In a subtle contrast with the four side project EPs released concurrently in early 2013, FSOLDigital staged a run of weekly releases in spring 2014, putting out material from new and familiar names. The first was a second EP by Blackhill Transmitter, the first time an FSOLDigital era alias had been granted a second release. The EP is evocatively described as “Second helpings from Blackhill Transmitter – continuing the sound of hauntology. The once active transmitter / receiver now lies silent albeit for the faint crackling and buzzing as if ghosts from the past still wish to be heard”.
This was the very first FSOLDigital release to come out in FLAC format. Fans had been discussing and requesting lossless downloads on the FSOLBoard for some time, and as ever, the band were reading and taking suggestions onboard: from this point, almost every digital release came as FLAC as well as MP3.
Musically, the release is similar to the first BHT EP: granular synths, dark drones, krautrock guitar and lo-fi drum machines, all creating an atmospheric soundscape inspired by the titular transmitter. The krautrock influence is most clearly heard on ‘Loko Motive’, a track that debuted on The Fears and Fantasies of the Unconscious Mind as a Superheads track called ‘Tenderlokomotive’. It’s one of those rare glimpses into how different aliases and releases develop over time. The tracks are largely a little more fleshed out than on the first release, and the EP plays gaplessly from start to finish, both signifying some growth within the project. The cover once again stars the Black Hill transmitting station, in an old monochrome photograph.
The continuation of the project was not entirely surprising, with a Blackhill Transmitter t-shirt being made available through FSOLDigital in January 2014. Either way, by this point it was clear that this was going to be very much a standalone project rather than a one-off experiment.
Release date: 29th April 2014.
Tracklist
Digital download
1. Alignment
2. Interception
3. Loko Motive
4. 1957
5. Uf
Fractional Difference 