LFO’s Mark Bell talks to Collective.

The promo copy of the new LFO album arrives, rather romantically, on cassette. Whether it be a nod to nostalgia or simply a deterrent to Kazaa users, it nicely takes us back to their debut on the tape deck at a Leeds club night which Warp founders Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell just happened to be attending. Eventually their single, LFO, was transferred to vinyl and formally introduced to British dancefloors, entering the Top 40 at number 12 and spawning the landmark Frequencies album.

Since parting company with collaborator Gez Varley, Mark Bell has maintained the guise of LFO and continued to work on new material. Taking a vacation from brutal remixes and production work (Björk, Depeche Mode), he’s compiled a new LFO LP, Sheath. Bell’s familiar vocoder stutter and heavy, plangent synths wash over mammoth beats on the accompanying single Freak, announcing a stark re-run of hip-hop and Detroit techno roots.

Collective: Do you think the new LFO record is as relevant as the first?
Mark: I honestly don't think about it. I never stop doing LFO music. Even when I work with other people, I have a portable set-up so I can make my stuff anywhere. I’ve got hard drives full of all sorts of crap.

Collective: In your press release you say repetition bores you. Do you think your new record is a repetition of your earlier work?
Mark: I think Sheath is all over the place. What I meant was that it bores me when people repeat other people’s music. It's a completely wasted opportunity. It's cheating yourself really.

Collective: Has your production work with Björk influenced the way you make music?
Mark: No, I see it as two different things. I make my music the same way I always have - purely for my enjoyment. When I do stuff with Björk, it's a team thing. We both have fun. It's like training for the 110 metre hurdles with water jumps, or the 400 metres relay with hair extensions and clogs.

Collective: Did you pull any Brian Eno production shit on Depeche Mode?
Mark: I use all kinds of silly methods to get what I want out of the speakers. I just have fun. When I did the Depeche Mode album, I'd hire a little Mackie desk and set up in the live room where the band would normally play. Even though we were in Sony New York, Electric Lady and a top of the range studio in Santa Barbara, I completely ignored their big SSL/Neve desks and million-pound effects. They'd already done that excess bit. I made it so we were going back to our roots.

Collective: How do you work? Do you ever get writer’s block?
Mark: I've got the attention span of a wasp, so I don't get time for writer’s block. Even when I produce, I switch between tracks throughout the session. It just keeps things fresh and fly.

Collective: What do you think Steve Wright would make of Freak? He was fairly against your first single.
Mark: I think he'd love it. My mum pointed out to me that in the Guinness Book Of Hit Singles it clearly states I’ve had more hits than Liberace in the UK. So up your bum, Wrighty. James Rutledge 19 September 03

LFO – Sheath, out 15 September 03 on Warp Records.

useful link: www.warprecords.com/lfo