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Fluke (band)
Encyclopedia
Fluke are an English electronic music
group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant
, Jon Fugler
and Mike Tournier
with Julian Nugent as the band's manager. The band's conception was influenced by the members interest in the burgeoning acid house
music scene and particularly the work of Cabaret Voltaire
and Giorgio Moroder
.
The band are noted for their diverse range of electronic styles spanning the house
, techno, ambient
and blues genres; for their reclusivity, rarely giving interviews; and for lengthy timespans between albums. Many listeners know of Fluke only through the inclusion of their music in many blockbuster
film soundtracks—most notably The Matrix Reloaded
and Sin City
—as well as featuring prominently on the soundtracks to Need for Speed: Underground 2
and the Wipeout video game series. The film The Experiment uses their song "YKK".
To date Fluke have produced five original studio albums, two "best of" compilations and two live albums. Throughout their career they have made several changes to their line-up with credited appearances attributed to Neil Davenport playing guitars, Robin Goodridge on drums and Hugh Bryder as a DJ. When Fluke were touring for Risotto
they were joined on stage by Rachel Stewart
who acted as a personification of the band's official mascot, a character from the Wipeout series named Arial Tetsuo. Stewart continued as lead female vocalist and as a dancer for all of Fluke's live performances between 1997 and 1999.
After Risotto, Mike Tournier left the group to form Syntax
with Jan Burton
. Mike Bryant and Jon Fugler went on to produce Fluke's latest studio album without Tournier's help and the pair have subsequently engaged in projects under the name 2 Bit Pie
, with their debut album 2Pie Island
released on September 4, 2006. The musical activities of Mike Tournier remain unknown at present.
and Mike Bryant
had previously played in two punk bands together named "The Leaky Radiators" and "The Lay Figures" respectively. The third member of Fluke, Mike Tournier
, was introduced to the group when he undertook work on a collaboration with Jon Fugler
entitled "Skin". It soon became clear that all three shared musical tastes, having a shared interest in the acid house scene and the more experimental electronic sounds of Cabaret Voltaire
and Giorgio Moroder
. Finally, with the casting of Julian Nugent in a managerial role, Fluke was born.
Fluke's first single, released in 1988, was a white label
vinyl entitled "Island Life
", pressed on a clear blue 12" vinyl record. Although a commercial failure, as well as being very different in sound to the band's later works, the group persisted and released a further two white label vinyls; "Thumper!" in 1989 and "Joni/Taxi
" in 1990, a song that sampled Joni Mitchell
's "Big Yellow Taxi
". The attention that these records received successfully gained the band a record deal with Creation Records
with whom they released their first CD
single "Philly
" in the same year.
The following year saw the release of Fluke's first album, The Techno Rose of Blighty
which was swiftly followed by the single "The Bells
" and a live album entitled Out (In Essence)
. For the release of Out (In Essence) Fluke abandoned their deal with Creation Records and signed instead with Circa Records, an offshoot of Virgin
. Along with the releases of these first two albums, Fluke also began their career-spanning tradition of releasing work of a different nature under various monikers. The first of these, the industrial
single "All Aboard
" was released in 1990 under the name The Lucky Monkeys.
The band realised at this early stage in their career that they would experience the greatest artistic freedom if they possessed their own recording studio. They therefore took it upon themselves to obtain their own premises. This was an asset which, according to Jon Fugler, proved invaluable in coordinating the "wider pool of people—musicians and friends—that we draw on to help."
". This single became an instant club classic when it was picked up by DJ Sasha
who liked it so much that he included three separate remixes of it on his Renaissance album. This burst of success was followed by a rush of two further singles, "Electric Guitar
" and "Groovy Feeling
", and, in the same year, the release of the group's second album, Six Wheels On My Wagon.
This new album was a distinctly house
production, featuring uplifting riffs and ambient effects, as opposed to the eponymous techno style of their previous release. The album was structured so that the more accessible 'pop' tracks were to be found at the beginning of the album and the more ambitious ambient works were located towards the end. Though this could have produced a stagnating effect, it was received favourably by critics, with Billboard magazine labelling it as "groundbreaking". Other reviewers went even further, with The Independent
suggesting that Fluke were to become the next big thing in Europe:
In 1994 Fluke released The Peel Sessions
, recorded for BBC Radio 1
DJ
John Peel
. This CD was a selection of tracks from two live sessions recorded on 18 November 1990 and 10 December 1991. The CD also included one new song, Time Keeper, and several tracks which had previously been released on vinyl only. Fluke were invited to perform two further, unreleased, Peel Sessions after this CD. One broadcast on the 10 November 1996 and the other performed live on the 8 December 2002.
, which is the Greek
for "of the ear
". In terms of style, Oto was somewhat darker than Six Wheels on my Wagon, focusing on the downbeat ambient effects which were present in the second half of Six Wheels, and the band completely removed the uplifting house
style that characterised their previous work. Owing to the decreased accessibility of the album as a result of this, only three singles were deemed suitable for release from Oto; "Bubble
", "Bullet
" and "Tosh
". In spite of this, "Bullet" was chosen by Dominic Pride of Billboard magazine as one of his top ten picks of 1995. These singles were also the first of Fluke's releases to gain mainstream top 40 chart positions in the UK.
In 1996 Fluke released "Atom Bomb
", a single that reached #20 in the UK charts. Originally created as a soundtrack to the video game Wipeout 2097
(Along with "V6"), it was to become the centrepiece of their next album, Risotto
. The track was also included in an official release of the Wipeout 2097 game soundtrack
, called Wipeout XL
, which featured tracks from The Chemical Brothers
, Future Sound of London, Photek
, Underworld
, Daft Punk
, Leftfield
and The Prodigy
. Of all their productions, it is Fluke's fourth studio album which is most widely known, primarily because it represented the pinnacle of Fluke's mainstream chart success with the singles "Atom Bomb" and "Absurd
" . The album was named Risotto after the food dish
of the same name because, like its culinary counterpart, it contained a mix of "ingredients". These included the pre-released singles "Atom Bomb" and "Absurd", new tracks "Goodnight Lover" and "Kitten Moon", the post-album single "Squirt
" and reworked older tracks such as "Mosh", a remix of "Tosh
" from Oto. Risotto was perhaps the most favourably reviewed of all Fluke's albums with David Bennun of The Guardian
writing:
At this stage in time the band also saw fit to re-use the Lucky Monkeys moniker for the release of "Bjango
", a single which included a remix by Fluke themselves.
After touring for a year with Risotto on the American, "Electric Highway Tour", and having made two appearances at the Glastonbury festival
in 1995 and 1998, Mike Tournier elected to leave the group to pursue a different project named Syntax
, with the band's long standing friend, Jan Burton
. The pair produced just a single album, Meccano Mind in March 2004, which in turn spawned two moderately successful singles and a live tour supporting Scissor Sisters
, before the pair decided to go their own ways in 2005.
, a compilation spanning their entire ten year producing history, and then in 2001, Progressive History XXX
, a three CD box-set including many rare and hard to find mixes. Both releases were packaged with the artwork "Just Your Average Second On This Planet" 1997-1998 by David Bethell The box-set contained black, red, white and blue versions of the same original cover art, and also came with a poster of the silhouette image on one side and all other album covers on the flip.
2002 saw the formation of The Fluke DJs, a live-show pairing of Jon Fugler and Hugh Bryder. Bryder was a DJ who had assisted Fluke in their live performances since 1993 as well as working with other DJs such as Seb Fontaine while holding a DJ residency at MTV
's special event parties. This seemed to indicate further rifts amongst the band as this DJ combination included neither Mike Bryant nor Mike Tournier. However, Jon Fugler denied these rumours shortly after they surfaced claiming that the band merely needed some time away from each other after their intense work on Risotto.
, with only the track Liquid in the end being excluded. Speculation about a new album was furthered when, after a break of 6 years, the remaining members of Fluke put out two singles forming the basis of this next album. Though the aptly titled "Slap It: The Return
" signalled a break from the past, with the writing credits listed simply as "Bryant/Fugler" under the Appalooso label, "Pulse
" exemplified a much darker style and was released on the One Little Indian label. It was in 2003 however that Fluke finally demonstrated their ability to survive without Tournier when they released their fifth studio album, Puppy
, six years after Risotto
. The name of the album was inspired by Jeff Koons
' fifty foot sculpture of a puppy that stands outside the Guggenheim
museum in Bilbao
. This album proved to be similar to the earlier Risotto tracks in tempo and mood, but with the introduction of some new ideas, such as the inclusion of a blues track, "Blue Sky" and the addition of a very dark techno orientated bonus track, Pulse
.
The album was not received well critically with most of the criticisms labelling the album as dated. Andy Gill of The Independent
wrote:
The only single to be released from Puppy after the album's release was "Switch
", which was put out in CD and vinyl format. The track was also featured on the soundtrack for the Electronic Arts
video game Need For Speed Underground 2 but achieved nowhere near the critical or popular acclaim of the singles from Risotto, not even clocking an appearance in the UK top 40.
, Wild Oscar, Robin Goodridge, Dilshani Weerasinghe, Marli Buck and producer Andy Gray to form 2 Bit Pie
with a limited release of "Nobody Never". This track retained the rough vocals and electronic feel that was by now characteristic of Fluke, but had a stronger emphasis on live playback and real instruments. In May 2006 there were club previews of two new 2 Bit Pie songs, "Little Things" and "Here I Come" . A further 2 Bit Pie song made its debut at the Afterhours club event at KROQ-FM
on the 17th June 2006, entitled "Fly". Finally, on September 4, 2006, 2 Bit Pie released their debut album, 2Pie Island
, in the UK to minimal critical attention.
that the band's reclusivity was "less about selfish hedonism than the revival of 'a communal attitude that had long been forgotten'". The main sphere of influence where the band has had success is through their inclusion in advertisements, film and video game soundtracks.
Amongst the more prominent of these appearances was the 2003 film, The Matrix Reloaded
, using the Fluke track "Slap It
" renamed to Zion for compatibility with the film.
Fluke's 1997 hit "Absurd
" was featured in the trailer for 'Get Carter
', in the strip club sequence of the 2005 film Sin City
and the 'Whitewash Edit' is included on the 'Tomb Raider
' soundtrack which tied in with a commercial deal for Ericsson
who sponsored the Tomb Raider film and then went on to use "Absurd" in its commercials. In addition, it was featured in the video game series NFL QB Club until its discontinuation in 2002. The "Knight to King's Pawn" episode on the 2008 series of Knight Rider, the song Absurd was used by KITT to hide a secret message. Where possible Fluke's licencing agent, David Steel at V2 Music, tries to ensure that when their tracks are used in films they also appear on the soundtrack album:
This kind of exposure was welcomed by members of the band, as Jon Fugler said in an interview with Billboard:
In 1997 Fluke's US sales totalled 14,000 which was modest compared with the 200,000 copies of Dig Your Own Hole
that The Chemical Brothers
sold. In an interview with Billboard magazine, Fugler stated that he felt that predicted figures for the US electronica
boom were overhyped by people who were out of touch with the music scene; "The expectations came from the people who [had] nothing to do with the music, it came from the business level, people not involved with it." This lack of commercial success has not dampened the spirits of the band however, Fugler going on to say "It’s not about being on the cover of a magazine".
in that both these artists employ stunning visual effects combining lasers and projected displays. Furthermore, Fluke's performances come in two varieties of show; performances as Fluke where the shows consist of entirely original Fluke material and shows under the alias "The Fluke DJs" whereby a combination of Fluke tracks are mixed with others in the style of a DJ Set. Unable to attract major crowds, Fluke resorted to "festival-style" tours along with other acts to draw in a sizeable audience as was seen with their participation in the "Electric Highway" tour in 1997 where they were joined by The Crystal Method
and the "Pukkelpop
" festival where they headlined along with Metallica
amongst others.
