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 hop, psychedelia, and dub. While keeping an enigmatic image and releasing music under many aliases, the band found commercial success with singles "Papua New Guinea" (1991), "Cascade" (1993), and albums Lifeforms (1994) and Dead Cities (1996). In recent years, the duo has become more candid with their fanbase online. History Formation Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans met in the mid-1980s while studying electronics at university in Manchester, England. Dougans had already been making electronic music, working between Glasgow and Manchester, when the pair first began working together in local clubs. In 1988, Dougans embarked on a project for a graphic studio Stakker, which resulted with a single "Stakker Humanoid" that reached number 17 in the UK charts, introducing acid house to mainstream audience. Cobain contributed to the accompanying album Global. In the following years the pair produced music under a variety of aliases, releasing a number of singles and EPs, including "Q" and "Metropolis", later featured on the 1992 compilation Earthbeat. In 1992, Cobain and Dougans released their debut, techno-driven album together, Accelerator. It was followed by "Papua New Guinea", a single based on a sample from "Dawn of the Iconoclast" by Dead Can Dance, and a bassline from "Radio Babylon" by Meat Beat Manifesto. In 1992, after the chart success and several accolades of "Papua New Guinea", Virgin Records signed the band with free rein to experiment. In 1993, the duo released an ambient album Tales of Ephidrina, the first under the alias Amorphous Androgynous. The focus on texture and mood, while retaining dance beats, was well received. The album was released on Quigley, the band's own short-lived offshoot of Virgin. The band begun experimenting with radio performance, broadcasting three-hour radio shows to Manchester's Kiss FM from their studio. Lifeforms and the ISDN tour In 1993, the band released "Cascade," a nearly 40 minutes single made the UK top 30. It was followed in 1994 by the album Lifeforms, released to critical acclaim and a top 10 hit on the UK album chart. The eponymous single featured Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins on vocals. The record introduced an array of exotic, tropical sound samples. Dougans' father's involvement in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop