Tales of Ephidrina is an ambient/techno album by electronica duo Amorphous Androgynous, better known as The Future Sound of London (FSOL). It was released on 5 July 1993 through Quigley Records, a subsidiary label of Virgin.[2] It was created from material the pair had been working on around the same time as their ambient FSOL title Lifeforms, while still containing some of the techno feel of Accelerator.
| Tales of Ephidrina | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Amorphous Androgynous | ||||
| Released | 5 July 1993 | |||
| Recorded | Analogue Room Earthbeat Studios | |||
| Genre | Electronica, ambient, techno, IDM | |||
| Length | 47:02 | |||
| Label | Quigley Records | |||
| Amorphous Androgynous chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
In 1996, Mixmag ranked the album at number 27 in its list of the "Best Dance Albums of All Time".[3]
Tales of Ephidrina was remastered in 2023 and reissued as a 30th Anniversary Edition on both vinyl and CD for Record Store Day 2023. Both formats included four previously unreleased bonus tracks.[4]
History
editThis album was their first one after signing with Virgin; they moved to London from Manchester and were given a free hand to do what they wanted.[5] The album is unique, in that it is the only album they released in the 1990s that wasn't recorded at their Earthbeat studio, and is also the only release on a short lived stem of Virgin Records, Quigley.[6] It was the only electronic album recorded under the name Amorphous Androgynous, before the moniker's psychedelic reappearance in 2002.[7]
The name Ephidrina refers to a form of Amphetamine.[8]
Track listing
editOriginal issue
edit- "Liquid Insects" – 7:21
- "Swab" – 4:17
- "Mountain Goat" – 4:38
- "In Mind" – 5:38
- "Ephidrena" – 8:17
- "Auto Pimp" – 7:20
- "Fat Cat" – 4:04
- "Pod Room" – 5:27
30th Anniversary Edition
edit- "Liquid Insects" – 7:21
- "Swab" – 4:17
- "Mountain Goat" – 4:38
- "In Mind" – 5:38
- "Ephidrena" – 8:17
- "Auto Pimp" – 7:20
- "Fat Cat" – 4:04
- "Pod Room" – 5:27
- "Mountain Path" - 4:41
- "Static Field" - 4:39
- "Sky-Scraper Xtnd" - 6:59
- "Swab Alt" - 4:15
Crew
edit- Written by Amorphous Androgynous
- Recorded at the Analogue Room - London
- Engineered by Yage
- Produced by Philip Pin
- Directed by FSOL
- Re-worked at Earthbeat Studios - London
- Cover art by Buggy G. Riphead
- "Liquid Insects" contains samples from the movie Predator, Phaedra by Tangerine Dream and Fire Cracker by 808 State, among others.
- "Fat Cat" contains a sample from Peter Gabriel's Passion, the soundtrack to the movie The Last Temptation of Christ.
Equipment used
editAccording to the album insert: EMS Synthi AKS, Jen SX 1000, ARP Synthesizer 2600, Roland SH101, Roland TB303, Roland TR606, Moog System 55, Bode Frequency Shifter 1630, 4 x Akai S1100 plus expanders (32mb), Digidesign Soundtools, Bode Ring Modulator, Trap Lunar Reflection II, Oberheim Matrix 1000, Trap Multi Effect Collector, OMM Space Enhancer
References
edit- ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r203393
- ↑ Redmond, Steve, ed. (3 July 1993). "Ad Focus: Amorphous Androgynous" (PDF). Music Week. London: Spotlight Publications. p. 21.
- ↑ "Mixmag - Best dance albums of all time (1996)".
- ↑ "Discogs.org".
- ↑ Future Sound of London : Music News Feature | Clash Music
- ↑ "secondthought.co.uk".
- ↑ Environments CD release out on 21 July!
- ↑ allmusic ((( Tales of Ephidrina > Overview )))