Contrasting with many other electronic acts, however, Fluke's members were never entirely relegated to standing behind consoles. This was due to their conscription of session musicians to play guitar (Neil Davenport) and percussive elements (Robin Goodridge) live on stage. From 1997 onwards their shows were further enhanced with the inclusion of the dancer and singer Rachel Stewart
as a real-world incarnation of the band's mascot Arial Tetsuo. Originally a character from the Wipeout 2097
video game, Tetsuo was subsequently adopted as the band's "fourth member" following "Atom Bomb"'s inclusion in the Wipeout 2097 soundtrack. This also gave the perfect excuse to incorporate a female vocalist to counter Fugler's deep and somewhat monotonous spoken vocals. While Bryant and Tournier were indeed behind synthesizers, Fugler and Stewart were able to entertain the crowd visually with dancing and singing while Fluke's resident lighting technician, Andy Walton, provided a suitable technology-driven accompaniment to the music. In 2004, Stewart parted ways with Fluke indefinitely, instead focusing on a new project with ex-EMF
band member James Atkin, named Beauty School
.
The number of Fluke's live shows decreased significantly after the release of Puppy owing to their personal commitments to young families. However, in the few shows they have played since, they have opted for the Fluke DJs setup, which utilises "a battery of laptops and the odd deck" rather than focusing on their live stage band, an approach which Jon Fugler subsequently referred to as "good fun, but ultimately flawed for the dancefloor."
In 2009, Fluke began to perform live again, including all three members, with a show scheduled for the 10th of October, 2009 at The Tabernacle in London.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant
Mike Bryant
Michael James Bryant is an English electronic musician and one of the co-founders of the electronic music group Fluke along with Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier...
, Jon Fugler
Jon Fugler
Jon Fugler is an English electronic musician and one of the co-founders of the electronic music group Fluke along with Mike Bryant and Mike Tournier...
and Mike Tournier
Mike Tournier
Michael James Tournier is an English electronic musician and one of the co-founders of the electronic music group Fluke along with Mike Bryant and Jon Fugler...
with Julian Nugent as the band's manager. The band's conception was influenced by the members interest in the burgeoning acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
music scene and particularly the work of Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire (band)
Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
and Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
.
The band are noted for their diverse range of electronic styles spanning the house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, techno, ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
and blues genres; for their reclusivity, rarely giving interviews; and for lengthy timespans between albums. Many listeners know of Fluke only through the inclusion of their music in many blockbuster
Blockbuster (entertainment)
Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry...
film soundtracks—most notably The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
and Sin City
Sin City (film)
Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
—as well as featuring prominently on the soundtracks to Need for Speed: Underground 2
Need for Speed: Underground 2
Need for Speed: Underground 2 is a cross-platform racing video game published and developed by Electronic Arts. Released in 2004, it is the direct sequel to Need for Speed: Underground, and is part of the Need for Speed series, available on Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance,...
and the Wipeout video game series. The film The Experiment uses their song "YKK".
To date Fluke have produced five original studio albums, two "best of" compilations and two live albums. Throughout their career they have made several changes to their line-up with credited appearances attributed to Neil Davenport playing guitars, Robin Goodridge on drums and Hugh Bryder as a DJ. When Fluke were touring for Risotto
Risotto (album)
Risotto is the sixth album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in September 1997. The album is named Risotto after the dish....
they were joined on stage by Rachel Stewart
Rachel Stewart
Rachel Stewart is a Scottish singer and folk dancer born 24 December 1971. She is one of the founding members of electro-pop group Beauty School and first came to attention in 1997 when she toured with electronic music group Fluke.-History:...
who acted as a personification of the band's official mascot, a character from the Wipeout series named Arial Tetsuo. Stewart continued as lead female vocalist and as a dancer for all of Fluke's live performances between 1997 and 1999.
After Risotto, Mike Tournier left the group to form Syntax
Syntax (band)
Syntax is an English electronic music group originally formed in 2002 by the musicians Jan Burton and Mike Tournier . They are best known for the songs "Destiny", "Bliss" and "Pride".-History:...
with Jan Burton
Jan Burton
Jan Burton is a Welsh music producer best known for his work with ex-Fluke member Mike Tournier in their joint project, Syntax. He is currently engaged in musical activities in a group called Fatal and working on Syntax's second Album....
. Mike Bryant and Jon Fugler went on to produce Fluke's latest studio album without Tournier's help and the pair have subsequently engaged in projects under the name 2 Bit Pie
2 Bit Pie
2 Bit Pie are an English electronic music group formed in 2005 as a collaboration between Fluke and many other musicians, some of whom had previously worked with Fluke, and others who already have vast experience within the music industry, such as Andy Gray....
, with their debut album 2Pie Island
2Pie Island
2Pie Island is the first and, currently, only album by British electronica group 2 Bit Pie, considered to be an incarnation of Fluke.-Track listing:...
released on September 4, 2006. The musical activities of Mike Tournier remain unknown at present.
