LFO - LFO (12" Leeds Warehouse Mix)

LFO - LFO (Leeds Warehouse Mix) / 12 Inch Extended Remix (HQ Audio)

LFO was a favourite in clubs and at raves at the height of the acid house scene in 1989, not least at Leeds Warehouse, after which this full-length version is named.

It was further year before it made it into the wider public eye. John Peel played a Warp

Records promo of the track on his Radio 1 show in April 1990. Interest accumulated, and the track peaked at #12 in the UK chart in August 1990..

Mark Bell and Gaz Varley grew up on opposite sides of Leeds and were both in breakdancing crews. They met at a breakdancing event in the city centre in 1984, got on well, and after crossing paths again on a photography course in 1987, became friends.

They began making music together, inspired by early electro records and acts they knew from the Yorkshire electronic scene, such as Unique 3, Nightmares on Wax, Forgemasters, and Cabaret Voltaire.

LFO was made quickly with the limited equipment they had: two synthesizers, a Casio FZ-10M sampler, two effects units, and an Atari ST running Cubase software.

As for the drum sounds, Gaz remembers that they wanted to use Roland 909 sounds, which were popular at the time, but they only had an older Roland 808 drum machine. But they found a solution.

"Simon Harris made Breaks & Beats records, and one of them was just 909 beats," he explains. "So we sampled that and just looped it, and that was the drums sorted." As a result the drums here are very simple, but kick real hard.

Martin Williams, a tutor on their photography course, was also a prominent DJ on the Leeds scene.

Martin was pivotal in the track coming together and becoming popular, first organising the equipment in his attic so the band could record, helping with production, and, in the very early stages, being a member of the band.

When he heard what Mark and Gaz had come up with for LFO, Martin was excited, and started playing the track at the Leeds Warehouse. It was there that Rob Gordon of Warp Records heard the track there and signed the band.

Gaz completed the production by sampling the letters "L," "F," and "O" from Speak & Spell, a popular 1980s electronic kids' toy. He'd heard a Juan Atkins track that had done the same and thought that adding their name to the track would help them people remember their band name.

The track took just two to three weeks to record and mix, and the band were signed equally quickly, once the track went public.

LFO moved quickly up the UK charts on its release and appeared on Top of the Pops in video form, as the band didn’t think it was right for them to play live on the programme, given they weren't a live act, nor a commercial act.

They released their first album, Frequencies, on Warp Records soon after, which reached number 42 in the UK chart. Their second album, Advance, made number 44 in 1996.

Mark Bell was interested in pursuing a commercial career and went on to work on projects with Depeche Mode and Björk, amongst others, while Gaz released successful solo projects as G-Man.

Mark and Gaz didn't speak for a decade or so after LFO broke up, but reconnected in 2014 and discussed the possibility of working together. Shortly afterwards, Mark died tragically, from complications after surgery, at the age of 43.

The 12" version of LFO features two other tracks, Track 4 and Probe (The Cuba Edit), along with this, the Leeds Warehouse Mix of LFO - which is essentially the full-length version of this seminal rave anthem.

Year: 1990 Label: Warp Records Cat no: WAP5