The Future Sound of London (often abbreviated to FSOL) is a prolific British electronic music band composed of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. The duo are often credited with pushing the boundaries of electronic music experimentation and of pioneering a new era of dance music.
In 1991 they released their first album as The Future Sound of London, "Accelerator" which was followed by their seminal breakthrough ambient-dub track "Papua New Guinea" featuring a looping Lisa Gerrard vocal sample. The track remains arguably their most recognisable and celebrated song, it has made several (British) "...best songs ever" polls and track specific accolades.
Cascade, released as a single in 1993, introduced the commercial music world to the new FSOL sound. Despite its length, clocking in at nearly forty minutes and stretched over six parts, the track made the UK top 30, and previewed what was to come. With subtler beats, ethnic sound effects and striking artwork (featuring the band's trademark 'spike' model, The Electronic Brain), Cascade was a bold step into a lush, ambient world. "Lifeforms" followed in 1994 to critical acclaim.
1994 also saw the release of the limited edition album "ISDN", which was as close to a live album as most electronic acts get - it featured live broadcasts FSOL had made over ISDN lines to various radio stations worldwide, The Kitchen, an avant-garde performance space in New York and several appearances on the late John Peel's celebrated BBC radio "Sessions" shows, to promote "Lifeforms".
1995's John Peel Session featured three entirely new tracks, which took the breakbeats and chaotic sampling of "ISDN" away from their previous lush synthscapes and toward a new, more contemporary sound. In 1996, they released "Dead Cities", which expanded upon these early demos. The new material was a mix of ambient textures and dance music. Lead single My Kingdom introduced the sound, with a video featuring shots of London, and a sound suggesting a dystopian city.
After a four year hiatus, and rumours of mental illness which turned out to be nothing more than exaggeration of Cobain's mercury poisoning from fillings in his teeth,the pair returned in 2002 with "The Isness", a record heavily influenced by 1960s and 1970s psychedelia and released under their alias Amorphous Androgynous.
They have also been, literally, creating their own sounds when they began constructing electronic instruments, the result of which can be heard on the 2007 release Hand-Made Devices.
In 2007, the band uploaded several archive tracks online, for the first time revealing much of their unreleased work and unveiling some of the mystery behind the band.
In early March 2008, the band released a new online album as Amorphous Androgynous entitled "The Peppermint Tree and Seeds of Superconsciousness", which they claim is "A collection of psychedelic relics from The Amorphous Androgynous, 1967-2007".
Following on from the band's 1997 DJ set of the same name, a series of "Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding In Your Mind" mix CDs were begun in 2006. The first was released under the Amorphous Androgynous alias, subtitled "Cosmic Space Music", and took over two years to compile, mix and gain sample clearance, featuring the band's psychedelic influences. The second is set for release sometime in 2009, and will be more electronic, mixed by The Future Sound of London.Further mixes in the series are expected in the future, to be curated by related artists, and the band are taking the concept live with a seven hour spot at 2009's Green Man festival, to contain live bands and DJ spots.
Noel Gallagher of British rock band Oasis, after hearing the first release, became a fan and asked the band to remix the following Oasis single "Falling Down". The Amorphous Androgynous responded with a 5 part, 22 minute Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble remix, which Noel liked enough to release on its own 12". Noel also invited Gaz to DJ at the afterparty for one of Oasis' gigs at Wembley Arena.
The duo played their first live set as FSOL for 12 years at the 2009 Bloc Weekend in Minehead. The show, like the band's set at the Essential Festival in 1997, was broadcast from their studio in Somerset. Rumours of a world tour,which some believe is further evidence for imminent release of new material, were made concrete by confirmation of live FSOL appearances at 2009's Bestival event in the UK, and a festival run by Existenz in Athens, Greece, with an Amorphous Androgynous show in Greece to follow later in the year, and an eleven hour Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble curated tent at 2009's Green Man festival, including a performance by Hawkwind. The live nature of the set (as opposed to the Electric Brainstorm DJ mix series) suggested it may feature the first entirely new Future Sound of London material since 1997 and those rumours turned out to be true with a few new tracks played, albeit currently untitled. A further two Electric Brain Storm mixes are expected.
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