The Techno Rose of Blighty
Prior to forming Fluke, Jon FuglerJon Fugler
Jon Fugler is an English electronic musician and one of the co-founders of the electronic music group Fluke along with Mike Bryant and Mike Tournier...
and Mike Bryant
Mike Bryant
Michael James Bryant is an English electronic musician and one of the co-founders of the electronic music group Fluke along with Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier...
had previously played in two punk bands together named "The Leaky Radiators" and "The Lay Figures" respectively. The third member of Fluke, Mike Tournier
Mike Tournier
Michael James Tournier is an English electronic musician and one of the co-founders of the electronic music group Fluke along with Mike Bryant and Jon Fugler...
, was introduced to the group when he undertook work on a collaboration with Jon Fugler
Jon Fugler
Jon Fugler is an English electronic musician and one of the co-founders of the electronic music group Fluke along with Mike Bryant and Mike Tournier...
entitled "Skin". It soon became clear that all three shared musical tastes, having a shared interest in the acid house scene and the more experimental electronic sounds of Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire (band)
Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
and Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
. Finally, with the casting of Julian Nugent in a managerial role, Fluke was born.
Fluke's first single, released in 1988, was a white label
White label
White label records are vinyl records with adhesive plain white labels affixed. Test pressings, usually with Test Pressing written on the label, with catalogue number, artist and recording time or date, are produced in small quantities to evaluate the quality of the disc production...
vinyl entitled "Island Life
Island Life (Fluke song)
"Island Life" is the first single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Paving the way for the career of one of the longest running electronic groups, pressings of this record are now very hard to obtain.-Versions:...
", pressed on a clear blue 12" vinyl record. Although a commercial failure, as well as being very different in sound to the band's later works, the group persisted and released a further two white label vinyls; "Thumper!" in 1989 and "Joni/Taxi
Joni/Taxi (Fluke song)
"Joni/Taxi" was the third single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Using samples from Joni Mitchell the single appeared on the band's The Techno Rose of Blighty album.-Versions:...
" in 1990, a song that sampled Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
's "Big Yellow Taxi
Big Yellow Taxi
"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written and originally performed by Joni Mitchell in 1970. It was a big hit in her native Canada as well as Australia and the UK...
". The attention that these records received successfully gained the band a record deal with Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
with whom they released their first CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
single "Philly
Philly (Fluke song)
"Philly" is the fourth single by the English electronic music band Fluke. This was the band's first single to be released on a major record label, Creation Records as well as the band's first CD format released.-Versions:...
" in the same year.
The following year saw the release of Fluke's first album, The Techno Rose of Blighty
The Techno Rose of Blighty (album)
The Techno Rose of Blighty is the first album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in 1991.The name is based upon Blighty, being slang for Great Britain; it is also ironic as the album is not particularly Techno based.-Track listing:...
which was swiftly followed by the single "The Bells
The Bells (Fluke song)
"The Bells " is the fifth single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Taken from their previous album, Out the track also featured on their other live album, The Peel Sessions, from which the album's linguistic pun subtitle is derived, and Progressive History XXX, which contains Mix 1.The...
" and a live album entitled Out (In Essence)
Out (In Essence) (album)
Out is the second album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in 1991.-About the album:The tracks on this album all came from Fluke's first album, The Techno Rose of Blighty. The album was recorded live at Destination Moon, an Acid House party held at the Rolling Stones’ manor house...
. For the release of Out (In Essence) Fluke abandoned their deal with Creation Records and signed instead with Circa Records, an offshoot of Virgin
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
. Along with the releases of these first two albums, Fluke also began their career-spanning tradition of releasing work of a different nature under various monikers. The first of these, the industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
single "All Aboard
All Aboard (Lucky Monkeys song)
"All Aboard" is the first single by the English electronic music band The Lucky Monkeys, an incarnation of Fluke-Versions:...
" was released in 1990 under the name The Lucky Monkeys.
The band realised at this early stage in their career that they would experience the greatest artistic freedom if they possessed their own recording studio. They therefore took it upon themselves to obtain their own premises. This was an asset which, according to Jon Fugler, proved invaluable in coordinating the "wider pool of people—musicians and friends—that we draw on to help."
Six Wheels On My Wagon
After a two year break Fluke returned with what was to be a breakthrough into mainstream popular music when, in 1993, they released the single "SlidSlid (Fluke song)
"Slid" is the sixth single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Taken from the album, Six Wheels on My Wagon the track became a club hit with the likes of Sasha and also appeared on the Sliver soundtrack.-Versions:...
". This single became an instant club classic when it was picked up by DJ Sasha
Sasha (DJ)
Sasha is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house dance music in the late 1980s...
who liked it so much that he included three separate remixes of it on his Renaissance album. This burst of success was followed by a rush of two further singles, "Electric Guitar
Electric Guitar (Fluke song)
"Electric Guitar" is the seventh single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Taken from the album, Six Wheels on My Wagon the track was released in many formats but did not generate the same amount of interest as the previous single, Slid.-Versions:...
" and "Groovy Feeling
Groovy Feeling (Fluke song)
"Groovy Feeling" is the eighth single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Taken from the album, Six Wheels on My Wagon the track was the final single released by Fluke in 1993 after the successes of Slid and Electric Guitar...
", and, in the same year, the release of the group's second album, Six Wheels On My Wagon.
This new album was a distinctly house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
production, featuring uplifting riffs and ambient effects, as opposed to the eponymous techno style of their previous release. The album was structured so that the more accessible 'pop' tracks were to be found at the beginning of the album and the more ambitious ambient works were located towards the end. Though this could have produced a stagnating effect, it was received favourably by critics, with Billboard magazine labelling it as "groundbreaking". Other reviewers went even further, with The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
suggesting that Fluke were to become the next big thing in Europe:
In 1994 Fluke released The Peel Sessions
The Peel Sessions (Fluke album)
The Peel Sessions is the fourth album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in 1994.The album is a compilation of performances recorded live at the BBC for John Peel's radio show...
