The Future Sound of London – Hardhead (Frothin’ at the Mouth Mix)

Released on:
The Pulse EP
The Pulse EPs

Also known as:
Hard Head

Runtime: 6:06

As any fan knows, FSOL never do things the way you’d expect. Regardless of the linear nature of this blog, there’s no straight way to tell their story. Nowhere is this clearer than on the very first Future Sound of London track. It should be one of those mould-breaking tracks, an epic piece of spacey techno the band set aside to be released by the name they would use for their most unconventional – and successful – material. And it’s… not. ‘Hardhead (Frothin’ at the Mouth Mix)’ doesn’t really sound like anything else they’ve released (even the original mix* on From the Archives Vol. 3 is much closer to the atmospheric, acidic sound of their less conventional J&P-era tracks). There’s definitely some UK ‘ardcore in there – the cheeky bass melody, the incessant rave whistles – but also an odd eastern sounding instrument sample, and a couple of jazzy breakdown sections. It’s not as disjointedly odd as something like 1992’s ‘Livin’ for the Love’, but the various elements do feel oddly assembled.

When the jazzier aspects come to the fore, it’s possible to hear the track as a forerunner to the rawer atmospherics of future releases like ISDN – there’s a lovely little pause at 4:40 in which you can definitely hear FSOL – but on the whole it’s quite a baffling track to kickstart the Future Sound of London legacy. Overall, it feels much closer to something they would have put out as Smart Systems.

*The archived version is known among fans as the original, but to confuse matters, Jumpin’ & Pumpin’ released this mix as, simply, ‘Hard Head’, on 1997 compilation Techno Explosion.

Credits
Written by Brian Dougans / Gary Cockbain.
Produced by Yage.