Brian Dougans

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Brian Dougans
Briandog.jpg
Background information
Birth nameBrian Robert Dougans [1]
Born1965 (age 5859)
Glasgow, Scotland
Genres Electronic, IDM, trip hop, big beat, ambient
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, producer
Instrument(s)Keyboards, sampler, synthesizer, drums, laptop, computer, music technology
Years active1984–present
LabelsJumpin' & Pumpin', Virgin, Rephlex
Website futuresoundoflondon.com

Brian Robert Dougans (born 1965) is a Scottish musician and composer, who is a member of the British electronic duo, the Future Sound of London (FSOL).

Contents

He is the more technical member of FSOL, doing most of the programming, circuit bending et cetera and creating electronic instruments at his home studio in Glastonbury, Somerset. He is currently head of FSOLdigital (FSOL's record label) and co designer of the FSOL:Digitana SX-1 Synthesiser.

Dougans' first releases were as "Humanoid", releasing the acid house single "Stakker Humanoid", which reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart in 1988, and also charted in 1992 and 2001. "Stakker Humanoid" was No.1 for five weeks in the UK Dance Chart (December 1988) and has been cited as a major influence on early Aphex Twin releases. Dougans music as Humanoid is also part of the MOMA NY collection via Stakker Eurotechno. Dougans has always been the quiet, technical workhorse of FSOL whilst Garry Cobain brings in his melody and softness to balance Dougans' technical wizardry.

Music

Humanoid

Brian Dougans first releases were as "Humanoid", releasing the acid house single "Stakker Humanoid". The track was a hit not just at influential clubs like Shoom in London, but was championed by mainstream stalwarts like Radio DJ Bruno Brookes and Kylie and Jason producer Pete Waterman. After the single reached No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1988, leading to Dougans' appearance on Top of the Pops on 1 December 1988. [2] Subsequent re-issues also charted in 1992 and 2001.

Stakker Humanoid was No.1 for five weeks in the UK Dance Chart (December 1988) and has been cited as a major influence on early Aphex Twin releases. Dougans music as Humanoid is also part of the MOMA NY collection via Stakker Eurotechno.

Stakker was also used as the name of the collaboration between Dougans and video artists Colin Scott and Mark McLean. Eurotechno , the soundtrack to a visual installation by the group, was originally released in 1989.

Future Sound of London

Dougans met Garry Cobain in 1985 when he was at Salford College of Technology in Manchester studying Music Recording Technology. After Dougans left college he set up his own studio in London where Cobain joined him and they began to release a plethora of singles under various aliases, some of which would end up on their first compilation album (as FSOL) Earthbeat in 1992.

Whereas the sound of Amorphous Androgynous is Cobain's vehicle, FSOL's more "mechanical" sound is Dougan's. [3] [4]

Synthesizers

Dougans has co-designed two synthesizers with English electronics company Digitana; the SX-1 analogue synthesizer and the Halia (stand alone digital sampler synth). The SX-1 has been received with critical acclaim and has been used in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse , The Innocents and One Strange Rock . [5]

Guinness World Records

Dougans received (along with his musical partner Cobain) one retrospective award from the Guinness World Records as the first internet music download on 22 June 1994, distributed via the New York based internet bulletin board Sonicnet. [6]

Discography

All as Humanoid unless indicated (please see also The Future Sound of London).

Albums

Release DateTitleLabelNotes
27 January 2003
  Eurotechno Rephlex
CAT129CD
An early project, released on Aphex Twin's label Rephlex, a soundtrack of sorts to a visual installation artist Mark McLean both of which was a major inspiration to the Rephlex collective and as such was re-released on the label in 2003.
19 November 2007
  Your Body Sub Atomic FSOLDigital.com
Digital download
20th anniversary remix album of the Stakker Humanoid release and other tracks by Brian Dougans; the remixes are by both new and established artist's and DJ's, download also included an Adobe Flash "booklet" and high quality video of the "Feadz 2007 Mix".
19 March 2007
  4 Forests FSOLDigital.com
Digital download
As Part-Sub-Merged, an experimental project released on FSOL's website; a dark soundtrack to a short film by him under the same alias.
6 July 2023Sweet Acid SoundCD TOT 88Released initially on bandcamp.