, recorded for BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
. This CD was a selection of tracks from two live sessions recorded on 18 November 1990 and 10 December 1991. The CD also included one new song, Time Keeper, and several tracks which had previously been released on vinyl only. Fluke were invited to perform two further, unreleased, Peel Sessions after this CD. One broadcast on the 10 November 1996 and the other performed live on the 8 December 2002.
Oto and Risotto
The following year Fluke released their third album, OtoOto (album)
Oto is the fifth album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in 1995.In terms of style, Oto was somewhat darker than Fluke's previous Six Wheels on My Wagon, focusing on downbeat ambient effects rather than the uplifting house that characterised their previous work.Both "Bullet" and...
, which is the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
for "of the ear
Ear
The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
". In terms of style, Oto was somewhat darker than Six Wheels on my Wagon, focusing on the downbeat ambient effects which were present in the second half of Six Wheels, and the band completely removed the uplifting house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
style that characterised their previous work. Owing to the decreased accessibility of the album as a result of this, only three singles were deemed suitable for release from Oto; "Bubble
Bubble (Fluke song)
"Bubble" is the ninth single by the English electronic music band Fluke and was their only single released in 1994.-Versions:...
", "Bullet
Bullet (Fluke song)
"Bullet" is the tenth single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Eventually released on the album, Oto the track was the first of two singles released by Fluke in 1995....
" and "Tosh
Tosh (Fluke song)
"Tosh" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Eventually released on the album Oto, the track was the second of two singles released by Fluke in 1995....
". In spite of this, "Bullet" was chosen by Dominic Pride of Billboard magazine as one of his top ten picks of 1995. These singles were also the first of Fluke's releases to gain mainstream top 40 chart positions in the UK.
In 1996 Fluke released "Atom Bomb
Atom Bomb (Fluke song)
"Atom Bomb" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Originally created for the soundtrack to the Wipeout 2097 video game the track reached #20 in the UK music charts and brought Fluke their first non-club mainstream single...
", a single that reached #20 in the UK charts. Originally created as a soundtrack to the video game Wipeout 2097
Wipeout 2097
Track listing Saturn/Windows versions * CoLD SToRAGE: "Canada"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Body in Motion"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Kinkong"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Plasticity"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Messij Xtnd"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Tenation"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Surgeon"...
(Along with "V6"), it was to become the centrepiece of their next album, Risotto
Risotto (album)
Risotto is the sixth album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in September 1997. The album is named Risotto after the dish....
. The track was also included in an official release of the Wipeout 2097 game soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
, called Wipeout XL
Wipeout XL (album)
wipE'out" 2097 The Soundtrack is a soundtrack album of various British and other European electronica, Big beat and techno artists from the British video game of the same name, released in 1996.-The album:...
, which featured tracks from The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
, Future Sound of London, Photek
Photek
Photek is Rupert Parkes , a Los Angeles-based British record producer and DJ. He joined the drum and bass scene relatively early , and is still one of its most respected players...
, Underworld
Underworld (band)
Underworld are a British electronic group, and principal name under which duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have recorded together since 1980.- Early years: 1979–1986 :...
, Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
, Leftfield
Leftfield
Leftfield are a British duo of electronica artists and record producers, namely Paul Daley and Neil Barnes, who formed in 1990 in London, England...
and The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
. Of all their productions, it is Fluke's fourth studio album which is most widely known, primarily because it represented the pinnacle of Fluke's mainstream chart success with the singles "Atom Bomb" and "Absurd
Absurd (Fluke song)
"Absurd" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. The single has made many soundtrack appearances, including Sin City, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Wipeout , NFL Quarterback Club '99 , Enter the Matrix, Spaced, and a Ribena commercial as well as an episode of the 2008 NBC series...
" . The album was named Risotto after the food dish
Risotto
Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-, fish-, or vegetable-based; many kinds include Parmesan cheese, butter, and onion...
of the same name because, like its culinary counterpart, it contained a mix of "ingredients". These included the pre-released singles "Atom Bomb" and "Absurd", new tracks "Goodnight Lover" and "Kitten Moon", the post-album single "Squirt
Squirt (Fluke song)
"Squirt" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke.Amongst the Squirt versions there are two known releases which have mislabeled tracks...
" and reworked older tracks such as "Mosh", a remix of "Tosh
Tosh (Fluke song)
"Tosh" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Eventually released on the album Oto, the track was the second of two singles released by Fluke in 1995....
" from Oto. Risotto was perhaps the most favourably reviewed of all Fluke's albums with David Bennun of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
writing:
At this stage in time the band also saw fit to re-use the Lucky Monkeys moniker for the release of "Bjango
Bjango (Lucky Monkeys song)
"Bjango" is the second single by the English electronic music band The Lucky Monkeys, an incarnation of Fluke...
", a single which included a remix by Fluke themselves.
After touring for a year with Risotto on the American, "Electric Highway Tour", and having made two appearances at the Glastonbury festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
in 1995 and 1998, Mike Tournier elected to leave the group to pursue a different project named Syntax
Syntax (band)
Syntax is an English electronic music group originally formed in 2002 by the musicians Jan Burton and Mike Tournier . They are best known for the songs "Destiny", "Bliss" and "Pride".-History:...
, with the band's long standing friend, Jan Burton
Jan Burton
Jan Burton is a Welsh music producer best known for his work with ex-Fluke member Mike Tournier in their joint project, Syntax. He is currently engaged in musical activities in a group called Fatal and working on Syntax's second Album....
