This article is about the British band. For the American band, see LFO (American band).
LFO was a British electronic music act formed in 1988 consisting of Mark Bell and Gez Varley. They released their acclaimed debut LP Frequencies in 1991 on Sheffield label Warp. After Varley left the group in 1996, Bell continued solo to release Advance (1996) and Sheath (2003).[1] Bell died in October 2014, effectively ending the project.[1]
LFO
Mark Bell (LFO) on stage in Arma 17, Moscow, on 30 March 2013
LFO are considered to be pioneers of the bass-heavy "bleep techno" style.[1]AllMusic called them "one of British techno's most important, agenda-setting groups."[2]
Varley and Bell met while studying at Leeds and named their group after the initialism for the common synthesizer function low-frequency oscillation. They gave their first track, the eponymous "LFO", to Nightmares on Wax. The popularity of the demo in clubs led to the track being released by the Sheffield-based Warp label in 1990, and it was a Top 20 hit in the U.K., reaching number 12 in the singles charts in July.[2]
DJ Martin (Martin Williams) is credited as a cowriter and co-producer of the track "LFO" but was not a member of the group. Mark Bell explains:
We gave a tape of our recordings to DJ Martin who helped loads with arranging our tracks so it'd work on the dancefloor. We'd just been messing around with drum machines since we were like thirteen, tapping away at them like they were arcade games, making tapes to play our mates at school. Anyway, DJ Martin would play our cassettes in his sets and people would go mental - in a good way - cos they were totally raw.[3]
The duo of Bell and Varley were both 19 years old when they recorded their debut album Frequencies (1991).[4][5] According to Bell, most of the album was made by him alone because Varley felt "trapped by the confines of Warp" and wanted to make more direct dance music; the credits were nonetheless split 50/50.[5]
In 1996, LFO released their second album, Advance.[6] Varley left the group the same year and formed Feedback with Simon Hartley (a.k.a. Wild Planet). Bell produced Homogenic (1997) with Björk and performed with her on her 1997 Homogenic and 2007/08 Volta tours. He also produced Exciter (2001) with Depeche Mode.
In 2003, LFO released their third album, Sheath, produced alone by Bell.[7]
In 2005, LFO and Aphex Twin collaborated with the EP AFX / LFO.
In 2009 the Warp20 (Recreated) compilation featured covers of two early LFO songs, "LFO" by Luke Vibert and "What is House? (LFO Remix)" by Autechre. The original version of "LFO", albeit the Leeds Warehouse Mix, featured on Warp's 10th anniversary album Warp 10+2: Classics 89–92.
LFO's track Freak was used in the opening title sequence for Gaspar Noé's 2009 film Enter the Void.
british, band, this, article, about, british, band, american, band, american, band, british, electronic, music, formed, 1988, consisting, mark, bell, varley, they, released, their, acclaimed, debut, frequencies, 1991, sheffield, label, warp, after, varley, lef. This article is about the British band For the American band see LFO American band LFO was a British electronic music act formed in 1988 consisting of Mark Bell and Gez Varley They released their acclaimed debut LP Frequencies in 1991 on Sheffield label Warp After Varley left the group in 1996 Bell continued solo to release Advance 1996 and Sheath 2003 1 Bell died in October 2014 effectively ending the project 1 LFOMark Bell LFO on stage in Arma 17 Moscow on 30 March 2013Background informationOriginLeeds EnglandGenresTechnobleep technoIDMYears active1988 19962003 2014LabelsTommy BoyWarner Bros US WarpPast membersGez Varley Mark BellWebsiteLFO at WarpLFO are considered to be pioneers of the bass heavy bleep techno style 1 AllMusic called them one of British techno s most important agenda setting groups 2 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early years 1 2 Later years 2 Discography 2 1 Albums 2 2 EPs 2 3 Singles 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditEarly years Edit Varley and Bell met while studying at Leeds and named their group after the initialism for the common synthesizer function low frequency oscillation They gave their first track the eponymous LFO to Nightmares on Wax The popularity of the demo in clubs led to the track being released by the Sheffield based Warp label in 1990 and it was a Top 20 hit in the U K reaching number 12 in the singles charts in July 2 DJ Martin Martin Williams is credited as a cowriter and co producer of the track LFO but was not a member of the group Mark Bell explains We gave a tape of our recordings to DJ Martin who helped loads with arranging our tracks so it d work on the dancefloor We d just been messing around with drum machines since we were like thirteen tapping away at them like they were arcade games making tapes to play our mates at school Anyway DJ Martin would play our cassettes in his sets and people would go mental in a good way cos they were totally raw 3 The duo of Bell and Varley were both 19 years old when they recorded their debut album Frequencies 1991 4 5 According to Bell most of the album was made by him alone because Varley felt trapped by the confines of Warp and wanted to make more direct dance music the credits were nonetheless split 50 50 5 The duo later signed to Tommy Boy Records in the U S and remixed Afrika Bambaataa s Planet Rock as well as songs from Bjork Radiohead Depeche Mode Laurent Garnier and The Sabres of Paradise Later years Edit In 1996 LFO released their second album Advance 6 Varley left the group the same year and formed Feedback with Simon Hartley a k a Wild Planet Bell produced Homogenic 1997 with Bjork and performed with her on her 1997 Homogenic and 2007 08 Volta tours He also produced Exciter 2001 with Depeche Mode In 2003 LFO released their third album Sheath produced alone by Bell 7 In 2005 LFO and Aphex Twin collaborated with the EP AFX LFO In 2009 the Warp20 Recreated compilation featured covers of two early LFO songs LFO by Luke Vibert and What is House LFO Remix by Autechre The original version of LFO albeit the Leeds Warehouse Mix featured on Warp s 10th anniversary album Warp 10 2 Classics 89 92 LFO s track Freak was used in the opening title sequence for Gaspar Noe s 2009 film Enter the Void Discography EditAlbums Edit Frequencies 1991 No 42 UK 8 Advance 1996 No 44 UK 8 Sheath 2003 9 EPs Edit What Is House EP 1992 No 62 UKSingles Edit LFO 1990 No 12 UK Love is a Message 1990 10 Loop 1990 10 11 Frequencies 1991 10 We Are Back 1991 No 47 UK 10 Tied Up 1994 No 99 UK Freak 2003 No 79 UK 8 11 References Edit a b c Warp Records confirm the death of LFO s Mark Bell NME 13 October 2014 Retrieved 6 August 2017 a b LFO at AllMusic Unpublished interview with LFO Archived from the original on 3 December 2007 Mark Bell of LFO RIP BrooklynVegan 13 October 2014 Retrieved 6 August 2017 a b Interview 2002 LFO Low Frequency Opportunist The Milk Factory Retrieved 23 May 2021 Leeds Musical Heritage 1990s BBC 21 October 2008 Retrieved 6 August 2017 LFO s Mark Bell 10 essential tracks The Guardian 14 October 2014 Retrieved 6 August 2017 a b c Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums 19th ed London Guinness World Records Limited p 309 ISBN 1 904994 10 5 Reynolds Simon LFO Sheath 5 stars The Observer Retrieved 11 September 2021 a b c d Mark Bell Credits AllMusic Retrieved 23 September 2023 a b LFO Songs Albums Reviews Bio amp More AllMusic Retrieved 23 September 2023 External links EditLFO Archived 31 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine at Warp LFO at AllMusic LFO discography at Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title LFO British band amp oldid 1180762849, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