Compilation albums

Release DateTitleLabelNotes
1989
  Global Westside Records
CDHUM 1989
Early compilation of the singles he released in 88/89.
10 February 2003
  Sessions 84-88 Rephlex
CAT130CD
An experimental compilation full of acid house tracks and a remix of Stakker Humanoid.
1 March 2007
  Zeebox 1984-1987 Vol. 1 FSOLDigital.com
Digital download
As Zeebox; the first part of a digital download compilation set of Zeebox albums, experiments from his time in Glasgow and Manchester.
4 March 2007
  Zeebox 1984-1987 Vol. 2 FSOLDigital.com
Digital download
As Zeebox; the second part of a digital download compilation set of Zeebox albums, experiments from his time in Glasgow and Manchester.

EPs

Release DateTitleLabelNotes
1992
 BraindamageBit Bites Brain
BIT 9215-12
A release on a small German indie label featuring b-sides by another artist called Phase IV.

Singles

Release DateTitleLabelNotes
1988
 "Stakker Humanoid" Westside Records
WSRT 12
As Humanoid, first single, hit No. 17 in the UK singles chart, No. 1 in the UK dance chart for five weeks
1989
 "Slam" Westside Records
CDWSR14
As Humanoid, featured on "Global" compilation.
1989
 "The Deep" Westside Records
HUMT2
As Humanoid, featured on "Global" compilation.
1989
 "Tonight" Westside Records
HUMT1
As Humanoid, featured on "Global" compilation.
1989
 "Crystals (Back Together)" Chicago Trax
PROMO HUMT3
As Humanoid, featured on "Global" compilation.
1989
 "R.A.V.E"Dangerous
M-4001
As Humanoid, released on the obscure American Dangerous Records.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Future Sound of London</span> British electronic group

The Future Sound of London is a British electronic music duo composed of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. They have been described as a "boundary-pushing" electronic act, covering techno, ambient, house music, trip hop, psychedelia, and dub.

<i>Accelerator</i> (The Future Sound of London album) 1992 studio album by The Future Sound of London

Accelerator is the debut studio album by British electronic group the Future Sound of London. It was released in April 1992 by the record label Jumpin' & Pumpin'. It includes the hit single "Papua New Guinea".

<i>Lifeforms</i> (The Future Sound of London album) 1994 studio album by The Future Sound of London

Lifeforms is the second studio album by British electronica group The Future Sound of London. The album was released on 23 May 1994 by Virgin Records and later by Astralwerks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua New Guinea (song)</span> 1991 song by the Future Sound of London

"Papua New Guinea" is a 1991 song by the electronic music group Future Sound of London. It was the group's debut single and later appeared on their full-length album Accelerator. The single reached #22 on the UK singles chart.

<i>Teachings from the Electronic Brain</i> 2006 compilation album by The Future Sound of London

Teachings from the Electronic Brain is a compilation of songs from throughout the career of British band The Future Sound of London, and was released in 2006. The diversity of their wide range of work is even more apparent on a compilation such as this.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry Cobain</span> Musical artist

Garry John Cobain is a British electronic musician, and one half of the Future Sound of London.

<i>Alice in Ultraland</i> 2005 studio album by Amorphous Androgynous

Alice in Ultraland is a 2005 album by experimental electronica group Amorphous Androgynous, which is a side project of The Future Sound of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stakker Humanoid</span> 1988 single by Humanoid

"Stakker Humanoid" is an 1988 track by Humanoid released in 1988 on the London-based label Westside Records. It is described by The Guardian as "the first truly credible UK acid techno record to break into the mainstream."

Graham Vernon Massey is a British record producer, musician, and remixer.

<i>The San Monta Tapes</i> 2007 studio album by Heads of Agreement

The San Monta Tapes is a side-project of The Future Sound of London, under the pseudonym Heads of Agreement, described by them as "Experiments in polyrhythmic". It is described as very unmelodic with sparse percussion loops, thus an unusual experiment and departure from the "usual" FSOL sound. In the Freeze magazine interview Cobain suggests that the project is more Brian's work than his.

