Released on:
Papua New Guinea Translations
Runtime: 5:37
Being a collector with a bit of a disposable income, I would often scour the internet in my late teens, looking for FSOL rarities. Despite it seeming obvious that there would not actually be any exclusive material, I still picked up the 12″ promo of Translations, partially as it was limited to 300 copies, and partially just to check out what the track ‘Papua New Guinea (Amorphous Androgynous Translations)’ actually was (‘Papsico’ with a few bars added, basically). The biggest surprise actually came with the B-side, which, although listed as simply ‘The Lovers‘, turned out to be a unique edit of the track.
Identical up until 2:49, the edit then actually extends that section by an additional eight bars, then returning to where the original left off. Then, at 4:07, it heads off into a unique outro section, based around filtered string loops. Effectively, this cuts out the whole climax section of the track, removing the guitar solo, string swells and so on, as well as all the vocals. Quite why this version even exists, and ended up on a limited edition promo, remains to be seen. Typical FSOL, in that sense.
Credits
Written by Brian Dougans / Garry Cobain.
Produced and mixed by FSOL @ The Galaxial Pharmaceutical, London 2001.
Engineered by Yage & Stone Freshwaters.
Piano, electric boxes – Stone Freshwaters.
Sitar, dilruba, tabla – Baluji Shrivastav’s Incredible Sitar Magic Band.
Strings – Future Sonic Orchestra Limited.
Vibraphone, tamboura – The Major.
Hammond – Mike Rowe.
Drums, percussion – Herb Moons.
Electric guitar – Stinky Rowe.
Fractional Difference 