. The pair produced just a single album, Meccano Mind in March 2004, which in turn spawned two moderately successful singles and a live tour supporting Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters are an American band "spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York" who took their name from a sexual position between two women also known as tribadism...
, before the pair decided to go their own ways in 2005.
Progressive History X and Progressive History XXX
With the group split it was seen fit to release two "Best Of" albums entitled Progressive History XProgressive History X (album)
Progressive History X is a compilation album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in July 2001. It is not to be confused with Progressive History XXX, their next compilation album...
, a compilation spanning their entire ten year producing history, and then in 2001, Progressive History XXX
Progressive History XXX (album)
Progressive History XXX is a three-disc compilation album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in September 2002. It is not to be confused with Progressive History X, their previous compilation album, which is only one disc...
, a three CD box-set including many rare and hard to find mixes. Both releases were packaged with the artwork "Just Your Average Second On This Planet" 1997-1998 by David Bethell The box-set contained black, red, white and blue versions of the same original cover art, and also came with a poster of the silhouette image on one side and all other album covers on the flip.
2002 saw the formation of The Fluke DJs, a live-show pairing of Jon Fugler and Hugh Bryder. Bryder was a DJ who had assisted Fluke in their live performances since 1993 as well as working with other DJs such as Seb Fontaine while holding a DJ residency at MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's special event parties. This seemed to indicate further rifts amongst the band as this DJ combination included neither Mike Bryant nor Mike Tournier. However, Jon Fugler denied these rumours shortly after they surfaced claiming that the band merely needed some time away from each other after their intense work on Risotto.
Puppy
Even with the release of the "best of" albums, there were still signs of life in Fluke's production studio when, in 2000, they produced a promotional CD named The Xmas Demos. This included many of the tracks intended for the album PuppyPuppy (album)
Puppy is the ninth and most recent album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in August 2003. The album contains a variety of genres, spanning from house to ambient and even including a Blues track, "Blue Sky"....
, with only the track Liquid in the end being excluded. Speculation about a new album was furthered when, after a break of 6 years, the remaining members of Fluke put out two singles forming the basis of this next album. Though the aptly titled "Slap It: The Return
Slap It (Fluke song)
"Slap It" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. This song is partially responsible for Fluke's reputation in the mainstream as it was featured on the soundtrack for The Matrix Reloaded under the name "Zion". It was subsequently included on the Puppy album as "Another Kind of Blues"...
" signalled a break from the past, with the writing credits listed simply as "Bryant/Fugler" under the Appalooso label, "Pulse
Pulse (Fluke song)
"Pulse" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. This single was never released on an album and is a change in style for Fluke being a more Techno orientated production.-Versions:...
" exemplified a much darker style and was released on the One Little Indian label. It was in 2003 however that Fluke finally demonstrated their ability to survive without Tournier when they released their fifth studio album, Puppy
Puppy (album)
Puppy is the ninth and most recent album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in August 2003. The album contains a variety of genres, spanning from house to ambient and even including a Blues track, "Blue Sky"....
, six years after Risotto
Risotto
Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-, fish-, or vegetable-based; many kinds include Parmesan cheese, butter, and onion...
. The name of the album was inspired by Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....
' fifty foot sculpture of a puppy that stands outside the Guggenheim
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art, designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, built by Ferrovial, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. It is built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Atlantic Coast. The...
museum in Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
. This album proved to be similar to the earlier Risotto tracks in tempo and mood, but with the introduction of some new ideas, such as the inclusion of a blues track, "Blue Sky" and the addition of a very dark techno orientated bonus track, Pulse
Pulse (Fluke song)
"Pulse" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. This single was never released on an album and is a change in style for Fluke being a more Techno orientated production.-Versions:...
.
The album was not received well critically with most of the criticisms labelling the album as dated. Andy Gill of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
wrote:
The only single to be released from Puppy after the album's release was "Switch
Switch (Fluke song)
"Switch" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. It is the band's last official single using the alias Fluke to date although it has been followed by the white label vinyl release Bullet 2005 which does not appear to be an official "on-label" release by the band.Switch was featured...
", which was put out in CD and vinyl format. The track was also featured on the soundtrack for the Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
video game Need For Speed Underground 2 but achieved nowhere near the critical or popular acclaim of the singles from Risotto, not even clocking an appearance in the UK top 40.
Current work
In late 2005, Mike Bryant and Jon Fugler teamed up with Jan BurtonJan Burton
Jan Burton is a Welsh music producer best known for his work with ex-Fluke member Mike Tournier in their joint project, Syntax. He is currently engaged in musical activities in a group called Fatal and working on Syntax's second Album....
, Wild Oscar, Robin Goodridge, Dilshani Weerasinghe, Marli Buck and producer Andy Gray to form 2 Bit Pie
2 Bit Pie
2 Bit Pie are an English electronic music group formed in 2005 as a collaboration between Fluke and many other musicians, some of whom had previously worked with Fluke, and others who already have vast experience within the music industry, such as Andy Gray....
with a limited release of "Nobody Never". This track retained the rough vocals and electronic feel that was by now characteristic of Fluke, but had a stronger emphasis on live playback and real instruments. In May 2006 there were club previews of two new 2 Bit Pie songs, "Little Things" and "Here I Come" . A further 2 Bit Pie song made its debut at the Afterhours club event at KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
on the 17th June 2006, entitled "Fly". Finally, on September 4, 2006, 2 Bit Pie released their debut album, 2Pie Island
2Pie Island
2Pie Island is the first and, currently, only album by British electronica group 2 Bit Pie, considered to be an incarnation of Fluke.-Track listing:...
, in the UK to minimal critical attention.
