Biography
Although the enlistment of various eccentric celebrity contributors and guest singers, sampled or live, somewhat obscured the central identity of the project, David Barker and Simon Leonard issued multiple albums of inventive ambient-techno under the name Fortran 5. Drawing from British eccentrics such as Syd Barrett and Monty Python, the pair typically deployed samplers liberally, generating peculiar pop juxtapositions that placed Donna Summer beside the Pretenders or set the Champs' "Tequila" against thrash-metal. Emerging from the Mute Records act I Start Counting, they first appeared with the 1990 track "Crazy Earth," a dreamy acid-house cut that incorporated Barrett samples. Further singles followed in 1990-1991, among them "Heart on the Line," which featured live vocals by Miranda Sex Garden.
The initial Fortran 5 album, Blues, arrived in 1991 and incorporated work from Can's Holger Hiller, Orb's Kris Weston (aka Thrash), and noted DJ Colin Faver. Its most singular collaboration was a treatment of Syd Barrett's "Bike" assembled from posthumous samples of spoken lines by legendary comedian and Carry On film star Sid James; the session's producer, Steve James, son of Sid, may have averted potential litigation. Subsequent high-profile singles included "Look to the Future," featuring live vocals by Sly Stone alumnus Larry Graham, and "Persian Blues," with Neil Arthur of Blancmange.
Sampling experiments extended to Fortran 5's second album, Bad Head Park. The "Sid Sings Syd" motif returned, now with celebrated British actor Derek Nimmo supplying vocals for a cover of Derek & the Dominos' "Layla," while Barker and Leonard also integrated material from John Barry and Gulf War media reports into their pieces. Their third release, the 1995 concept album Avocado Suite, involved no outside performers and few samples. Fortran 5 additionally supplied remixes for Erasure, Inspiral Carpets, Miranda Sex Garden, and Laibach.
The initial Fortran 5 album, Blues, arrived in 1991 and incorporated work from Can's Holger Hiller, Orb's Kris Weston (aka Thrash), and noted DJ Colin Faver. Its most singular collaboration was a treatment of Syd Barrett's "Bike" assembled from posthumous samples of spoken lines by legendary comedian and Carry On film star Sid James; the session's producer, Steve James, son of Sid, may have averted potential litigation. Subsequent high-profile singles included "Look to the Future," featuring live vocals by Sly Stone alumnus Larry Graham, and "Persian Blues," with Neil Arthur of Blancmange.
Sampling experiments extended to Fortran 5's second album, Bad Head Park. The "Sid Sings Syd" motif returned, now with celebrated British actor Derek Nimmo supplying vocals for a cover of Derek & the Dominos' "Layla," while Barker and Leonard also integrated material from John Barry and Gulf War media reports into their pieces. Their third release, the 1995 concept album Avocado Suite, involved no outside performers and few samples. Fortran 5 additionally supplied remixes for Erasure, Inspiral Carpets, Miranda Sex Garden, and Laibach.
Albums
