The Black Dog

Taking their name from a British euphemism for imminent doom, The Black Dog (also appearing variously as Black Dog Productions, Balil, Xeper, and Plaid, among others) formed in the early '90s as the trio of Ken Downie, Ed Handley, and Andy Turner. Forging a challenging, relentless combination of early techno, electro, and hip-hop with a penchant for odd time signatures, high-tech atmospherics, and Egyptian iconography, the group immediately distinguished itself from the scores of disposable techno musicians covering familiar ground in the post-rave U.K. Something of a closet phenomenon attracting the devotion of DJs who nonetheless refused to play their complicated brew for fear of being booed off the decks, The Black Dog were immediately placed in the emerging "intelligent techno" category upon the release of their full-length debut, Bytes. A largely U.K.-media constituted phrase meant to peg music involving dance music compositional styles nonetheless intended for home listening, the term has since taken hold and is often applied to groups like Autechre, Aphex Twin, µ-ziq, and As One.

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