Mainstream popularity
Although Fluke have been producing music for the best part of two decades they remain relatively unknown to a large scale audience and the band members themselves are even less recognisable. Jon Fugler insisted in an interview with The IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
that the band's reclusivity was "less about selfish hedonism than the revival of 'a communal attitude that had long been forgotten'". The main sphere of influence where the band has had success is through their inclusion in advertisements, film and video game soundtracks.
Amongst the more prominent of these appearances was the 2003 film, The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
, using the Fluke track "Slap It
Slap It (Fluke song)
"Slap It" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. This song is partially responsible for Fluke's reputation in the mainstream as it was featured on the soundtrack for The Matrix Reloaded under the name "Zion". It was subsequently included on the Puppy album as "Another Kind of Blues"...
" renamed to Zion for compatibility with the film.
Fluke's 1997 hit "Absurd
Absurd (Fluke song)
"Absurd" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. The single has made many soundtrack appearances, including Sin City, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Wipeout , NFL Quarterback Club '99 , Enter the Matrix, Spaced, and a Ribena commercial as well as an episode of the 2008 NBC series...
" was featured in the trailer for 'Get Carter
Get Carter (2000 film)
Get Carter is the 2000 remake of the 1971 crime film of the same name, starring Sylvester Stallone in the title role. The film also features Miranda Richardson, Rachel Leigh Cook, Alan Cumming, Mickey Rourke, and Rhona Mitra. Michael Caine, who starred in the original, plays a supporting role...
', in the strip club sequence of the 2005 film Sin City
Sin City (film)
Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
and the 'Whitewash Edit' is included on the 'Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, with MS-DOS and PlayStation versions following shortly thereafter...
' soundtrack which tied in with a commercial deal for Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
who sponsored the Tomb Raider film and then went on to use "Absurd" in its commercials. In addition, it was featured in the video game series NFL QB Club until its discontinuation in 2002. The "Knight to King's Pawn" episode on the 2008 series of Knight Rider, the song Absurd was used by KITT to hide a secret message. Where possible Fluke's licencing agent, David Steel at V2 Music, tries to ensure that when their tracks are used in films they also appear on the soundtrack album:
This kind of exposure was welcomed by members of the band, as Jon Fugler said in an interview with Billboard:
In 1997 Fluke's US sales totalled 14,000 which was modest compared with the 200,000 copies of Dig Your Own Hole
Dig Your Own Hole
Dig Your Own Hole is the second studio album by British electronica duo The Chemical Brothers, released on 7 April 1997. It features Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Beth Orton as guest vocalists...
that The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
sold. In an interview with Billboard magazine, Fugler stated that he felt that predicted figures for the US electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
boom were overhyped by people who were out of touch with the music scene; "The expectations came from the people who [had] nothing to do with the music, it came from the business level, people not involved with it." This lack of commercial success has not dampened the spirits of the band however, Fugler going on to say "It’s not about being on the cover of a magazine".
Live performances
Fluke's live shows are in many respects similar to the live performances given by The Chemical BrothersThe Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
in that both these artists employ stunning visual effects combining lasers and projected displays. Furthermore, Fluke's performances come in two varieties of show; performances as Fluke where the shows consist of entirely original Fluke material and shows under the alias "The Fluke DJs" whereby a combination of Fluke tracks are mixed with others in the style of a DJ Set. Unable to attract major crowds, Fluke resorted to "festival-style" tours along with other acts to draw in a sizeable audience as was seen with their participation in the "Electric Highway" tour in 1997 where they were joined by The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...
and the "Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop is an annual music festival which takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium in mid-to-late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—between a dual carriageway called Kempische Steenweg—in the village of Kiewit, approximately 7 km north of Hasselt...
" festival where they headlined along with Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
amongst others.
Contrasting with many other electronic acts, however, Fluke's members were never entirely relegated to standing behind consoles. This was due to their conscription of session musicians to play guitar (Neil Davenport) and percussive elements (Robin Goodridge) live on stage. From 1997 onwards their shows were further enhanced with the inclusion of the dancer and singer Rachel Stewart
Rachel Stewart
Rachel Stewart is a Scottish singer and folk dancer born 24 December 1971. She is one of the founding members of electro-pop group Beauty School and first came to attention in 1997 when she toured with electronic music group Fluke.-History:...
as a real-world incarnation of the band's mascot Arial Tetsuo. Originally a character from the Wipeout 2097
Wipeout 2097
Track listing Saturn/Windows versions * CoLD SToRAGE: "Canada"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Body in Motion"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Kinkong"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Plasticity"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Messij Xtnd"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Tenation"* CoLD SToRAGE: "Surgeon"...
video game, Tetsuo was subsequently adopted as the band's "fourth member" following "Atom Bomb"'s inclusion in the Wipeout 2097 soundtrack. This also gave the perfect excuse to incorporate a female vocalist to counter Fugler's deep and somewhat monotonous spoken vocals. While Bryant and Tournier were indeed behind synthesizers, Fugler and Stewart were able to entertain the crowd visually with dancing and singing while Fluke's resident lighting technician, Andy Walton, provided a suitable technology-driven accompaniment to the music. In 2004, Stewart parted ways with Fluke indefinitely, instead focusing on a new project with ex-EMF
EMF (band)
EMF were an indie dance band from the United Kingdom. The band, from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, came to prominence at the beginning of the 1990s. During its initial eight year run , EMF had released three studio albums and had gone on hiatus and reformed twice...
band member James Atkin, named Beauty School
Beauty School (band)
Beauty School is the name of a band consisting of ex-EMF frontman James Atkin, ex-Fluke singer, Rachel Stewart and Elastica drummer Justin Welch.- External links :*...
.
