. Life Forms
7. Eggshell
8. Among Myselves

Disc 2:

1. Domain
2. Spineless Jelly
3. Interstat
4. Vertical Pig
5. Cerebral
6. Life Form Ends
7. VIT
8. Omnipresence
9. Room 208
10. Elaborate Burn
11. Little Brother

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66538 in Music
• Released on: 1994-05-27
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Amazon.com
Compared to the minimalist plonk typical of the genre, this is a Technicolor epic and perhaps the only ambient techno opus you'll ever need. --Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews

a flawless, beautiful work of art
This is probably my favorite "electronica" album. FSOL really have a way of finding great melodies and rhythms to work with. If you're wondering whether you'll like this or not, there are a couple things you should consider:1)What other kind of electronica do you like? If you're a big fan of the fast, rhythmic songs of Dead Cities, but not the slower ones, this might not be for you. Also, this is by no means similar to Accelerator. 2)You should be able to appreciate quiet, yet complex music. Lifeforms isn't very loud. It speaks to you very serenely. These samples really don't tell you a lot about the music, since they're so short. You'll need to hear some full songs to get a better idea. I recommend this album to anyone with an open mind who's looking for something different.

An ambient techno masterpiece, more than 'papua new guinea'
For anyone who is absolutely new to FSOL or ambient techno, I should first say that it really is a viable, meaningful form of music that goes beyond the long-standing stereotype of being lifeless and computer-generated. FSOL is the perfect example of really great ambient techno, for its music seems to send you on an endless journey with every song. However, it can be hard to get into music like this, and people are often quick to dismiss it as boring, uninspired, or slow. This is a typical reaction of people used to mainstream pop or techno, and even FSOL fans who have only been exposed to the widely-known 'Papua New Guinea'.

To put it concisely: don't expect a cd full of beat-driven club hits like Papua New Guinea. Most FSOL music goes far beyond that.

Lifeforms, like other FSOL albums such as ISDN, Cascade, Lifeforms (Paths 1-7), Amorphous Androgynous' Tales of Ephidrina, and to some extent Dead Cities, is more of a musical experience, going beyond the typical musical beats found in most techno and absorbing the listener in a collage of extraordinary sounds. Each disc of lifeforms is really one, long, extended musical masterpiece, as you could listen to the entire disc and not realized you listened to eight or eleven different 'songs'. This is truly an album you pop in the cd player and sit back and experience, as all FSOL albums are. One minute you may imagine yourself at the edge of the earth, the next floating in space, the next at a crowded airport with FSOL playing over the loudspeakers. As far as 'songs' go, the ones that come closest to your typical songs would be cascade, vertical pig, vit, omnipresence, room 208, and flak.

Lifeforms (or any FSOL cd for that matter) is definitely worth your attention. However, for those only familiar with Papua New Guinea, be prepared for music that goes far beyond one club smash. Sure the music may be hard to warm up to, but once it does you will find yourself listening to the beautiful sounds over and over again. And for the new techno fan, try lifeforms first and let your mind float away. Then acquaint yourselves with the more 'mainstream' likes of Papua New Guinea.

Landmark Album
I discovered Electronic Music about 5 years ago and I've been studying this strange world since then. The world of Pure Electronic Ambient Music was born at the end of the '70s with artists such as Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. As the '80s faded, the style was being experimented by some people from the Techno side of Electronic. The Ambient-Techno was born. This album was conceived in 1994 a few years after others like The Orb and Aphex Twin had released some masterpieces. Nowadays, this album stand as one of the essential work that set the style from it's dawn. The sampling is excellent, unique and there are absolutely no clips in the loops. The Sequences are melding perfectly and the production is very good. Most importantly...., It sounds as good today as it was. Essentiel!