SL045 – Future Conditional – Isotech

“Future Conditional have crafted a truly special record here. It’s closer to flawless than anything I’ve heard in a long time.” – Electronic Sound magazine

‘ISOTECH’ TRACKLISTING :

  1. Cold Love (feat. Josh Cowey)
  2. Indexed To Impulse (feat. Mücha)
  3. Demolitions (feat. Bobby Wratten & Beth Arzy)
  4. Dumbstruck
  5. Isotech (feat. Mücha)
  6. Doubts Even Here (feat. Bobby Wratten & Beth Arzy)
  7. Two Sugars (feat. Lidija)
  8. Stephen
  9. Softech

Digital-only bonus tracks :

  1. Indexed To Impulse (Mücha Strobe Like Remix)
  2. Stephen (Ghost In The Frame Remix)
  3. Dumbstruck (Fur Voice Remix)

Future Conditional is the sleek electro-pop project from Glen Johnson and Cédric Pin, both former members of the Anglo-French “ghostrock” group, Piano Magic. Johnson, based in London and Pin, located in Alès, Southern France, have been slowly, meticulously assembling ‘Isotech,’ the second Future Conditional album, since 2007. Originally intended as a fast follow-up to their first album, ‘We Don’t Just Disappear,’ that year on LTM Recordings, things didn’t quite go to schedule – Pin relocated to his native France and Johnson directed his full-time attention to Piano Magic. When the latter disbanded in 2016, Johnson and Pin reunited to work on a much darker project, ‘The Burning Skull’ (Second Language Music, 2018) but Future Conditional was never far from their hearts (and hard drives).

‘Isotech,’ a portmanteau of isolationist and techno, imagines a dystopian clubland where, as the title track opines, “the kick is numb, the snare is dead.” As Johnson explains, “I had this idea….well, more of a hope, that, in the future, there might be clubs where androids go to dance and humans are banned. No alcohol, none of the idiocy, violence and garishness we currently associate with clubbing, just pure music and non-stop dancing.”

Even so, ‘Isotech’s draws inspiration as much from ‘80s Kraftwerk, DAF and John Foxx, as it does from science fiction.

As with their debut album, Johnson and Pin are joined once again by Bobby Wratten (formerly of The Field Mice/Trembling Blue Stars/Northern Picture Library and now Lightning In A Twilight Hour) on vocals. Alongside partner, Beth Arzy (formerly of Aberdeen and Trembling Blue Stars; now of Jetstream Pony and The Luxembourg Signal), Wratten lends his voice to a sublime cover of New Order’s ‘Doubts Even Here’ (from ‘Movement’) and ‘Demolitions,’ a Future Conditional original which takes aim at the destruction of community by merciless town planners. “They take a chapter from my history and they replace it with a travesty.”

Amanda Butterworth, alias Mücha, herself, a highly prolific electronic composer and DJ, sings title track, ‘Isotech’ and the persuasive Blade Runner-esque android pitch of, ‘Indexed To Impulse.’ Relative newcomer, Josh Cowey (of Wailing Wall) sings on the opening track, ‘Cold Love’ and the mononymous Lidija provides cinematic French narration to ‘Two Sugars.’ Glen Johnson sings ‘Dumbstruck’ and ‘Stephen.’

When purchased from the Second Language’s Bandcamp page, ‘Isotech’ is accompanied by three digital-only bonus remixes – ‘Indexed To Impulse’ (Mücha Strobe Like Remix), ‘Stephen (Ghost In The Frame remix)’ by Cédric Pin and ‘Dumbstruck’ (Fur Voice Remix) by Barcelona-based, Fur Voice.