LFO was a British

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

act formed in 1988 consisting of Mark Bell and Gez Varley. They released their acclaimed debut LP ''

Frequencies Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is e ...

'' in 1991 on Sheffield label

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

. After Varley left the group in 1996, Bell continued solo to release '' Advance'' (1996) and ''

Sheath Sheath pronounced as , may refer to: * Scabbard, a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade, as well as guns, such as rifles. * The outer covering of a cable * Condom, a kind of contraception * Debye sheath, a layer of a plasma ...

'' (2003). Bell died in October 2014, effectively ending the project. LFO are considered to be pioneers of the bass-heavy "

bleep techno Bleep techno (or simply bleep) is a regional subgenre of techno which developed in the late 1980s in Northern England, specifically Yorkshire. Named after its minimalistic synthesizer sounds, bleep techno combined influence from American techno ...

" style.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

called them "one of British

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

's most important, agenda-setting groups."

History

Early years

Varley and Bell met while studying at

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

and named their group after the initialism for the common synthesizer function

low-frequency oscillation Low-frequency oscillation (LFO) is an electronic frequency that is usually below 20 Hz and creates a rhythmic pulse or sweep. This is used to modulate musical equipment such as synthesizers to create audio effects such as vibrato, tremol ...

. They gave their first track, the eponymous "LFO", to

Nightmares on Wax George Evelyn (born 15 January 1970), better known by his stage name Nightmares on Wax or DJ E.A.S.E., is an English DJ and record producer from Leeds. His music has been released by Warp Records. He is based in Ibiza. Nightmares on Wax were o ...

. The popularity of the demo in clubs led to the track being released by the Sheffield-based

label in 1990, and it was a Top 20 hit in the U.K., reaching number 12 in the singles charts in July. DJ Martin (Martin Williams) is credited as a cowriter and coproducer 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.

The duo of Bell and Varley were both 19 years old when they recorded their debut album ''

'' (1991). 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. The duo later signed to

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital ...

in the U.S. and remixed

Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born on April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is an American DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influence ...

's "Planet Rock", as well as songs from

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...

, Laurent Garnier, and The Sabres of Paradise.

Later years

In 1996, LFO released their second album, '' Advance''. 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, ''

'', produced alone by Bell. In 2009 the '' Warp20 (Recreated)'' compilation featured covers of two early LFO songs, "LFO" by

Luke Vibert Luke Vibert (born 26 January 1973) is a British electronic musician and producer, also known for his work under several aliases such as Plug and Wagon Christ. Raised in Cornwall, Vibert began releasing projects in the 1990s across varied genr ...

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 Gaspar Noé (, ; born 27 December 1963) is an Argentine filmmaker based in Paris, France. He is the son of Argentine painter, writer, and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. In the early 1990s, Noé along with his wife Lucile Hadžihalilović were ...

's 2009 film ''

Enter the Void ''Enter the Void'' is a 2009 English-language experimental art film written and directed by Gaspar Noé and starring Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, and Cyril Roy. It is a psychological drama fantasy film set in the neon-lit nightclub env ...

''.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (1991) – No. 42 UK * '' Advance'' (1996) – No. 44 UK * ''

'' (2003)

EPs

* ''What Is House? EP'' (1992) – No. 62 UK

Singles

* "LFO" (1990) – No. 12 UK * "We Are Back" (1991) – No. 47 UK * "Tied Up" (1994) – No. 99 UK * "Freak" (2003) – No. 79 UK

References

External links

LFO
at

* * {{Authority control Acid house groups English techno music groups Intelligent dance musicians Musical groups from Leeds Musical groups established in 1988 Musical groups disestablished in 2014 Warp (record label) artists Tommy Boy Records artists Rhythm King artists English house music duos