''Environments II'' is the second release in

The Future Sound of London The Future Sound of London (often abbreviated FSOL) is a British electronic music duo composed of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. They have been described as a "boundary-pushing" electronic act, covering techno, ambient, house music, trip ho ...

's ''Environments'' series. It was released on 29 August 2008, and a CD version of the album was released on 5 January 2009.

The album

Continuing from the first album in the series, part II is equally ambient (as opposed to the more breakbeat led material of their albums and archive series), but features strings, choir sounds and synthesizers, in contrast to the more abstract, sample-based nature of the first album. There are a few

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

type tracks with subtle beats, similar in sound to tracks from

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...

's ''Selected Ambient Works'' series. The strings mentioned are Goldenthalian in sound and weave into the electronic ambience. The album features contributions by

Max Richter Max Richter (; ; born 22 March 1966) is a German-born British composer and pianist. He works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. Richter is classically trained, having graduated in composition from the University of Edinbur ...

, Daniel Pemberton, Chris Margory,

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

, Colin Bell and Will White.

Track listing

# "Viewed from Above" (2:33) # "Glacier (Part 1)" (8:55) # "Serengeti" (4:32) # "Colour-Blind" (3:35) # "A Corner" (3:29) # "Newfoundland" (2:04) # "North Arctic" (3:18) # "Factories and Assembly" (5:03) # "Ice Formed" (4:16) # "Small Town" (3:14) # "Nearly Home" (3:38) # "Boca Manu" (2:22) # "Journey to the Centre" (3:40) # "Glacier (Part 2)" (6:21)

Crew

* Producer – Future Sound of London, The * Written-By Brian Dougans, Garry Cobain * Engineered by YAGE

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Environments Ii The Future Sound of London albums