The number of Fluke's live shows decreased significantly after the release of Puppy owing to their personal commitments to young families. However, in the few shows they have played since, they have opted for the Fluke DJs setup, which utilises "a battery of laptops and the odd deck" rather than focusing on their live stage band, an approach which Jon Fugler subsequently referred to as "good fun, but ultimately flawed for the dancefloor."
In 2009, Fluke began to perform live again, including all three members, with a show scheduled for the 10th of October, 2009 at The Tabernacle in London.
Albums
- The Techno Rose of BlightyThe Techno Rose of Blighty (album)The Techno Rose of Blighty is the first album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in 1991.The name is based upon Blighty, being slang for Great Britain; it is also ironic as the album is not particularly Techno based.-Track listing:...
(1991) - Out (In Essence)Out (In Essence) (album)Out is the second album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in 1991.-About the album:The tracks on this album all came from Fluke's first album, The Techno Rose of Blighty. The album was recorded live at Destination Moon, an Acid House party held at the Rolling Stones’ manor house...
(1991) - Six Wheels On My Wagon (1993)
- The Peel SessionsThe Peel Sessions (Fluke album)The Peel Sessions is the fourth album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in 1994.The album is a compilation of performances recorded live at the BBC for John Peel's radio show...
(1994) - OtoOto (album)Oto is the fifth album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in 1995.In terms of style, Oto was somewhat darker than Fluke's previous Six Wheels on My Wagon, focusing on downbeat ambient effects rather than the uplifting house that characterised their previous work.Both "Bullet" and...
(1995) - RisottoRisotto (album)Risotto is the sixth album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in September 1997. The album is named Risotto after the dish....
(1997) - Progressive History XProgressive History X (album)Progressive History X is a compilation album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in July 2001. It is not to be confused with Progressive History XXX, their next compilation album...
(2001) - Progressive History XXXProgressive History XXX (album)Progressive History XXX is a three-disc compilation album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in September 2002. It is not to be confused with Progressive History X, their previous compilation album, which is only one disc...
(2002) - PuppyPuppy (album)Puppy is the ninth and most recent album by British electronica group Fluke, first released in August 2003. The album contains a variety of genres, spanning from house to ambient and even including a Blues track, "Blue Sky"....
(2003)
Singles
- "Island LifeIsland Life (Fluke song)"Island Life" is the first single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Paving the way for the career of one of the longest running electronic groups, pressings of this record are now very hard to obtain.-Versions:...
" (1988) - "Thumper!" (1989)
- "Joni/TaxiJoni/Taxi (Fluke song)"Joni/Taxi" was the third single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Using samples from Joni Mitchell the single appeared on the band's The Techno Rose of Blighty album.-Versions:...
" (1990) - "PhillyPhilly (Fluke song)"Philly" is the fourth single by the English electronic music band Fluke. This was the band's first single to be released on a major record label, Creation Records as well as the band's first CD format released.-Versions:...
" (1990) - "The BellsThe Bells (Fluke song)"The Bells " is the fifth single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Taken from their previous album, Out the track also featured on their other live album, The Peel Sessions, from which the album's linguistic pun subtitle is derived, and Progressive History XXX, which contains Mix 1.The...
" (1991) - "SlidSlid (Fluke song)"Slid" is the sixth single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Taken from the album, Six Wheels on My Wagon the track became a club hit with the likes of Sasha and also appeared on the Sliver soundtrack.-Versions:...
" (1993) - "Electric GuitarElectric Guitar (Fluke song)"Electric Guitar" is the seventh single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Taken from the album, Six Wheels on My Wagon the track was released in many formats but did not generate the same amount of interest as the previous single, Slid.-Versions:...
" (1993) - "Groovy FeelingGroovy Feeling (Fluke song)"Groovy Feeling" is the eighth single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Taken from the album, Six Wheels on My Wagon the track was the final single released by Fluke in 1993 after the successes of Slid and Electric Guitar...
" (1993) - "BubbleBubble (Fluke song)"Bubble" is the ninth single by the English electronic music band Fluke and was their only single released in 1994.-Versions:...
" (1994) - "BulletBullet (Fluke song)"Bullet" is the tenth single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Eventually released on the album, Oto the track was the first of two singles released by Fluke in 1995....
" (1995) - "ToshTosh (Fluke song)"Tosh" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Eventually released on the album Oto, the track was the second of two singles released by Fluke in 1995....
" (1995) - "Atom BombAtom Bomb (Fluke song)"Atom Bomb" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. Originally created for the soundtrack to the Wipeout 2097 video game the track reached #20 in the UK music charts and brought Fluke their first non-club mainstream single...
" (1996) - "AbsurdAbsurd (Fluke song)"Absurd" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. The single has made many soundtrack appearances, including Sin City, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Wipeout , NFL Quarterback Club '99 , Enter the Matrix, Spaced, and a Ribena commercial as well as an episode of the 2008 NBC series...
" (1997) - "SquirtSquirt (Fluke song)"Squirt" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke.Amongst the Squirt versions there are two known releases which have mislabeled tracks...
" (1997) - "Slap ItSlap It (Fluke song)"Slap It" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. This song is partially responsible for Fluke's reputation in the mainstream as it was featured on the soundtrack for The Matrix Reloaded under the name "Zion". It was subsequently included on the Puppy album as "Another Kind of Blues"...
" (2002) - "PulsePulse (Fluke song)"Pulse" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. This single was never released on an album and is a change in style for Fluke being a more Techno orientated production.-Versions:...
" (2002) - "Hang Tough" (2003)
- "SwitchSwitch (Fluke song)"Switch" is a single by the English electronic music band Fluke. It is the band's last official single using the alias Fluke to date although it has been followed by the white label vinyl release Bullet 2005 which does not appear to be an official "on-label" release by the band.Switch was featured...
" (2003)