Garry Cobain (sometimes styled as Gaz Cobain) (born 16 May 1967) is a British electronic musician, and one half of

the Future Sound of London The Future Sound of London (often abbreviated FSOL) 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 ho ...

.Future Sound of London : Music News Feature , Clash Music
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Background

Cobain was born on 16 May 1967 in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

. He left Bedford for

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in his late teens to study at a time when alternative music in that part of Britain was taking off; the dance music scene in particular was becoming more and more popular, not just in Manchester but all over the country and in the States too. Cobain, drawn to the city by bands like The Chameleons and

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

, embraced this atmosphere and joined a band he had seen rehearsing in a studio and stayed with them for a year; after his spell with that band he met

Brian Dougans Brian Dougans (born 1968) is a British musician, and a member of the British electronic duo, the Future Sound of London (FSOL). He is the more technical member of FSOL, doing most of the programming, circuit bending et cetera and creating elec ...

Music

After meeting Dougans they both started discussing their shared interest in electronic music and began to work together on small projects; Cobain then left the college to build his own studio on an Enterprise Allowance Course and he and Dougans began to release tracks under

aliases A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

such as ''Mental Cube'' and ''Art Science Technology'', some of these early singles would be compiled onto '' Earthbeat'' (1992). His first big collaboration with Dougans was on "

Stakker 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." History The projec ...

", which went on to be a chart hit at a time when acid house in particular was becoming popular. The pair then released their first single as The Future Sound of London (FSOL) "

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

" which also became a hit in clubs across Britain and the States. They signed with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

but remained independent artistically, something they have always fought for and achieved; Cobain puts this down to them already having a few hits under their belts ("Papua New Guinea" in particular) before they signed with the major label. Cobain has always been the more vocal member of the band and always speaks for them in interviews with Dougans sometimes interjecting on a certain point; Cobain has said that FSOL is a combination of opposites, the roles of masculine and feminine are central to the FSOL ethos and Cobain has said that in the band he represents the melody and softness as opposed to Dougans representing technology, machines and programming; it is the marriage of these forces, Cobain says, that makes FSOL work the way it does, especially with the Amorphous Androgynous of the new millennium where progressive rock and psychedelica were embraced. The new incarnation of Amorphous Androgynous is very much Cobain's new vehicle for the expression of his energy whilst still releasing their more electronic-based music as FSOL. He has stated that he is influenced philosophically by

Laozi Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state ...

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

and

Jiddu Krishnamurti Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected thi ...

and that he likes the bands

Secret Chiefs 3 Secret Chiefs 3 (or SC3) is an American avant-garde group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance (of Mr. Bungle and formerly, Faith No More). Their studio recordings and tours have featured different lineups, as the group performs a wide range ...

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were Simian The simians, anthropoids, or higher primates are an infraorder (Simiiformes ) of primates containing all animals traditionally called monkeys and apes. More precisely, they consist of the parvorders New World monkeys (Platyrrhini) and Catarrhi ...

among many others.PopMatters Music Interview , Song of the Mellow Hippo: An Interview with Future Sound of London
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References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobain, Garry 1967 births Living people People from Bedford English dance musicians English electronic musicians English new-age musicians English experimental musicians English record producers Intelligent dance musicians Remixers Breakbeat musicians