<i>4 Forests</i> 2007 studio album by Part-Sub-Merged

4 Forests is another experimental album by Brian Dougans under the alias Part-Sub-Merged from 2007 which was released on The Future Sound of London's digital download website. It is the soundtrack to a short film made by the duo called "Part-Sub-Merged" to be released on FSOLdigital.com at some point in the near future. The music is darker than his "Polemical " work with analogue techno beats and synth ambience.

<i>Global</i> (Humanoid album) 1989 studio album by Humanoid

Global is the debut album by Brian Dougans, most famous for being part of the British electronica group The Future Sound of London. Unlike FSOL's ambient, breakbeat and trip hop styles, it is composed largely of US style vocal house, including Ben Ofoedu, most famous for his work with duo Phats & Small in the 1990s. Also contained is the breakthrough acid house single, "Stakker Humanoid", and industrial track "Sunshine & Brick", featuring FSOL's Gaz Cobain on vocals.

<i>Eurotechno</i> 2003 studio album by Stakker

Eurotechno refers to the musical soundtrack by English group Stakker for their 1989 experimental short film of the same name. The original film was an avant-garde experiment and features rapidly shifting colourful computer graphics, reflecting the influence of rave culture. Although the visuals of the film were primarily the work of Stakker members Marek Pytel, Mark McClean and Colin Scott, the musical soundtrack was largely the work of Brian Dougans, later of The Future Sound of London. The 25-minute soundtrack was recorded using a Roland TB-303, and reflects the fast-shifting momentum of the film by incorporating fragmented elements of acid house, Chicago house and Detroit techno that shift after their brief appearances, thus contributing to an intricately layered style.

<i>Sessions 84–88</i> 2003 compilation album by Humanoid

Sessions 84–88 is a compilation album released in 2003 alongside Eurotechno on the Rephlex label. Brian Dougans, under the alias Humanoid; it is mostly experimental in nature and similar to the Stakker Humanoid release from Dougans also; Sessions also includes a remix of that track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Took My Love</span> 1991 single by Candese

You Took My Love is a house track released by FSOL under the alias Candese in 1991, it features a female vocalist singing very spiritedly over a funky acid house beat.

<i>Pulse 2 EP</i> 1991 EP by Indo Tribe/Smart Systems/FSOL

Pulse 2 EP is an EP released by The Future Sound of London partly under the alias' Indo Tribe, Smart Systems and FSOL. The FSOL tracks "Stolen Documents" and "In 8" would later be put on the Accelerator album with "In 8" becoming "1 in 8".

<i>Environments II</i> 2008 studio album by The Future Sound of London

Environments II is the second release in The Future Sound of London's Environments series. It was released on 29 August 2008, and a CD version of the album was released on 5 January 2009.

Acid house is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesizer-sequencer, an innovation attributed to Chicago artists Phuture and Sleezy D circa 1986.

<i>Environments 3</i> 2010 studio album by The Future Sound of London

Environments 3 is the third in The Future Sound of London's "Environments" series of albums, released on 7 June 2010. Unlike previous FSOLDigital releases, the album was not made available as a download several months before the CD release. Because of this, the record was heard several weeks in advance due to early shipping from the website Juno. The record sleeve announced a fourth album in the series.

This is the discography page for ambient electronic group The Future Sound of London. All works released as The Future Sound of London unless otherwise noted.

References

  1. "AN END OF SORTS". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. Stuart Aitken (11 November 2013). "Stakker Humanoid: how the Future Sound of London won hearts and minds". guardian.co.uk.
  3. The Future Sound Of London Interview Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine . Barcodezine.com. Retrieved on 2017-06-15.
  4. Future Sound of London : Music News Feature. Clash Music (2009-10-17). Retrieved on 2017-06-15.
  5. "Future Sound of London - FSOL - post". facebook.com. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  6. "First internet music download". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2 March 2022.