A fast-forward of sorts for new-school ambient, which had begun to stagnate by the time Fripp & Co. organized this summit. Horse hooves, wind-up toys, a clock being smashed, mutilated tablas, even the light shuffle of a book's pages being turned all figure somewhere in the mix. Superlative song-ordering and attention to mood and flow make complete listening a must. Exemplary and essential. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide
The Orb (Producer), FFWD (Main Performer), Robert Fripp (Guitar), Robert Fripp (Treatments), Andrew Hughes (Engineer), David Singleton (Engineer), Kris Weston (Electronic Sounds), Kris Weston (Electronics), Nick Burton (Illustrations), Thomas Fehlmann (Electronic Sounds), Thomas Fehlmann (Producer), Thomas Fehlmann (Electronics), Andy Hughes (Engineer), Martin Giles (Mastering)
FFWD stands for Thomas Fehlmann (Sun Electric), Robert Fripp, Kris Weston, and Dr. Alex Paterson (the latter two of the Orb), and as that lineup suggests, was probably ambient's first supergroup. Although a one-off project with no certain plans of reconvening, the album resulting from the few days in the studio spent recording it is a landmark of experimental ambient and surprisingly unlike the various projects its contributors are known for. Closest in feel perhaps to some of the Orb's more recent releases (Pomme Fritz and Orbus Terrarum), FFWD deviates strongly in its sparseness and subtlety. Fripp's guitar is heavily atmospheric and subjected to the sort of heaping effects processing Fehlmann and Weston are known for; Paterson reportedly recorded hours of the virtuoso just noodling around on his six-string and assembled the bits into usable passages only after the fact. Thanks to inspired arrangements and an emphasis on texture, FFWD is also one of only a few albums to successfully figure the guitar in a central position without sounding off-balance or obligatory.
In addition to his early experiments with Brian Eno on such albums as No Pussyfooting and Evening Star, Fripp has also worked on other occasions with new ambient luminaries such as Future Sound of London and has released a pair of Soundscapes performances recorded during a solo tour. Weston (aka Thrash) left the Orb in 1995 to pursue a solo project, and Fehlmann's Sun Electric has released several full-lengths and a handful of EPs. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide
