The Future Sound of London – Central Industrial

Released on:
Accelerator
Expander
Accelerator (1994)
Accelerator (1996)
Accelerator / Papua New Guinea Mix Anthology
Accelerator (25th Anniversary Edition)
Accelerator (30th Anniversary Edition)

Also known as:
Central Industrail

Runtime: 4:28 (also listed as 4:19, 4:25)

The Future Sound of London have been my favourite band for as long as I can remember, and yet, as much as I love their music, I always thought they were never very good at album closers. This has actually changed since the Environments series started, but it’s something I still think is true for their 1990s material. Most bands would have ended with ‘Pulse State‘, the big emotional epic that sounds like it was written to end an album. Instead, Brian and Garry chose to finish their debut album on a four minute slice of mid-tempo electro that doesn’t sound quite like anything else in their catalogue.

Not that ‘Central Industrial’ is in any way a bad track. The title suits the music, and both suit the kind of sci-fi electronic feel of the album (another film sample, “Welcome to Central Industrial. We are the future.” from Ghosts… of the Civil Dead adds to the mood). Kraftwerkian synth arpeggios and an “aah” voice sample keep things rooted heavily in minor key mode, and the future Central Industrial are offering feels decidedly dystopian. To be fair, the track’s outro, sparse synth blobs gradually becoming more abstract and fading to nothingness probably provide a better outro than the quick whoosh-and-silence ‘Pulse State’ would have given, but the overall feeling is of a strangely subdued ending. Still, it’s a strong track in its own right, and closes Accelerator on a fine note. In 1994, the track would feature as a b-side on the ‘Expander’ single.

Pedantic note: on the original pressing of Accelerator, the track is listed as Central Industrail.

Credits
Written by Garry Cobain & Brian Dougans (1991 sleeve).
Written by Brian Dougans / Garry Cockbain (1991 labels).
Composed by Brian Dougans / Garry Cobain (Expander).
Recorded and engineered at Earthbeat Studios – London 1991 (1991 / 1992 / 1996 / 2016).
Written by The Future Sound of London.
Produced by Mental Cube (1991 / 1992 / 1996 / 2016).
Produced by The Future Sound of London (2001).
Produced by The Future Sound of London at Earthbeat Studios (Expander).
Mixed by The Future Sound of London at Earthbeat Studios (2001).
Engineered by Yage (2001).