Somewhat overshadowed by being released at the same time as Environments and From the Archives Vol. 4, By Any Other Name completed the second trilogy of archived material in November 2007. However, unlike other archive releases, it is focused entirely one on era: the pre-Virgin dance music period, “when FSOL hid behind various guises”. Poetically described by Gaz as having “resulted from the discovery of a box of DATs in the darkest corner of the attic,” it’s an intriguing collection of largely un-FSOL sounding material, and in many ways a partner album to Earthbeat, although stylistically, it’s closer to the material on The Pulse EPs in general.
Several names attributed to classic tracks are present – Mental Cube, Indo Tribe, Smart Systems – as well as unheard pieces by Yage and even one by FSOL. Furthermore, there are three tracks by Dope Module, a previously unheard alias, the name originally appearing as the title of a 1990 Mental Cube track. The tracks cover the typical range of sounds one would expect from the original Jumpin’ & Pumpin’ era, with UK hardcore, rave, breakbeat and techno pieces present. It’s very much a J&P-focused release, with nothing in the style of the more house-leaning Debut material; similarly, there’s nothing in the more forward-thinking vein of ‘Papua New Guinea‘ or Principles of Motion, although it’s likely those sorts of tracks would end up on a proper From the Archives release. There are a few surprises in there, such as the Dope Module vocals, the fact that a short run of tracks plays gaplessly, even including a snippet of Brian and Gaz talking in the studio, and ‘Visual Attack’ being reassigned as a Smart Systems piece. Given how the band were screwed over by Beatfarm, it’s fitting to have the track in a more suitable home here.
Generally believed to be a digital-only release, it was with welcome surprise that the album came out on CD, almost a year after its initial release. The placeholder cover – little more than the Principles of Motion sleeve with the title written in the same font as the Environments placeholder cover – is given a polish by Buggy for the CD edition, with added colour and the band name written in microgramma, once again in mixed case. The first two pages of the booklet feature an early ’90s shot of the band in front of the houses of parliament, with various polygons overlaid, and the EBV logo. The remaining pages feature, interestingly, excerpts from the script for the unfinished Yage film. These are overlaid with further polygons, as well as the splatter effect first seen in the From the Archives Vol. 4 booklet, the exploding head logo, and a photograph of Vit. Under the disc is the first appearance of the graffiti logo – dripping spray paint with ‘FSOL’ stencilled in the centre – while the back cover and spines feature the same layout as the previous FSOLDigital CD releases. Somehow, Dope Module’s ‘She’s So Automatic’ got lost somewhere, not being listed on the back cover, despite still being present on the album itself; many of the track titles are abbreviated on the cover, too. A promo CDr was issued at the time, interestingly, featuring the Jumpin’ & Pumpin’ logo.
Fans of this era of the band, and dance music in general, will want to check this one out. In terms of those coming from the group’s later sound, I’d recommend approaching Earthbeat, The Pulse EPs and Principles of Motion first, as although there are numerous excellent tracks here – particularly those credited to Yage and Mental Cube – there are also some which feel unusually basic and repetitive.
Release date: 19th November 2007 (digital), 22nd September 2008 (CD).
Tracklist
Download
1. Mental Cube – Sightings
2. Indo Tribe – Just Look – And Let Me Look at You
3. Dope Module – We Bring it to You
4. Yage – 831AM
5. The Future Sound of London – Across the Rivers
6. Dope Module – In a Cage – In a Can
7. Smart Systems – Visual Attack
8. Indo Tribe – Great Danger
9. Mental Cube – Keep Walking
10. Yage – Travellers
11. Yage – Garden (Bridge)
12. Smart Systems – You Might
13. Dope Module – Kremlin Taped
14. Dope Module – She’s So Automatic
15. Yage – Under the Rock
16. Yage – 1st Calling
17. Smart Systems – Corridor LM3
CD (CD TOT 61)
1. Mental Cube – Sightings
2. Indo Tribe – Just Look
3. Dope Module – We Bring It
4. Yage – 831AM
5. FSOL – Across the Rivers
6. Dope Module – In a Cage
7. Smart Systems – Visual Attack
8. Indo Tribe – Great Danger
9. Mental Cube – Keep Walking
10. Yage – Travellers
11. Yage – Garden Bridge
12. Smart Systems – You Might
13. Dope Module – Kremlin Taped
14. Dope Module – She’s So Automatic [unlisted]
15. Yage – Under the Rock
16. Yage – 1st Calling
17. Smart Systems – Corridor LM3
Credits
All tracks written by Brian Dougans, Gaz Cobain.
Recorded by Brian Dougans / Gaz Cobain (promo).
Produced by The Future Sound of London.
Engineered by Yage.
Artwork construction – Buggy G Riphead.
Art: EBV 2008.
Published by Future Song Publishing.
Fractional Difference 