(1996-10) Dot Talent

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Ross
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(1996-10) Dot Talent

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Dot Talent October 1996

Interviewer: On the face of it Future Sound Of London are a promotional nightmare: they don't tour, they record under a series of bizarre soubriquets and now they are even suggesting that their main interests lie outside the world of pop music. But if it wasn't for their bizarre take on the pop world and their evermore cutting edge approach to their art, they would not receive half the acres of press space they do. Rob Manley, the group's long-standing A&R at Virgin, is the first to admit that the group has presented the label with a few problems.

Rob Manley (Virgin Records A&R man): The minute they signed to Virgin they became an experimental, electronic act and it's been an enormous challenge. They don't go onstage, you never see who buys their records, yet they get into the Top 40 every time and everyone namechecks their work. Sometimes it's frustrating that they don't go on stage but, if FSOL did play live, then it would have to be a massive project, like Zoo TV. It would cost us a fortune and we're not at that stage yet.

Interviewer: The unique approach of the band's two members, Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans, has led to a number of spin-off benefits for the label.

Rob Manley: They don't do things like anybody else, but they've acted like a magnet in bringing other groups to Virgin. And they do all of this without radio or TV exposure. It's mostly the print media which picks up on them.

Interviewer: FSOL first blew into the music world in 1988, riding the final waves of acid house with the barnstorming track Humanoid, recorded under the name Stakker Humanoid and released on Streetsounds. After a number of years recording for several indie labels under a variety of names, the group adopted their current title, released the club hit "Papua New Guinea" and inked a deal with Virgin. They've since become one of today's most creative, imitated and revered groups working in the fields of electronic, ambient and club music. Now they're releasing their fourth full album, Dead Cities, although the real total could be as many as seven given their work under such names as Mental Cube, Amorphous Androgynous and Stakker Humanoid. But in Dead Cities they can feel confident that they have produced their best album to date and have set new standards in post-ambient, mid-Nineties electronic music. FSOL remain an odd couple. Cobain looks every inch the pop star, with coiffured hair, sharp suit, exposed belly and non-stop patter. Dougans offers a marked contrast, dressed in fatigues, sporting a shaved head and saying very little. Yet their working relationship has survived for almost a decade while they have continuously exploited and redefined the boundaries of new electronic music, working from their Dollis Hill sound fortress in north London - a studio strongroom packed with sound and graphics gear and a base they're clearly growing out of.

Rob Manley: The key to FSOL in the future is a building, a facility where they can work on lots of different projects. They need people working for them, because they're doing too much work now.

Interviewer: Manley first became interested in the group when he heard "Papua New Guinea" spun in London's Milk Bar by DJ Dave Dorrell. They went on to be his first major signing to Virgin once he'd graduated to A&R from club promotions.

Rob Manley: They've expanded my mind as an A&R man by pushing me into different areas outside the house scene.

Interviewer: And Manley is not alone in finding their approach stimulating. Indeed, FSOL attract so much attention because of their pioneering attitude to the sound, style and format of modern music, truly living up to their bold moniker. This becomes particularly apparent as plans for their ongoing "world tour" are unveiled. The group will not leave their studio but will broadcast live performances around the world to radio stations via ISDN, the digital technology that allows the transmission of high quality sound signals.

Garry Cobain: We get ISDN as tour support.

Interviewer: In keeping with their mission to be original, the tour will not feature any old material. And, at this stage, it is unclear whether even Dead Cities will be played. FSOL, clearly, are a duo who steadfastly refuse to repeat themselves. The first "date" of the tour was a broadcast on John Peel's Radio One show last Saturday (26).

Alison Howe (Producer of the John Peel Show): It's special because they're broadcasting live from their studio. We've done broadcasts like this from our own studios in London's Maida Vale, but it's more exciting this way. The sound quality is excellent and I've always wanted to do this with FSOL because they're a band at the front of new technology. I imagine most electronic bands will be doing this quite soon.

Interviewer: For a band who admit to being, in Cobain's words, "control freaks", it comes as no surprise to learn that they are also heavily involved in graphic and visual work, in partnership with their longtime collaborator Buggy G Riphead. As well as producing an hour-long special for MTV and music for the new PlayStation game Wipeout 2097, they've put together a 196-page book of Cad images to accompany a special edition of the album. And then there is their surreal website, the Electronic Brain, (http://raft.vmg.co.uk/fsol/), which contains a texture library for graphic artists to use. Future plans include becoming a "broadcasting system" whereby the duo can beam synchronised sound and images direct to individuals and groups of people all over the world to provide a complete FSOL experience. With the opportunities offered by new technology the duo are actively exploring new areas. They are increasingly becoming interested in film and they're already involved in book publishing. Their ambition is to become a multimedia facility with music just one part of their output.

Garry Cobain: There may not be a Future Sound Of London in a few years' time, It would be nice to be Amorphous Androgynous again.

Interviewer: But, from a record buying public's point of view, one would hope that isn't going to be the case.

Interview by Jake Barnes
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