After a run of EPs, allowing them to indulge their “fat lazy concept album band” dreams, Dougans and Cobain returned to singles to expand on the most popular track from their previous release, Pulse Three‘s ‘Tingler‘. The full-on hardcore track was given a radical reworking, removing the breakbeats and stabs, creating a hoover-lead intense techno track in the process. This mix appeared in two forms: a largely instrumental version, and one featuring a rap by friend of the band, Hamish McDonald, who appears credited as “H”. McDonald came from a post-punk / goth background, formerly leading UK goth band Sexbeat and DJing at London’s famous Batcave nightclub. He, like many former punks, became involved in underground dance music in the late 1980s, and worked with FSOL occasionally over the years, even being credited as a co-conspirator on the original EBV website. The EP was completed with the inclusion of the original Pulse Three track, renamed from ‘Four by Four Mix’ to ‘State Side Swamp Mix’, for… reasons.
‘Tingler’ has gone on to be one of the best known and most fondly remembered early 12″s by the band, a third version of the remix appearing on Earthbeat (simply titled ‘Tingler (Remix)’), and being reissued in 2008 to promote the release of The Pulse EPs, backed with new remixes.
The front cover is another monochrome Buggy image, this time red and black – or purple and black, on a certain number of copies – with numerous logos, including a new Smart Systems icon, and, for the first time, a Future Sound of London logo, with the band name above a Pulse Three-style star. This would soon be replaced with the more widely used pyramid logo, but its appearance is another step towards bringing FSOL forward as their favourite alias. As with other releases from the era, the sleeve and labels contradict each other in terms of credits: the back cover cites FSOL as producing and engineering the track, while the records credit Mental Cube for production and, for the first time in ages, Yage as engineer, a role the name would take for most releases going forward. For the first time, Garry is listed as Cobain on the sleeve, albeit still by his birth name, Cockbain, on the labels.
Release date: May 1991.
Other issues:
Tingler (2008)
Tracklist:
12″ (12TOT 18)
A. Tingler (Meltram Mix)
B1. Tingler (Mingler Mix)
B2. Tingler (State Side Swamp Mix)
Credits
Written by Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain (Sleeve).
Written by Brian Dougans / Garry Cockbain (Labels).
All tracks recorded and mixed at Earthbeat Studios – London 1991.
Engineered and produced by The Future Sound of London (Sleeve).
Produced by Mental Cube (Labels).
Engineered by Yage (Labels).
Rap by “H”.
Executive producer Tim Jones.
Artwork and profile control Buggy G Riphead.
Divine intelligence from Freaky Deek.
Smart boys from a smart system.
Fractional Difference 
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